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(01-01-2019 11:25 AM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  Meh. There were some questionable calls [and some no calls] that went against Cincinnati too. I lost count of the number of holding penalties on VT offensive lineman that weren't called that lead to first downs. I'd say the officiating evened out overall...

Quote:Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente baffled by critical offensive pass interference call in Military Bowl

Virginia Tech celebrated a first down late in the Military Bowl that would have allowed them to run precious minutes off the clock nursing a 31-28 lead.

Quarterback Ryan Willis hit Hezekiah Grimsley to convert a third and three from Cincinnati’s 21-yard line with less than five minutes to go.

That completion was called back when officials called Dalton Keene for offensive pass interference. The Hokies weren’t able to convert the third and 13 after the penalty and forced to punt. Cincinnati scored the go-ahead touchdown on its ensuing drive.

Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente didn’t hold back when he was asked about the flag after the game. Fuente vehemently disagreed with the explanation offered by the Mountain West officiating crew that Keene was blocking down field before Grimsley made the catch.

“I don’t understand it,” Fuente said. “I don’t understand it. They were playing man coverage. The guy that’s got him (Keene) is on him right there. They are not banjoing or passing it off. Dalton is running a corner route and the guy grabs ahold of him and he’s trying to run a corner and they call offensive pass interference.”

Fuente didn’t see Keene do anything that would warrant a flag on the play.

“He’s not picking,” Fuente said. “He’s not running a pick. They’re sticking with their guys and he’s supposed to run a corner. He tries to run a corner route. He didn’t get very far down the field. He didn’t run a very good looking corner cause the guy is six inches from his face and grabs ahold of him right off the line of scrimmage. I guess that’s offensive pass interference.”

Virginia Tech’s 10 penalties on Monday were not only a season high, but the most during Fuente’s tenure as coach. It was the most penalties for the program since being flagged 11 times in a 26-10 win at Boston College on Oct. 31, 2015.

Cincinnati was called for 13 penalties, which was one shy of a season high. Both teams had players called for targeting, but the targeting call on linebacker Dax Hollifield was reversed on review.

The missed opportunities had Virginia Tech players already thinking about next year.

“It can help us because we don’t like losing,” Virginia Tech receiver Eric Kumah said. “Nobody likes losing, so everybody can look back and remember this game and how we came up short and use that as motivation to get better for next year.”

Are you crying? There's no crying in football!

There are good and bad calls that happen in every game. Some bounce each teams' way. Question - why wasn't the hit on Ridder an illegal low hit on a QB? We got called for one later in the game. In the end, the game was a pretty evenly played game against two similar and flawed teams. The whole time, I was thinking that the last team with the ball would win. UC finished with the ball, after a close interference call took the ball away. It was a good game made better for our fanbase by the outcome. I really like playing the Hokies. The games mostly are good games.