Miami and Ohio State are coming down to the wire in the College Football Playoff at the Cotton Bowl.
The No. 10 Hurricanes are leading the No. 2 Buckeyes by three points late in the fourth quarter. It’s Miami 17, Ohio State 14 with 2:00 to play. The Hurricanes are looking to put the game away.
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But Miami appears to have gotten some help from the refs.
The Cotton Bowl officiating crew appeared to miss a “huge” penalty on Miami’s big third down conversion. One of Miami’s offensive players appeared to line up offside – and it didn’t even seem that close.
Miami was offside.ESPN.
Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney, No. 10, appears to be very much over the black line of scrimmage.
College football fans ripping referees for blown call
“It’s rare for an offensive offside to be an egregious missed call but that was one of them. That was a huge 3rd down and it could not have been more obvious,” one fan wrote.
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“Refs must have money on Miami. Weak hold on OSU when they’re on offense to stall their drive and then a Miami WR was a full half yd offside and no call on a key 3rd down pickup,” one fan added.
“Toney was way offside horrible missed call by refs,” one fan added.
“Toney was a mile offside and still no flag on Miami,” another fan added.
The referees have kept their flags in their pockets for the most part on Wednesday evening. However, it looks like they missed a big one in that play.
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Miami and Ohio State are playing on ESPN.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Jan 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.