On a wild Friday night, the No. 8-ranked Florida State rolled into Charlottesville looking for a quick in-and-out dub against the Virginia Cavaliers after bullying Kent State coming off their bye. Virginia, meanwhile, had finally grabbed its first ACC win of the season against unranked Stanford. What nobody saw coming was the Cavaliers stunning the college football world, knocking off the No. 8 Seminoles in a 46-38 shootout. But instead of ending with pure celebration, the game slipped straight into drama thanks to an overtime controversy.

It was Virginia’s first home win against a top-10 team since 2005, and the irony is that they beat the same team—the Seminoles—back then, too. Virginia had no business jumping out to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter, repping full advantage on 2 Florida State turnovers. But that didn’t let Tommy Castellanos fall and crumble. The former Boston College QB threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter and also intercepted the ball twice, helping Florida State score 21 unanswered points and take a 21‑14 lead.

By halftime, the score was tied at 21‑21, and it stayed close throughout the whole second half. The teams were 28‑28 heading into the fourth quarter. Virginia then scored on a 15-yard touchdown pass to take the lead. Castellanos responded quickly, throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass on 4th down with only 32 seconds left, which forced the game into overtime. Then came the night-light robbery in the OT.

Florida State fans have every right to be furious after a questionable officiating decision during the second overtime of their game against Virginia. According to NCAA rules, starting in the second overtime period, teams are required to attempt a two-point conversion following a touchdown—field goals are no longer an option.

However, Virginia initially sent out its field goal unit, clearly violating the mandatory two-point rule. Per the rules, the play clock should have continued to run, and Virginia should have been penalized with a delay of the game when they failed to line up correctly. Instead, officials allowed them to regroup and switch personnel without consequence—essentially granting them a free timeout. That poor officiating handed Mike Norvell and Florida State their first L of the season against the Cavaliers.

What went wrong for the Seminoles?

When the Seminoles made that 24-point comeback at the end of the first half, many assumed the Seminoles would dominate the rest of the game in the second half. Unfortunately, they fell short. Let’s drop that delay penalty for a second. Florida State made several mistakes that cost them the game against Virginia upfront.

The Seminoles started poorly, giving up two turnovers in the first quarter, which allowed Virginia to take a 14–0 lead. Falling behind early put Florida State on the back foot and made it harder to control the game, even though they made up for it. Even after their comeback, Florida State missed way too many big-time opportunities. They failed a fourth-down conversion and missed a crucial field goal, letting Virginia stay in the game. The defense diabolically sold the game by struggling to stop Virginia’s Chandler Morris, who was having a field day with his 5 total touchdowns.

Florida State gave up 440 total yards, failing to make stops when it mattered most. And in overtime, Florida State had a chance to tie the game, but one potential touchdown was ruled incomplete, and their last pass was intercepted, sealing the win for Virginia.