By now, you’ve probably seen the ridiculous, eight-lateral kickoff return for a touchdown that gave Miami a last-second win over Duke on Saturday night.
The higher-ups in the Atlantic Coast Conference have, too, and they did not like what they saw.
Citing “a series of errors during the final play” of Miami’s 30-27 win, the conference on Sunday suspended the game’s entire officiating crew, including the replay official and communicator, for two games.
“The quality of our officiating program is of the highest importance to the league and its schools, and the last play of the game was not handled appropriately,” ACC commissioner John Swofford said in a statement. “Officiating is an extraordinarily difficult job, but our players, coaches, programs and fans deserve the best that can be offered. We will continue to strive to meet that standard.”
The conference pointed out four separate officiating miscues made on Miami’s touchdown, including an illegal block in the back that went uncalled and an instance of a Hurricanes player being allowed to lateral the ball after his knee had touched the ground.
Miami’s miracle runback was the latest in a string of stunning college football finishes this season, including Michigan State’s game-winning blocked-punt TD return against Michigan and Georgia Tech’s last-second return of a blocked field goal against Florida State.
Thumbnail photo via Mark Dolejs/USA TODAY Sports Images
