Overturned: Hail Mary sends Hokies to 38-34 loss at No. 7 Miami

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – In a failed call, Virginia Tech went from “Hail Mary” glory to “Fail Mary” misery.

The Hokies had a quasi-Hail Mary 30-yard touchdown pass from Kyron Drones to Da’Quan Felton at the buzzer overruled on replay, handing Virginia Tech to a crushing 38-34 loss to No. 7 Miami .

The Hokies (2-3, 0-1 ACC) had moved 45 yards in the final two minutes to reach the Miami 30 with three seconds left and needed a touchdown to win. Drones threw a ball into traffic in the end zone, where a mass of bodies rose to pass.

In a scrum, Felton came down with the ball before it was ripped away after a hit by Miami’s Tyler Rowe. As the Hurricanes celebrated and LED lights flickered at Hard Rock Stadium, the official huddled up and called a touchdown for the Hokies, prompting a huge cheer from the Tech side.

The piece was discussed again, which kept the stadium audience in suspense. After seven minutes, the referee ruled the game over, giving Miami (5-0, 1-0 ACC) a four-point win and the Canes remaining undefeated.

“That’s a tough question,” a cocky Brent Pry said afterwards. “I hope you heard this call correctly. To say it from our kids, our coaches and our fans: I hope they did it right.

“If you look at something for that long, it usually doesn’t tip over.”

As Miami’s players celebrated on the field and the Hokies headed to the locker room, the teams cheered each other on – a finish that will be talked about for years to come.

The controversial finish came after the Hurricanes rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to score touchdowns on their final three possessions, thanks to a Heisman Trophy-worthy performance from quarterback Cam Ward, who threw for 343 yards, four touchdowns and 57 ran yards and another score.

The Canes had two fantastic plays on their first score. Receiver Xavier Restrepo slipped on a fourth-and-3 play but still managed to move the sticks as he made a 4-yard reception on the back.

A few plays later, Ward allowed two tackles in the backfield, eluding Keyshawn Burgos and Kaleb Spencer and throwing the ball to Riley Williams. Tight end linebacker Keli Lawson rumbled 26 yards to the 2-yard line. On the next play, Ward hit Horton for the go-ahead touchdown, making the score 38-34.

It is Virginia Tech’s first four-game losing streak against Miami since a decade-long 12-game losing streak that ended with the Hokies’ victory in 1995.

Despite the loss, the Hokies finally showed fight and beat the Canes as underdogs by 17.5 points. Bhayshul Tuten ran for 141 yards and a touchdown and Kyron Drones threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 56 in the loss.

The Hokies started fast. Cole Nelson took the ball away from Ward on a third-down pressure on the game’s first drive, a fumble that linebacker Sam Brumfield recovered at the Canes’ 31-yard line. Three plays later, the Drones dodged the rush, buying time and finding a wide-open Benji Gosnell behind the defense for an easy 25-yard touchdown that gave Tech a 7-0 lead after just over two minutes.

Miami responded quickly. Ward hit tight end Elijah Arroyo down the sideline for a 45-yard gain, then connected with receiver Jacolby George for an 18-yard touchdown that took the ball to the 7-yard score.

The technician turned it over on the following trip. The drones left a ball behind Ayden Greene, who couldn’t roll it up and threw it into the air for Miami safety Mishael Powell to easily hit.

The Hurricanes had play-action the other way on third-and-1, with Ward selling the fake and Arroyo running right past Jaylen Jones. Ward threw an easy throw over the top for a 43-yard touchdown, giving Miami a 14-7 lead.

Miami was on the verge of another touchdown – in fact, a crucial throw by Ward under pressure was negated by a holding penalty – when Mose Phillips jumped a pass near the sideline on third down, making his first career interception Regained 33 yards.

A few plays later, Tuten broke the line on third-and-1, ran through a tackle and had nothing but daylight in front of him. The 55-yard touchdown run, Tuten’s longest on the Hokies, ended with 14:11:59 left in the second quarter. It was Tuten’s seventh straight game with a touchdown.

Antwaun Powell-Ryland recorded his seventh sack of the year on the next drive, forcing a punt.

Tech moved all the way down and hit paydirt on a nifty reverse pass to Jaylin Lane. Drones took the snap and passed it to backup quarterback Collin Schlee, who was running in motion. Schlee tossed it to Lane and walked the other way. Drones threw down the lead block to take Lane 20 yards down the sideline for a touchdown, giving the Hokies a 21-14 lead.

Tech scored a 57-yard field goal from John Love 20 seconds before halftime to take a 24-17 lead. It was the third-longest field goal in school history.

However, the Hokies inexplicably took a timeout before Love’s field goal instead of letting time expire. Tech fended off the kickoff, but Chris Johnson returned it 34 yards to Miami’s 47. After a pass interference call on Dorian Strong, the Hurricanes got a 55-yard field goal from Andres Borregales at halftime, sending Miami into the locker room trailing 24-17.

Love extended Virginia Tech’s lead to 27-17 with a 52-yard field goal early in the third quarter. He became the first Hokies kicker since Dave Strock in 1972 to hit two 51-yard field goals in the same game.

The Hokies appeared to be in business when Dorian Strong tipped in a pass from Ward that Kaleb Spencer intercepted. The star linebacker returned the ball 77 yards to the Miami 17, giving Tech its best chance to score three points.

Instead they went three and out. After Love set up for a 27-yard field goal, the Hokies attempted a fake and threw the ball to tight end Harrison Saint Germain, who cut behind the line. Miami did it with a loss and an overwhelming turnover on downs.

The Canes marched right down the field in response and pulled ahead 27-24 when Ward escaped outside pressure and tacklers down the middle of the field on a 17-yard touchdown run with 2:18 left in the third quarter dodged.

PJ Prioleau appeared to pull off a 61-yard touchdown run for the Hokies, but it was negated by a call from Kaden Moore. Tech still scored on the drive when Drones escaped pressure and threw across his body to hit Ayden Greene in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown, giving the Hokies a 34-24 lead.

Miami had an answer here too. The Canes went 70 yards down the field in nine plays and ended the drive with Ward’s third touchdown pass of the day, a 6-yarder to Cam McCormick that cut the Tech lead to 34-31.