Watch: Miami throws eight laterals, beats Duke on final kick return
In an insane finish, Miami beat Duke 30-27 on the final play of the game, a 75-yard kick return that featured eight laterals before the Hurricanes scored.
On the previous play, Duke scored what appeared to be the game-winning touchdown, as quarterback Thomas Sirk snuck in for a score and then ran in the two-point conversion to make it 27–24, Blue Devils.
It was not the game-winning touchdown.
With six seconds remaining, Miami fielded the ball around its own 25 and began a series of laterals as time expired. In an incredible series of events, Duke tacklers were unable to corral the Hurricanes, and Miami’s Corn Elder broke through and took the ball all the way to the end zone.
The play was reviewed for several minutes before it was eventually ruled in favor of Miami. A block in the back was initially called on Miami, but was eventually ruled that no foul occurred after it was determined that the player made the block from the side. As the game ended, it was unclear if the referees had made that ruling via replay, or had determined there was no foul amongst themselves after the fact.
Here are the radio calls of the play from each team:
Miami also tweeted this graphic depicting the crazy final play:
The win was emotional for the Hurricanes, capping a long week after head coach Al Golden’s firing on Sunday. The Hurricanes move to 6–3 (2–2 in ACC play), while the Blue Devils, previously undefeated in the ACC, dropped to 6–3 with a 3–1 mark in the conference.
- Jeremy Woo
