Wake Forest nearly pulled off an upset against Georgia Tech on Saturday, but a missed call from the officiating crew stole the win away from the Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest had 3rd-and-5 and was leading 23-20 with 1:52 remaining in the game at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. A Georgia Tech player jumped offsides as the ball was snapped, so Wake Forest quarterback Robby Ashford thought he had a free play. Ashford threw a deep pass down the right sideline that fell incomplete.
The play should have resulted in a 5-yard penalty and a first down. Georgia Tech had no timeouts remaining, so Wake Forest would have been able to kneel out the remainder of the clock.
No flag was thrown, however. Ashford and the Demon Deacons were irate with the officials.
Wake Forest just had a win literally stolen from them against #16 Georgia Tech.
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) September 27, 2025
3rd & 5, 1:48 left, Georgia Tech has a defender clearly offsides.
Wake QB, Robby Ashford, thinks they have a free play and chucks it deep (incomplete) to try to capitalize, but the refs never threw… pic.twitter.com/lfN1oytJgw
Wake Forest had to punt because of the missed call. Georgia Tech then tied the game with a field goal and won 30-29 in overtime.
The official must have felt that the Georgia Tech defender got back in time and re-established himself, but replays showed that he was in the neutral zone when the ball was snapped.
Ashford would not have wasted a play had a defender not jumped offsides, so it is also possible that Wake Forest would have converted on third down if not for the penalty. That was as costly of a missed call as you will see.
