MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — No. 3 Miami beat Florida State 43-35 in double overtime on Saturday night after two controversial calls on the Seminoles’ last two plays nullified potential game-tying touchdowns. A holding flag erased the first. Officials ruled the second, a fourth-and-31 Hail Mary, an interception.
The win kept the Hurricanes unbeaten at 6-0 and 4-0 in the ACC and left Florida State at 3-4 and 1-3, according to Miami’s athletics department. Darian Mensah passed for 326 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Malachi Toney had 11 catches for 154 yards, caught a 3-yard touchdown pass in the second overtime and then threw the two-point conversion to Cooper Barkate that proved the difference.
The finish carries weight beyond the rivalry. After Auburn beat Georgia, the top-ranked team, and No. 2 Notre Dame lost, Miami is the highest-ranked unbeaten team left. NBC Sports’ Nate Ryan wrote that the path to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 has been cleared for the Hurricanes.
On fourth-and-21, quarterback Ashton Daniels threw a jump ball into the end zone, and a Florida State receiver came down with it among Miami defenders, CBS Sports reported. Then came the flag. Offensive lineman Xavier Chaplin was called for holding, a penalty Austin Nivison wrote is rarely called in desperate end-of-game situations. Chaplin appeared to get outside the defender’s shoulder pads slightly, Nivison wrote, but the Miami pass-rusher seemed to slip and fall shortly after.
That left fourth-and-31. Daniels rolled right and heaved another one, and Duce Robinson and Miami defensive back Bryce Fitzgerald both got hands on it before going down in a scrum. Officials ruled it an interception on the field and, after review, found not enough evidence to overturn it. “I thought it was a touchdown, but we’re not the ones out there calling the shots,” Daniels said, according to NBC Sports.
Florida State coach Mike Norvell said he did not get “a whole lot of explanation,” and argued that “if there’s a tie it goes to the receiver.” Of the holding call, he said, “Go watch the film.” He also noted that the same officiating crew worked last year’s game, a 28-22 Miami win, calling it “pretty unique” to have one crew in back-to-back game-ending situations.
Miami coach Mario Cristobal said the Hurricanes found a way “despite errors made, despite issues that we caused ourselves,” according to the school’s game report, which also noted that it was only the second time in the rivalry’s 71-year history that the teams needed overtime.
Nivison wrote that it was hard to tell who had possession in the scrum. TEH has not seen the footage and cannot say who had it first.
