With under four minutes left in the first half, South Carolina thought it had landed a knockout punch — only for replay review to take the points off the board.
On third-and-goal from the Virginia Tech 9-yard line, quarterback LaNorris Sellers dropped back and floated a perfect ball into the right corner of the end zone. Nyck Harbor went up, secured the catch, and came down inbounds. The officials immediately ruled touchdown, putting the Gamecocks on track for a 14-5 lead.
Moments later, the play was overturned. After review, officials ruled Sellers did not maintain full control of the ball through the ground, wiping away the touchdown and forcing South Carolina to settle for a field goal. Instead of pulling ahead by nine, the Gamecocks extended their lead to just 10-5.
Virginia Tech made them pay. On the ensuing possession, the Hokies drilled a 56-yard field goal as the clock expired to close the gap to 10-8 at halftime.
The sequence left a different tone in the South Carolina locker room than expected.
“Obviously, you’d rather be up 14-5 than 10-8,” head coach Shane Beamer said after the game. “But our guys responded. We told them at halftime, control what you can control and keep playing. Calls will go against you, and you can’t let it define the game.”
Still, the reversal sparked frustration across Gamecock Nation. Fans flooded social media criticizing the rule and its application, many calling it overly harsh. The outrage only grew because it mirrored what had happened less than 24 hours earlier to LSU in its loss to Clemson, when another would-be touchdown was wiped away under the same interpretation.
Players admitted the swing was tough to swallow, but they emphasized the importance of keeping focus.
“Stuff like that can rattle you if you let it,” Sellers said. “We just stayed locked in and trusted the next play.”
Media members and analysts also weighed in, with some questioning whether the NCAA catch rule needs to be revisited. “It feels like we’re punishing great plays instead of rewarding them,” one analyst wrote.
For the Gamecocks, the call didn’t end up costing the game — but it did fuel plenty of debate about one of college football’s most controversial rules.
FANS REACIONS
