The Virginia Tech Hokies are no longer undefeated, with a controversial missed field goal being heavily discussed after the team fell to Pittsburgh, 35-33, on Friday night. With just three seconds remaining, the Hokies' kicker John Love lined up for a 35-yard field goal. After the snap, he kicked it, and the football sailed high and to the left; fans in Lane Stadium erupted as it appeared to clear the post for a game-winning field goal.
However, the referees stunned everyone when they signaled it was no good, and cheers immediately turned into boos and jeers from upset fans wondering what the referees saw or didn't see with the kick. "To be honest with you, from my angle, I don't know. I think John Love is the best kicker in the country," Hokies head coach James Franklin said postgame.
"I had so much confidence that thing was going to go through, and from my angle, I couldn't tell you, one way or another." More news: Urban Meyer Says He’d Suspend Texas’ Colin Simmons for Vulgar Celebration "Had a ton of confidence that thing was going to go through. At the end of the day, [the officials] said it didn't go through, so everything else doesn't really matter a whole lot," he told reporters. Commenters reacted to the last-second field goal in various X video posts, including one from CFB Kings, with many saying the kick looked like it should have been good.
I don’t care who wins but that was good. I don’t root for either team but that was good," one commenter wrote on a video showing the field goal. Another wrote, "This looks like a good kick.
I don’t see it turn left until after it goes through the upright." Others commented, "What in the Western Michigan is going on here?!" and "October literally just started and we’re already getting finishes like this. College football is ridiculous.." After the game's rocking opening at a packed Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia, the Hokies looked like they might run away with a win, going up 14-0 on an Ethan Grunkemeyer 38-yard touchdown pass to Que'Sean Brown and Grunkemeyer's later quarterback sneak across the goal line. However, the Panthers kept fighting, scoring 21 unanswered points, beginning late in the second quarter with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Mason Heintschel to Cataurus Hicks.
That momentum carried into the second half, as Pittsburgh scored two more touchdowns and held the Hokies scoreless in the third quarter. Virginia Tech then scored nine points in the final quarter, but lost heartbreakingly on a controversial missed field goal. It was the first loss of the James Franklin era at Virginia Tech, with the Hokies looking solid in nearly every game except for a stinging home defeat to the Pittsburgh Panthers.
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