No. 17 Miami hosted Georgia Tech at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday night for their ACC opener. The Hurricanes late game woes lead to a shocking last-second loss to Georgia Tech.

Both teams got off to a slow start, with only three combined points scored in the first half coming from Miami’s 30-yard field goal going into halftime. 

Despite a handful of turnovers in the second half, the Hurricanes were in position to close out the game late in the fourth quarter. The Hurricanes intercepted Georgia Tech’s Haynes King with 8:35 remaining in the fourth. Miami converted the turnover into a field goal to go up by three with just over six minutes remaining.

The Hurricanes defense, which overall had a solid performance against the Yellow Jackets, got another crucial stop, giving the ball back to their offense with just over five minutes remaining. 

Miami marched down the field, feeding Donald Chaney Jr. and milking the clock. The Hurricanes forced Georgia Tech to use their remaining timeouts. 

The Yellow Jackets used their final timeout with 1:18 remaining on 2nd and 12 for the Hurricanes, enough time and enough plays to simply kneel out the clock. Game over, 20-17 Miami. At least that’s what most would’ve assumed took place. 

Instead, Miami decided to continue to hand the ball off, which led to Chaney Jr. giving up a controversial fumble with 0:25 remaining.

With new-found hope, Georgia Tech marched down the field, leading to a 44-yard touchdown from King to Christian Leary with 0:01 remaining. 

There’s sure to be an incredible amount of attention drawn to these late game decisions amongst media pundits and social media experts. Everyone knows what should have taken place and how the game should have ended. There is no need to further pile on, or make a bad situation even worse. 

This will be a tough game to bounce back from for the team and for the fans. Hopefully Cristobal and his staff will be able to right the ship to finish out what seems to be a promising season for the Hurricanes.

Next up, Miami will travel to face the #14 North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday, October 14 at 7:30 p.m. The same day, Georgia Tech will host Boston College in Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field at noon.

Photo credit: Cameron Robertson/FAAZ Sports