Florida State coach Mike Norvell called the holding penalty that negated a Hail Mary touchdown in the second overtime against Miami “an absolute joke” Monday during his news conference.
Norvell also questioned why the replay booth did not discuss simultaneous possession during its review of the final Hail Mary of the game, ruled an interception on the field though Miami safety Bryce Fitzgerald and Florida State receiver Duce Robinson both had their hands on the ball.
Those plays ended up costing the Seminoles a chance to tie Miami. Instead, they lost 43-35 in double overtime on Saturday night.
In his first comments since the game ended, Norvell said he spoke with ACC supervisor of officials Gary Patterson about the two plays. Holding was called on offensive lineman Xavier Chaplin on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Ashton Daniels to Micahi Danzy, negating the play.
“The holding call was an absolute joke,” Norvell said. “You go through the course of that game, same thing happened a few plays earlier that was not called. But in that moment, that play — it’s a shame. It really is. We had to go convert the 2-point play, but for those kids not to be able to finish the game on the field in that moment is really disappointing. That was bad. I haven’t gotten the final response from them, but If it’s anything less than what I said, it tells me everything I need to know.”
The holding penalty left Florida State with one last chance to try and tie the game. On fourth down from the Miami 46-yard line, Daniels threw for 6-foot-6 Robinson in the end zone. As he went up for the ball, Fitzgerald went up, too. They landed in a tangle, their hands fighting for the ball. Officials called the play an interception on the field.
In a two-minute replay review with the ACC command center in Charlotte, officials never discussed simultaneous possession. Instead, they focused on whether Fitzgerald had control of the ball. They ruled Fitzgerald had possession and full control, upholding the call on the field. Last year, the ACC became the first conference to begin enhanced replay reviews, allowing viewers to hear the discussions between officials on the field and in the command center.
“You’ve got two guys going up for a catch and they both come to the ground, simultaneous possession — that has to be a part of the discussion,” Norvell said. “I’m not an official, I’m not sitting there in the command center, but when you broadcast it and that’s not mentioned, that’s something that at least [should] be part of the discussion I would think.”
According to the NCAA rulebook, simultaneous possession occurs when there is joint control at the same time that is maintained throughout the entire process of the catch, including going to the ground. In the end zone, the ball is ruled dead as soon as one player has sole possession on the turf. In the review, the officials are discussing Fitzgerald down on the turf with the ball in his midsection.
ESPN football rules analyst Steve Shaw was on the call of the game and agreed with the officials.
“You can see the defender, he clearly had his hands on the ball when they go to the ground,” Shaw said on the broadcast. “You can see it in his stomach, and so it was an interception. Clearly nothing to overturn it. This was the correct call.”
Florida State is now 3-4 headed into its open date, with five games left that could ultimately determine Norvell’s future. Norvell again brushed aside questions about that, saying, “I know the expectation I have each and every week. It’s to go win. That’s my focus.”
