SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — For 38 years, Miami has insisted on the same thing: Cleveland Gary didn’t fumble in a still-controversial loss at Notre Dame.
And now this room has company.
Add another question to the lore of the Hurricanes-Fighting Irish rivalry. Miami argued that Elija Lofton captured what would have been a touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter of what became a 31-24 loss to Notre Dame Saturday night — only for the refs to say Lofton didn’t complete the play.
“They overturned Elija Lofton’s touchdown with two hands on the ball and two feet inbounds,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “As we told our team before leaving Miami, don’t leave this in the hands of the officials. … Congratulations to Notre Dame for winning the game, but very disappointed in how the game was decided with clear possession of a football in bounds.”
Had Lofton been credited with that catch, it would have made the score 31-30 with an extra point try waiting. Miami lost the 1988 game – the one where the Hurricanes claim Gary didn’t escape – by the same score of 31-30. And if that wasn’t enough, this strange coincidence, Miami entered that 1988 game ranked first in the country while Notre Dame was ranked fourth.
The rankings through Saturday evening: Miami No. 1, Notre Dame No. 4.
“I thought it was a touchdown,” Miami quarterback Darian Mensah said.
Lofton had the ball in his hands and his feet were on the ground, which is why Miami deemed it a touchdown. But the problem was whether the catch was completed, and Lofton had the ball knocked away by Notre Dame’s Luke Talich — while both players ended up out of bounds.
“I felt like he didn’t have control of it,” Talich said. “I was happy. I was super excited when they confirmed it.”
Rules analyst Terry McAulay, speaking during NBC’s broadcast of the game, said he felt the officials judged the play correctly and that Lofton was not in complete control.
“You see him make a little movement before the ball is out,” McAulay said. “It’s incomplete.”
This 1988 defeat which still stings Miami because it took away a chance at the national title. Gary was ruled to have fumbled near the goal line, although Miami maintained he was down before the ball came loose and was recovered by Notre Dame.
“Stole. We were robbed,” former Miami star Randal Hill said of Gary’s play.
Miami could have felt the same way on Saturday.
This one doesn’t put Miami out of the title race — the College Football Playoff is still on the line for the Hurricanes. But Lofton’s play, if nothing else, is one that fans will debate for a long time.
The fact that Miami had a chance to equalize late probably surprised some, given how the first 35 minutes played out. The Hurricanes – playing without injured receiver Malachi Toney – found themselves in a 24-3 hole in the third quarter before their comeback began.
Among all Football Bowl Subdivision players entering this weekend’s slate, Toney finished second with 73 catches, tied for second with 13 touchdown receptions and third with 1,027 receiving yards. He was widely considered a Heisman Trophy contender, the most electrifying player on the nation’s most dynamic offense.
Toney was responsible for 35% of Miami’s catches, 39% of its receiving yards and 46% of its touchdown receptions in the Hurricanes’ first eight games. In his absence, Cooper Barkate caught two touchdown passes and Lofton also had a TD – but in the end, the Hurricanes were left wondering what could have been.
“I was partying,” Mensah said. “I thought it was a touchdown.”
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