Virginia Tech’s unbeaten start ended Friday night on a kick the building thought it had won, and the officials under the uprights immediately waved off.
John Love’s 36-yard field goal as time expired was ruled no good, and Pitt left Lane Stadium with a 35-33 victory. The senior lined up on the right hash with three seconds left, trailing by two. From the end-zone camera behind the kicker, the ball appeared to slip inside the left upright.
Love started toward the official. Fans behind the goal line erupted. The officials stationed under the posts signaled wide left, and the game was over.
Other looks did not settle it. ESPN never produced a clean angle from beneath the crossbar. A shot from the stands, taken from the kicker’s side of the end zone, appears to show the ball clearing the top of the left post and trailing left — the same side the crew called.
Under NCAA rules, the entire ball must pass between the inside edges of the uprights. A kick that sails over the top of a post is no good. Because the ball was judged to have crossed above the uprights, the play was not reviewable. Only kicks that pass lower than the top of the posts can be checked for inside or outside.
James Franklin, in his first loss as Virginia Tech’s coach, said he could not tell from the sideline. He called Love the best kicker in the country, told him so on the field, and noted that plenty of earlier plays had put the Hokies in that spot.
Virginia Tech turned the ball over four times. Pitt, which lost quarterback Mason Heintschel to an apparent serious right knee injury, scored 21 unanswered points to lead 35-24 before the Hokies closed to 35-33.
The Panthers improved to 5-0. Virginia Tech fell to 4-1. The call stands. The pictures continue to cast uncertainty.
