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Miami Edges FSU in 2OT Thriller After Controversial Hail Mary
· Confirmed
In Short: The game's final sequence will be a topic of debate among fans, with two controversial Hail Mary passes.
In a dramatic finish to the Miami vs. Florida State game, Miami narrowly escaped with a 43-35 victory after two overtime periods.
On the first Hail Mary, Florida State quarterback Ashton Daniels threw a 36-yard pass to receiver Micahi Danzy, who caught it in the end zone amidst Miami defenders.
Miami coach Mario Cristobal disagreed with the call, saying, "I thought Bryce snatched that thing and pulled it into his lap."
The second Hail Mary came in the second overtime, with Daniels throwing a 46-yard pass to Duce Robinson.
Despite Robinson's catch, the play was ruled incomplete, leaving Florida State without an answer.
Florida State coach Mike Norvell expressed frustration with the officiating, noting that the same crew had called last year's game, which Miami won.
Norvell said, "It's unfortunate to see guys go out there and perform the way they did, but to have that outcome come down to a play like that, I'm grateful for our guys and the way they battled."
Miami came into the game as a 20.5-point favorite, but the game's outcome was far from easy.
"That was an interception. Clearly nothing to overturn it," Miami coach Mario Cristobal said about the controversial call.
"I didn't get a whole lot of explanation," Norvell added, highlighting the lack of clarity from the officials.
The rivalry between Miami and Florida State is known for its drama, and Saturday's game took the theatrics to another level.
"The holding call on the play before, they said it was on No. 77," Norvell noted, adding to the confusion.
What's confirmed
- "I watched the play. Since the start of football, a tie goes to the receiver, but I guess they had a different angle that you could see something different."
- "It's unique when you have the same crew, back-to-back years in game-ending situations that go down the last play," Norvell said.
What's still developing
- The game was wild enough up to the point at which Miami took an eight-point lead to begin the second overtime, but the final sequence will be debate fodder between the fan bases for quite a while.
- It allowed college football’s return to begin with two full days of FCS action on Thursday and Friday, without the FBS overshadowing.
- While the MVFC teams might beat up on each other once conference play starts, the nonconference performances show that the conference can remain elite without NDSU.
- Friday saw Cal Poly beat Idaho in a thriller on ESPN while William & Mary’s comeback over Villanova went viral across social media platforms.
- While movies like Aliens, Blade Runner, Inception, Back to the Future, Interstellar, Project Hail Mary, and more give fans an otherworldly experience along with some mind-bending concepts in a limited time frame, the genre is arguably even bigger on television.
- Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for.
- Miami defensive back Bryce Fitzgerald got his hands on the ball at the same time, and they went to the ground in a scrum.
- Miami survives two Hail Marys, leaving FSU without answers in 2OT thriller | ESPN La Crosse 105.5 You are using an outdated browser.
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- "But we didn't execute at every position, all 11 guys on the offense, and that's on us. In those big-time moments, we can't have a penalty that brings us back."
- "I think we have a good enough sample size of 2026 to know that that's absolutely insignificant and irrelevant with the changing of the guard from week to week," Cristobal said.
- "But I know we've sat in this stadium before on a couple of those, so let's try not to make that a habit going forward."