ACC Receives Stern Call After Controversial Florida State-Miami Game

The holding flag on Xavier Chaplin turned a fourth-and-21 touchdown into fourth-and-31, and Miami’s interception on the next snap pushed the Hurricanes to No. 1.

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Florida State head coach Mike Norvell went straight to the ACC’s head of officials after a holding penalty wiped out a Hail Mary touchdown in Saturday’s 43-35 double-overtime loss at Miami that dropped the Seminoles to 3-4.

Norvell told reporters Monday he spoke with ACC supervisor of officials Gary Patterson but hasn’t received a final review of the play. “The holding call was an absolute joke,” Norvell said.

Holding flag erases Florida State touchdown

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Miami took the lead in the second overtime, and a sack plus a penalty left Florida State facing fourth-and-21. Quarterback Ashton Daniels lofted a 36-yard pass that Micahi Danzy caught in the end zone, which would have given the Seminoles a two-point try to tie.

Officials flagged left tackle Xavier Chaplin for holding instead. The 10-yard penalty made it fourth-and-31 from the Miami 46, and safety Bryce Fitzgerald was ruled to have intercepted Daniels’ next heave intended for Duce Robinson. The call stood after replay review.

Norvell questioned why simultaneous possession wasn’t discussed on that final play, though ESPN rules analyst Steve Shaw agreed with the ruling during the broadcast. The holding flag drew harsher criticism, and former referee Terry McAulay posted that Chaplin didn’t commit a foul.

What did Mike Norvell tell the ACC?

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Norvell said he respects officials but believes the crew applied the standard unevenly. “You go through the course of that game, the same thing happened a few plays earlier that was not called,” Norvell said.

He also set a clear bar for the league’s response. “A lot of judgment calls in all things, but that was bad,” Norvell said. “I haven’t gotten the final response from them, but if it’s anything less than what I said, it tells me everything I need to know.”

Norvell noted after the game that the same crew worked Florida State’s 20-13 loss at Stanford last season, which ended when Gavin Sawchuk was ruled short of the goal line on an untimed down.

Conferences do occasionally concede mistakes, and the Big 12 admitted its referees made a costly error during this past weekend’s BYU-Notre Dame game. However, the ACC fined Florida State $20,000 and publicly reprimanded Jimbo Fisher after he criticized a crew following a 2016 loss to Clemson.

Miami climbs to No. 1 amid controversy

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Miami (6-0, 4-0 ACC) jumped from No. 3 to No. 1 in Sunday’s AP poll with 40 first-place votes after five of the top seven teams lost. It’s the program’s first week atop the AP poll since Dec. 8, 2002, and the first for any ACC team since Clemson in 2020.

Quarterback Darian Mensah threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns against the Seminoles, including two scores to Malachi Toney. Still, the disputed finish gives skeptics of the new No. 1 a talking point as the Hurricanes prepare to host Pittsburgh.

Florida State enters its bye week at 1-3 in ACC play, so Norvell will likely have Patterson’s review in hand before the Seminoles take the field again.