Facing fourth-and-31 from the Miami 46 in the second overtime Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium, Ashton Daniels rolled right and threw the ball toward Duce Robinson in the end zone. Robinson came down in a pile with it, and so did Miami defensive back Bryce Fitzgerald. Officials ruled it an interception, replay upheld it, and No. 3 Miami escaped with a 43-35 win over Florida State.
The argument over that ruling only grew as more angles circulated overnight. One clip pushed by the MLFootball account was billed as clear proof of a Robinson touchdown, and the account went as far as calling it one of the most one-sided officiated games in college football history.
A pass caught at the same time by an offensive and a defensive player goes to the offense, so the review hinged on which player had control first. ESPN took viewers inside the ACC’s replay center while officials studied it, and the conclusion was that both players had hands on the ball but Fitzgerald had gotten enough of it, with no evidence strong enough to overturn the call on the field.
“It was an interception. Clearly, nothing to overturn it. This was the correct call,” ESPN rules analyst Steve Shaw said.
“Since the start of football, if it’s a tie it goes to the receiver,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said after the game.
ANOTHER VIDEO CLEARLY SHOW THAT FLORIDA STATE WR DUCE ROBINSON SCORED A TD ON THE FINAL PLAY AGAINST #3 MIAMI.
INSTEAD, THE REFS RULED IT AN INTERCEPTION.
THIS WAS ONE OF THE MOST ONE-SIDED OFFICIATED GAMES WE HAVE EVER SEEN IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL HISTORY. https://t.co/SOAJGIwd0o
— MLFootball (@MLFootball) October 18, 2026
Was the holding call the bigger problem for Florida State?
On fourth-and-21 from the Miami 36, Daniels found Micahi Danzy, who went up over a defender in the end zone for an apparent touchdown that would have pulled Florida State within two and set up a game-tying two-point try. A flag on left tackle Xavier Chaplin for holding wiped it out and pushed the Seminoles back 10 yards, turning a converted fourth down into the fourth-and-31 that ended the game.
Plenty of fans and media members said afterward that they could not find the hold on replay.
“Go watch the film,” Norvell said of the penalty.
Shaw’s endorsement covered the final ruling only, and the holding flag is the call Florida State has the stronger case to keep arguing about, because it took a touchdown off the board and left Daniels throwing from 46 yards out with the game on the line.
Miami moved to 6-0 and hosts Pittsburgh next week. Florida State fell to 3-4 and 1-3 in the ACC with its 14th straight road loss, a streak that dates to late in the 2023 season, and gets a bye before hosting Clemson on Oct. 31.
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