Was NC State robbed of a game-changing fumble vs Miami? You make the call
Each week, we’ll look at one key play from the game, and give you the chance to sound off on how you think it should have been called on the field. You can vote as many times as you’d like.
Here’s the situation:
In the third quarter of N.C. State’s loss to Miami, Wolfpack freshman Anthony Smith, the gunner on the punt team, raced down the field, tracking Jacolby George.
George muffed the punt, recovered it and lost the ball again as he scrambled for extra yards. N.C. State defensive lineman Danny Blakeman recovered the ball on the five-yard line.
With the Pack trailing by four, coming up with the ball near the goal line brought a sudden shift in energy to the Wolfpack sideline. As the officials cleared away the pile of bodies, there were multiple flags on the field.
The initial call was holding against Miami, but the officials went to the prompter for a review.
After reviewing the play for several minutes, a new call was announced: Smith lost his helmet during the play, but jumped in the pile trying to recover the loose ball. By rule, once Smith lost his helmet, he was supposed to take himself out of the play. But Smith continued to pursue the football and was called for a personal foul.
Smith’s personal foul and the holding call against the Hurricanes offset and State was forced to punt again. All the energy N.C. State had from the fumble recovery was gone.
“It was a crazy play, a great effort play by Anthony,” N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren said. “He forces the fumble, his helmet comes off and the ball comes out again. Pretty impossible for a guy to stop playing when you see a ball like that. That’s the rule and so an unfortunate chain of events because that was obviously a huge momentum swing our way if his helmet stays on.”
