FSU denied full review of crucial trick-play touchdown that changed everything vs. Miami

It’s always tough to put the outcome of a football game on a single play. Especially when that play takes place with almost an entire quarter left to play. But Florida State fans have a legitimate gripe in citing that the Seminoles may have been refereed out of a winning result after dropping a 28-27 heartbreaker at Miami.

The biggest play occurred with about 14 minutes left in the fourth quarter, and the Hurricanes surging. The ’Canes had erased a 27-7 ’Nole advantage and trailed just 27-21. UM had all of the momentum when FSU threw a receiver screen to D.J. Matthews. On the next play, Florida State looked to be running the same play, just to the opposite side of the field. Instead, WR Keith Gavin slipped past the entirety of the Miami defense, and Matthews, who played some quarterback in high school, lobbed the ball to Gavin for a wide open score.

However, Deondre Francois’ throw to Matthews was ruled to be a forward pass, and the play came back. 34-20 and recaptured momentum remained 27-21, and when Ricky Aguayo duck-hooked a field goal a few plays later, the Hurricanes charged off the field reinvigorated. Upon further review, the play looked to be a lateral:

But regardless of what you think, we can all agree that it was close. All of us, that is, except for the ACC officiating crew:

That’s obviously as terribly inaccurate assessment by the officials. And it’s really difficult to overstate the importance of this play coming off the board.