Did Virginia Tech get robbed? Missed field goal call stuns Hokies in loss to Pitt - USA Today

Virginia Tech kicker John Love missed a potential game-winning 36-yard field goal Friday night against Pitt.

Love seemed to think he made it. So did the Hokies fans behind the end zone. But the officials ruled it no good, and Pitt escaped Blacksburg with a 35-33 win in a battle of ACC unbeatens that will undoubtedly land the Panthers in next week's US LBM Coaches Poll (or Pat Narduzzi is coming for you).

There was no conclusive angle shown on the ESPN broadcast from underneath the uprights to show if the ball sneaked inside the right upright.

In his postgame news conference James Franklin told reporters he was unsure if the kick was good or not.

"To be honest with you, from my angle, I don't know," Franklin said. "I think John Love is the best kicker in the country. I had so much confidence that that thing was going to go through. From my angle, I couldn't tell you one way or another... The end of the day, they said it didn't go through so everything else, doesn't really matter a whole lot"

After the on-field decision, Franklin embraced his kicker and told him he loved him.

"He broke us down in the locker room. I got John’s back. So do all of his teammates," Franklin said. "And again that was one play. There were 20 other plays in that game that really wouldn’t have gotten to that point. So, I love him. Got a ton of confidence in him. And I’d put him back out there for the same situation every single time.”

Per the NCAA rule book, reviewable scoring plays include: “field goal attempts if and only if the ball is ruled (a) below or above the crossbar or (b) inside or outside the upright when it is lower than the top of the uprights. If the ball is higher than the top of the uprights as it crosses the end line, the play may not be reviewed.”