Miami survives as Hokies’ Hail Mary TD overturned
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Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami and Virginia Tech took turns celebrating a victory Friday night after a wild final play that left anger and heartbreak for one team and wild jubilation for the other. There could be only one winner, of course.
Though Miami’s Isaiah Horton emerged from a tangle of seven Miami and Virginia Tech players in the back of the end zone, officials ruled that Virginia Tech receiver Da’Quan Felton had come down with the ball before it was wrestled away from him.
Touchdown, Virginia Tech.
The Hokies then ran onto the field in celebration, helmets raised high, believing they had won the game on a 30-yard Hail Mary heave into the end zone from Kyron Drones. Both teams milled on the field, Virginia Tech believing it had won, Miami incredulous over the call.
Confusion reigned. Head referee Jerry Magallanes ordered them back to their respective sidelines, and a replay review began.
Virginia Tech felt confident the call on the field would stand; Miami felt confident the replay officials would call the pass incomplete. At least six minutes passed, an interminable wait that Miami coach Mario Cristobal described as “liability issues that come with that, with the cardiac condition of everybody on the sideline.”
Magallanes got on the mic and announced the touchdown call on the field had been overturned, allowing the Hurricanes to celebrate a 38-34 victory.
In a statement issued two hours after the game ended, the ACC said, “During the review process of the last play of the Virginia Tech at Miami game, it was determined that the loose ball was touched by a Miami player while he was out of bounds, which makes it an incomplete pass and immediately ends the play.”
Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry, visibly upset, said afterward, “The way the game ended, I hope they got that call right. To take that, to overturn it and take it from our kids, our coaches, our fans, I hope they got it right.”
After the play ended, Pry said he ran over to the officials and asked, “How did you rule it?”
“He said, ‘Touchdown,'” Pry said. “Normally, when you look at something that long, it does not get overturned. I didn’t think there was enough evidence to overturn it. So, like I said, I hope they got it right.”
The ending capped a four-hour game that featured more Cam Ward magic, a stuffed fake field goal attempt, an Xavier Restrepo fourth-down catch while on his back, Bhayshul Tuten running roughshod over the Miami defense and Drones nearly willing his team to victory.
Miami overcame a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit — their largest of the season — to move to 5-0 for the first time since 2017. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, dropped its third one-score game this season. In the aftermath, both coaches addressed an ending so wild, it seemed hard to comprehend an hour later.
“I saw an incomplete pass. That’s all I can say,” Cristobal said.
When asked later what his emotions were like waiting for replay to make a ruling, Cristobal said, “It’s wild. [In] college football, you’re never all the way clear and easy to win a game, you’re never all the way out of it. It just keeps going. We did talk about it, that you don’t leave a game like this in the hands of the officials because you might be disappointed. At the end of the day, we just found a way to win.”
While Miami players went through various stages of emotion waiting for the final decision from the officials, Virginia Tech was left with overwhelming disappointment in the result. The Hokies led 34-31 with 8:40 left. But a quick three-and-out gave the ball back to Miami.
Though Ward had three turnovers in the game — two interceptions and one fumble — he was a wizard on what turned out to be the winning drive. On fourth-and-3 from the Virginia Tech 50, Ward went to Restrepo, who slipped and fell but still made the catch. He threw another third-down completion to Horton before his best play of the game.
On first-and-10 from the Virginia Tech 27, Virginia Tech defensive end Keyshawn Burgos had Ward in his grasp, but Ward slipped away. Then Kaleb Spencer tried to take him down. Ward thought quickly and flipped the ball to a waiting Riley Williams, who ran to the 2-yard line, stiff-arming an approaching Keli Lawson in the process. Ward said he always tells Williams in situations like that not to block but to wait for a possible outlet pass.
A play later, Ward threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Horton to give Miami the lead with 1:57 left. Drones then got to work, marching Virginia Tech down the field. With 8 seconds left, he scrambled to the Miami 30-yard line, leaving 3 seconds for one final play. Virginia Tech sent Felton, Jaylin Lane and Stephen Gosnell to the end zone; Miami had Horton, Mishael Powell, Jadais Richard and D’Yoni Hill. They all jumped for the ball at the same time. Felton came down with it, but he, Lane and Horton all appeared to be out of bounds, and the ball appeared to be moving on replay. Miami players involved in the play told their teammates it was an incomplete pass. “I thought it was going to be overturned just because everybody was out of bounds,” Ward said.
But because the play was called a touchdown on the field, Virginia Tech felt that was enough to win. “I don’t know how that call gets overturned,” Drones said. “Probably because we played here.”
Pry said it was hard to find the words to tell his team in the locker room afterward.
“They’re hurting. That’s why I said I hope they got it right,” Pry said. “I can tell them I’m proud, and I did, but that ain’t helping them right now.”
It’s 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby day in Atlanta!
Some of the most dynamic home run hitters in baseball will be taking aim at the Truist Park stands on Monday (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) in one of the most anticipated events of the summer.
While the prospect of a back-to-back champion is out of the picture — 2024 winner Teoscar Hernandez is not a part of this year’s field — a number of exciting stars will be taking the field, including Atlanta’s own Matt Olson, who replaced Ronald Acuna Jr. just three days before the event. Will Olson make a run in front of his home crowd? Will Cal Raleigh show off the power that led to 38 home runs in the first half? Or will one of the younger participants take the title?
We have your one-stop shop for everything Derby related, from predictions to live updates once we get underway to analysis and takeaways at the night’s end.
MLB Home Run Derby field
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners (38 home runs in 2025)
James Wood, Washington Nationals (24)
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays (23)
Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins (21)
Brent Rooker, Athletics (20)
Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves (17)
Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees (17)
Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates (16)
Live updates
Who is going to win the Derby and who will be the runner-up?
Jeff Passan: Raleigh. His swing is perfect for the Derby: He leads MLB this season in both pull percentage and fly ball percentage, so it’s not as if he needs to recalibrate it to succeed. He has also become a prolific hitter from the right side this season — 16 home runs in 102 at-bats — and his ability to switch between right- and left-handed pitching offers a potential advantage. No switch-hitter (or catcher for that matter) has won a Home Run Derby. The Big Dumper is primed to be the first, beating Buxton in the finals.
Alden Gonzalez: Cruz. He might be wildly inconsistent at this point in his career, but he is perfect for the Derby — young enough to possess the stamina required for a taxing event that could become exhausting in the Atlanta heat; left-handed, in a ballpark where the ball carries out better to right field; and, most importantly, capable of hitting balls at incomprehensible velocities. Raleigh will put on a good show from both sides of the plate but will come in second.
Buster Olney: Olson. He is effectively pinch-hitting for Acuna, and because he received word in the past 72 hours of his participation, he hasn’t had the practice rounds that the other competitors have been going through. But he’s the only person in this group who has done the Derby before, which means he has experienced the accelerated pace, adrenaline and push of the crowd.
His pitcher, Eddie Perez, knows something about performing in a full stadium in Atlanta. And, as Olson acknowledged in a conversation Sunday, the park generally favors left-handed hitters because of the larger distances that right-handed hitters must cover in left field.
Jesse Rogers: Olson. Home-field advantage will mean something this year as hitting in 90-plus degree heat and humidity will be an extra challenge in Atlanta. Olson understands that and can pace himself accordingly. Plus, he was a late addition. He has got nothing to lose. He’ll outlast the young bucks in the field. And I’m not putting Raleigh any lower than second — his first half screams that he’ll be in the finals against Olson.
Jorge Castillo: Wood. His mammoth power isn’t disputed — he can jack baseballs to all fields. But the slight defect in his power package is that he doesn’t hit the ball in the air nearly as often as a typical slugger. Wood ranks 126th out of 155 qualified hitters across the majors in fly ball percentage. And he still has swatted 24 home runs this season. So, in an event where he’s going to do everything he can to lift baseballs, hitting fly balls won’t be an issue, and Wood is going to show off that gigantic power en route to a victory over Cruz in the finals.
Who will hit the longest home run of the night — and how far?
Passan: Cruz hits the ball harder than anyone in baseball history. He’s the choice here, at 493 feet.
Gonzalez: If you exclude the Coors Field version, there have been just six Statcast-era Derby home runs that have traveled 497-plus feet. They were compiled by two men: Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. James Wood — all 6-foot-7, 234 pounds of him — will become the third.
Olney: James Wood has the easy Stanton- and Judge-type power, and he will clear the Chophouse with the longest homer. Let’s say 497 feet.
Rogers: Hopefully he doesn’t injure himself doing it, but Buxton will break out his massive strength and crush a ball at least 505 feet. I don’t see him advancing far in the event, but for one swing, he’ll own the night.
Castillo: Cruz hits baseballs hard and far. He’ll crush a few bombs, and one will reach an even 500 feet.
Who is the one slugger fans will know much better after the Derby?
Passan: Buxton capped his first half with a cycle on Saturday, and he’ll carry that into the Derby, where he will remind the world why he was baseball’s No. 1 prospect in 2015. Buxton’s talent has never been in question, just his health. And with his body feeling right, he has the opportunity to put on a show fans won’t soon forget.
Olney: Caminero isn’t a big name and wasn’t a high-end prospect like Wood was earlier in his career. Just 3½ years ago, Caminero was dealt to the Rays by the Cleveland Guardians in a relatively minor November trade for pitcher Tobias Myers. But since then, he has refined his ability to cover inside pitches and is blossoming this year into a player with ridiculous power. He won’t win the Derby, but he’ll open some eyes.
What’s the one moment we’ll all be talking about long after this Derby ends?
Gonzalez: The incredible distances and velocities that will be reached, particularly by Wood, Cruz, Caminero, Raleigh and Buxton. The hot, humid weather at Truist Park will only aid the mind-blowing power that will be on display Monday night.
Rogers: The exhaustion on the hitter’s faces, swinging for home run after home run in the heat and humidity of Hot-lanta!
Castillo: Cruz’s 500-foot blast and a bunch of other lasers he hits in the first two rounds before running out of gas in the finals.
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