As if we needed yet another reason to sit on the football up late in a game with a chance to ice it, the ACC has upheld the controversial fumble call that led to Miami getting upset by Georgia Tech last Saturday night. Miami head coach Mario Cristobal's refusal to take a knee ripped defeat out of the jaws of victory for the Canes. What an absolute disaster class in what not to due late in a ballgame.
The play in question saw Miami running back Don Chaney Jr. put the ball on the turf. Miami was up 20-17 with 33 seconds left. All the Canes had to do was dial up some victory formation action to give Tyler Van Dyke another win under his belt and to keep Miami's dreams of perfection alive. Instead, Chaney fumbled it, Georgia Tech recovered and went on to stun Miami on a last-second touchdown.
On Wednesday, Alberto Riveron, the head of ACC officiating, confirmed that this was the right call.
"There was no indisputable visual evidence to overturn the ruling on the field. We made the right call on the field based on the angles that were afforded to us. The process and the protocol was followed."
Riveron continued with how involved the TV partners are in providing the best angles for each play.
"We take all the shots that are afforded to us by our TV partners, and we look at the play. We look for the football in relationship to where he loses control prior to hitting the ground. You have to have a view of the football the entire time, and you have to watch the football and make sure it's in player possession until the time he's legally down."
"If you don't have that, you don't have indisputable evidence to overturn the ruling on the field. In this case, the ruling on the field is a fumble. So if we're going to overturn a fumble, we have to see the player in control of the football once he hits the ground."
Georgia Tech won in the last second on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Haynes King to Christian Leary. This was a signature victory for Brent Key at his alma mater, while Cristobal totally blew it.
Head of ACC officiating upheld controversial Miami-Georgia Tech fumble
I think of all the wacky things that have happened up to this point across college football this year, this has to be No. 1 with a bullet. "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" said Miami surely to the AP voters. It baffles me that a Power Five head coach as respected as Cristobal could screw something up this badly. If there was ever a time to take a knee it Miami, it should be at the tail-end of their next win.
To me, I am afraid that this loss will leave a sour taste in everyone's mouth at the team facility going forward for the rest of the year. Not since LS-Shoe cost in-state rival Florida vs. the Bayou Bengals have I seen something this egregious happen on the football field. Florida still has not recovered from that 2020 mental meltdown of epic proportions. Could the same principle apply to Miami this year?
Ultimately, I think Miami will be fine in the long run under Cristobal, but this kind of signifies the type of limitations he may carry with him as a Power Five head coach. Key had his boys playing until the final whistle's echo. The Jackets were rewarded with a win this up-and-coming Georgia Tech program can be built on. For Miami, it was a great year for the Canes in the ACC and Cristobal vomited everywhere.
Did you really think that the ACC would backtrack one of its own calls to bail out Cristobal's stupidity?