College Football Program’s Undefeated Streak Ends With Missed FG While Kicker and Everyone Thought It Went In

There are bad ways to lose a football game, and then there is getting your heart ripped out on a kick that half the internet still thinks was good. Virginia Tech fell 35-33 to Pitt on Friday night at Lane Stadium, ending its unbeaten start under James Franklin after John Love’s 36-yard field goal as time expired was ruled no good. One kick, one call, and suddenly the Hokies were staring at a loss that felt anything but clean. But alas!

The kick was ruled wide left. The problem is that it did not exactly look wide left. From the ESPN broadcast angle, John Love’s kick appeared to sneak inside the left upright. Another angle circulating after the game only added fuel to the argument. Even the reaction inside the stadium had the unmistakable feel of a made kick before the official standing beneath the upright waved it off.

John Love is not some random kicker getting his first big moment.

He is one of the most trusted players on this Virginia Tech roster. So when the ball came off his foot, the expectation was that it’s game over and the Hokies would win. But then, Pitt survived.

The strange ending should not completely hide what happened before it. Virginia Tech jumped on Pitt 14-0 and looked like the team ready to own the night. The Hokies scored on their first two possessions, moving 75 yards on four plays before following it with another 77-yard touchdown drive. Then the wheels started coming loose.

Pitt eventually ripped off 21 straight points and turned a 14-point hole into a 35-24 lead. The offense moved the ball but the turnovers kept handing Pitt opportunities. The Hokies committed four turnovers, with those giveaways producing 14 Pitt points. Virginia Tech actually outgained the Panthers 499-295, but that number makes the loss even more frustrating. 

The third quarter was particularly ugly. Virginia Tech managed only 27 yards while Pitt gained 87, and fumbles by Ethan Grunkemeyer and Jeffrey Overton Jr. put the Panthers in business. Grunkemeyer still finished with a career-high 434 passing yards. The Hokies kept swinging, cutting the deficit to two late and eventually driving 62 yards to give John Love his shot. Then came the kick followed by the debate.

The NCAA rule is part of why this became such a mess. A field goal can be reviewed when the ball is ruled inside or outside the upright if it is below the top of the uprights. Once the ball crosses the end line above the top of the upright, however, the play is not reviewable. So once the official ruled it no good, that was effectively the end of the conversation. Except college football fans aren’t convinced.

The internet saw something different about John Love’s kick

The reaction arrived almost immediately. SiriusXM’s Geoff Schwartz posted, “Hmm … looks good.” 

Another questioned the review. “Are we sure this didn’t go through the uprights? I think it did,” they posted. 

Another reaction focused on the angle from behind the uprights. “Back angle looks in,” they wrote while sharing a clip of the back angle. 

Another fan was convinced the kick was good. “It look like he made it,” they commented.

Then came the bluntest version. “Wait. I don’t care who wins but that was good. I don’t root for either team but that was good,” they posted. The reactions were not proof that John Love made the kick. The available angles simply weren’t clean enough to settle the argument. 

James Franklin admitted afterward that he couldn’t tell either.

“To be honest with you, from my angle, I don’t know,” he 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.”

Behind all the debate is an anxious John Love. But James Franklin backed his kicker.

“He broke us down in the locker room,” he said. “I got John’s back. So do all of his teammates.”

He added that he would put Love back out there in the same situation every time. The scoreboard will say Pitt 35, Virginia Tech 33. The Hokies will walk away 4-1 while Pitt stays unbeaten at 5-0. But somewhere between the left upright and the end line, this game found a new argument.

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