No. 17 Miami's inexplicable clock management results in stunning upset loss to Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech scored with one second left to stun No. 17 Miami, 23-20, on Saturday night after inexplicable clock management by the Hurricanes.

Haynes King hit Christian Leary for the game-winning 44-yard TD after Leary got behind the Miami secondary. Georgia Tech went 74 yards in four plays after getting the ball back with 26 seconds left because of a Miami fumble.

Miami RB Donald Chaney Jr. fumbled with 26 seconds to go on third down when Miami could have simply run out the clock. Georgia Tech was out of timeouts and Miami snapped the ball with fewer than 40 seconds to go. Instead of a handoff, Miami could have just taken a knee to seal the win and a 5-0 start to the season.

Instead, the Hurricanes handed the ball off. And while it looked like Chaney’s elbow might have been down when he fumbled the ball, the play was ruled a fumble on the field and stood after a replay review due to the lack of a conclusive camera angle.

“We should have taken a knee," Miami coach Mario Cristobal said in his news conference after the game.

Chaney eclipsed the 100-yard mark on that carry but Cristobal said after the game that getting his running back to triple digits on the ground didn't play a role in the decision.

The Hurricanes were fortunate to be in a position to win the game before Chaney’s fumble anyway. The Hurricanes led 3-0 at halftime and Georgia Tech took a 17-10 lead with 12:11 to go in the fourth after scoring 17 straight points.

Miami needed 10 straight points to get the lead after capitalizing on King’s second interception of the game in the fourth quarter.

King finished 12-of-25 passing for 151 yards and a TD and two interceptions. Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke was 24-of-36 passing for 288 yards and a TD but also threw three interceptions.

It’s a crushing loss for a Miami team that was a kneel-down away from an undefeated showdown with North Carolina in Week 7. Instead, the Hurricanes are 4-1 and reeling after a loss that simply never should have happened.

Conversely, it’s an incredible bounce-back for a Georgia Tech team that lost at home to Bowling Green a week ago. Georgia Tech (3-3) now has three road wins over ranked opponents since Brent Key took over for Geoff Collins during the 2022 season.