The unranked SMU Mustangs came into the No. 22 Louisville Cardinals’ home stadium and notched a closely-contested 34-27 victory over the Top 25 program.
The game came down to the wire, and the Mustangs were assisted by a crucial late-game call from the ACC officiating team.
SMU running back Brashard Smith fumbled the ball in Louisville territory as the Mustangs were after a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The call was initially ruled a fumble recovered by the Cardinals. But upon further review, the referees overturned the call with “indisputable video evidence” that Smith was down by contact at the time of the fumble.
Many fans and analysts didn’t see it that way. ESPN rules analyst Matt Austin made his thoughts very clear after the call was overturned.
“Yeah, I don’t see how they got there,” Austin said. “You really can’t see the ball. The shin does go down, but you can’t tell if the ball’s coming out at that point in my opinion.”
After this call, SMU went on to record a go-ahead touchdown — taking a 34-27 lead that they held for the rest of the contest.