Field goal controversy nearly doomed Southern Methodist against No. 9 Miami.
It was a close contest at Gerald J. Ford Stadium with the Hurricanes leading 20-17 with less than seven minutes left in the game. SMU was driving into Miami territory when the drive stalled thanks to a holding penalty and failed trick play. On fourth-and-21 from the 25-yard line, the Mustangs opted to kick a field goal to try to tie the game.
Kicker Sam Keltner got great power on the 42-yard field goal attempt, but it went right over the right goal post. Given that it went over the post rather than hit it, it was tough to tell if the kick was good or not. The officials ruled it no good, which stunned Keltner and the Mustangs.
Was SMU field goal good?
The call on the field certainly confused SMU players and fans, many of whom believed it should have been ruled good and the game should be tied.
On the ESPN broadcast, rules analyst Jerry McGinn said the ball must completely be inside the uprights in order to be ruled good.
‘Even one piece of the football cannot be on top of that upright. It appears it goes directly over the upright, it’s a great call,’ McGinn said.
According to NCAA rules, ‘The crossbar and uprights are treated as a line, not a plane.’
Fortunately, Keltner was able to avenge the miss by knocking in a 38-yard field goal with less than 30 seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime. In the extra period, SMU intercepted Miami on the opening drive and followed it with a touchdown to win the game 26-20.