Miami’s 43-35 win over Florida State on Saturday night had already turned into a full-blown survival test by the time the second overtime arrived. Then the finish pushed the rivalry into pure chaos.
The No. 3 Hurricanes escaped with the victory after a disputed Hail Mary interception ended a wild double-overtime classic, a sequence that left both sides with plenty to argue about for a long time.
Florida State got its first late jolt on fourth-and-21, when Ashton Daniels floated a jump ball into the end zone and Micahi Danzy came down with it between a pair of Miami defenders. For a moment, it looked like the Seminoles had found their miracle. Instead, a flag stopped everything cold.
Xavier Chaplin was called for holding, wiping out the play. The penalty is the kind that rarely shows up in desperate end-of-game situations, and Chaplin appeared to get slightly outside the defender’s shoulder pads before the Miami pass-rusher seemed to slip and fall.
That call pushed Florida State back to fourth-and-31, but the Seminoles still had one more shot at magic. Daniels rolled to his right and launched another Hail Mary, and this one produced an even messier ending.
Duce Robinson climbed over the traffic and got his fingertips to the ball, while a Miami defender got his hands on it at the same time. The players hit the ground in a scramble, and it was difficult to tell who had control. The officials ruled interception on the field, and after review, the call stood.
ESPN rules analyst Steve Shaw backed the decision, saying the ACC officials got it right.
"That was an interception. Clearly nothing to overturn it," Shaw said. "That was the correct call."
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