Miami survives Florida State after disputed Hail Mary interception ends wild double-OT classic

No. 3 Miami escaped disaster, thanks to clutch plays in overtime and a controversial ruling at the end Oct 18, 2026 at 12:13 am ET • 2 min read The rivalry between Miami and Florida State rarely lacks drama, but Saturday night took the theatrics to another level. The No. 3 Hurricanes narrowly escaped the Seminoles, 43-35, with a wild and controversial finish that will be talked about for years to come.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.On fourth-and-21, Florida State quarterback Ashton Daniels just launched a jump ball into the end zone, and Seminoles receiver Micahi Danzy came down with it in the midst of a couple of Miami defenders. The Noles hardly had time to celebrate before they noticed laundry in the backfield.Offensive lineman Xavier Chaplin got called for holding, a penalty that rarely gets called in desperate end-of-game situations. Chaplin appeared to get outside the defender's shoulder pads slightly, but the Canes pass-rusher seemed to slip and fall shortly thereafter. It was a tight call that negated a Seminoles miracle. With Florida State now facing fourth-and-31, surely it couldn't replicate that magic on a second play? Seminoles fans will argue that they did.Daniels rolled out to his right and threw up a Hail Mary. This time, it was Duce Robinson who leaped up above the pack and got his fingertips on the ball. Miami defensive back Bryce Fitzgerald got his hands on the ball at the same time, and they went to the ground in a scrum.It was hard to tell who had possession, but the officials ruled that it was an interception on the field. After review, they determined that there wasn't enough evidence to overturn that call. ESPN rules analyst Steve Shaw said the ACC officials got it right. "That was an interception. Clearly nothing to overturn it," Shaw said. "That was the correct call."Mike Norvell disagrees with callsAs you might expect, Florida State coach Norvell didn't agree with the officials or Shaw's assessment. Based on what he saw, Robinson and Fitzgerald got possession simultaneously, which would result in a catch for the Seminoles."I didn't get a whole lot of explanation," Norvell said. "You have a holding call on the play before, and then I watched it, if there's a tie it goes to the receiver. I guess they had a different angle where you could see something different." When asked about the penalty on Chaplin that negated the first Hail Mary, Norvell stopped just short of saying it was a phantom holding call, but he made his feelings clear."The holding call on the play before, they said it was on No. 77," Norvell said. "Go watch the film."In an odd turn, Norvell also pointed out that this officiating crew was the same one that called last year's game, which ended in a 28-22 win for Miami. The Seminoles attempted an onside kick to keep their late rally alive, but it was recovered by the Hurricanes. "Pretty unique when you have the same crew back-to-back years in game-ending situations that go down to the last play," Norvell said.Norvell added that he was proud of the way his team fought against a quality opponent, but he was disappointed that the game ended the way it did."It's unfortunate to see guys go out there and perform the way they did," Norvell said. "There's plenty of plays, but to have that outcome come down to a play like that, I'm grateful for our guys and the way they battled."