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Miami Stuns Duke With Insane Kickoff Return After Time Expired

Miami beat Duke in one of the craziest finishes you'll see.

Miami beat Duke on an unbelievable kickoff return after time expired that featured eight laterals. Duke took the lead on a touchdown with six seconds left and got a two point conversion to make it a three-point lead at 27-24. The only way they could lose was to allow a return for a touchdown and somehow Miami pulled it off. The six seconds left in the game were gone by the second lateral. Helmet-less Miami players were running onto the field from the sidelines before Corn Elder even made it into the end zone. It was madness.

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Here's what the play-by-play looks like:

(0:06) Ross Martin kicked the ball for 40 yards. Dallas Crawford returned the kick for no gain. Isaac Hoza lateraled to Corn Elder for no gain. Corn Elder lateraled to Jaquan Johnson for no gain. Jaquan Johnson lateraled to Collin Alford for no gain. Collin Alford lateraled to Corn Elder for no gain. Corn Elder lateraled to Jaquan Johnson for no gain. Touchdown. Jaquan Johnson lateraled to Corn Elder for 75 yards.

At one point it looked like Miami was going to be tackled at around the five-yard line and then next thing you know, Corn Elder's sprinting down the sideline, weaving in and out of the last few Dukies in his way. The officials immediately said the ruling on the field was a touchdown and that it would be reviewed. All of the laterals were backwards, and a knee never hit the ground, but there was an illegal block in the back that had been called on the field that they were looking at. After a long review, they determined that it was not a block in the back and upheld the play and Miami won 30-27.

Update: Mike Pereira has a good breakdown on how the referee's and replay official boned this ending for a number of reasons, not including the fact that the player the referees initially said was not down, was actually down. It's tough to say whether they had any definitive video evidence to overturn that call—it looks extremely, extremely close on the video we have available—but pictures clearly show that the player was down with the ball still in his hand.

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Miami fans, how many more angles would you like? Ball not out. Refs blew it. The end. https://t.co/x6aPwgZaHE pic.twitter.com/z1YaZ0XNSl
— Jason McIntyre (@jasonrmcintyre) November 1, 2015

Update 2: The ACC has announced that the referees and replay official involved in last night's game have been suspended for two games. In the statement, the conference detailed several instances where the crew made mistakes either in judging the actions on the field, or communicating their rationale. Specifically, they missed a block in the back at the 16-yard line, and failed to rule the runner in the GIF above down as he attempted to lateral as he was being tackled.

_* The replay official erred in not overturning the ruling on the field that the Miami player had released the ball prior to his knee being down. If called, this would have ended the game.

  • The on-field officials erred by failing to penalize Miami for an illegal block in the back at the Miami 16-yard line. If called, the ball would have been placed at the Miami 8-yard line and the game would have been extended for an untimed down.
  • A block in the back foul was called at the Duke 26-yard line. After the officials conferred, which is appropriate, they correctly determined that the block was from the side, which resulted in the flag being picked up. The replay official was not involved in the decision to pick up the flag; however, the referee did not effectively manage communication and properly explain why the flag was picked up.
  • In addition, the on-field crew failed to penalize a Miami player for leaving the bench area and entering the field prior to the end of the play. This foul would not have negated the touchdown because it would have been enforced as a dead ball foul._

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
— Miami Hurricanes (@MiamiHurricanes) November 1, 2015

[ESPN U]