College Sports | Referee in Hurricanes game made correct call on late fumble, ACC head of officials says

After the Hurricanes made the highly criticized decision not to take a knee to end Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech, Miami gave the ball to Don Chaney Jr.

The veteran running back lost the ball as he was tackled. Georgia Tech recovered the fumble, and officials reviewed the call. Although it appeared as though Chaney may have hit the ground before the ball came loose, the call on the field stood. The Yellow Jackets went on to win, and Miami coach Mario Cristobal drew the ire of the college football world. 

On Wednesday, ACC Supervisor of Football Officials Alberto Riveron told ESPN that the officials followed the correct procedure and made the right call.

“We made the right call on the field based on the angles that were afforded to us,” Riveron told ESPN. “The process and the protocol was followed.”

Riveron told ESPN that the referee, Jeff Heaser, the replay official at the game and officials at the ACC Game Day Operations Center in Charlotte reviewed the play together reviewed the play.

“We take all the shots that are afforded to us by our TV partners, and we look at the play,” Riveron said. “We look for the football in relationship to where he loses control prior to hitting the ground. You have to have a view of the football the entire time, and you have to watch the football and make sure it’s in player possession until the time he’s legally down.

“If you don’t have that, you don’t have indisputable evidence to overturn the ruling on the field. In this case, the ruling on the field is a fumble. So if we’re going to overturn a fumble, we have to see the player in control of the football once he hits the ground.”

Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich, who attended UM coach Mario Cristobal’s Monday news conference, told ESPN that the NCAA should consider altering the high standard of evidence needed to overturn a call.

“The standard of indisputable is sometimes a very, very high standard to hit,” Radakovich said. “It’s a fast game, the officials do a phenomenal job, but sometimes they need assistance and if there’s a call that has to be made and you have to have this standard of indisputable, that’s sometimes a hard standard to reach.

“I think it’s one of the things the football rules committee should look into. They may decide not to do anything with it, but I think it needs to be discussed.”