Twenty-three years ago, the Hurricanes’ championship fate hinged on a pass-interference call at the Fiesta Bowl. The famous penalty called on UM cornerback Glenn Sharpe extended the game and allowed Ohio State to come back and win the national title when many thought the game was over.

On Thursday night, the situation nearly repeated itself. Ole Miss needed a touchdown in the game’s final seconds. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss heaved a pass to the end zone. UM defensive back Ethan O’Connor was in coverage and made contact with wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling. They both went tumbling to the ground. The ball went out of the back of the end zone.

The pass was incomplete. There was no penalty. The game was over, and the Hurricanes won in a 2003 reversal.

But should the official have thrown the flag? Some analysts think so.

“(The play) has to be called pass interference because that’s exactly what it is,” ESPN analyst and former NFL safety Louis Riddick said. “The defensive back never really tries to make a play on the ball. He has his hand on the jersey of De’Zhaun Stribling right there. (O’Connor) never really tries to make a play on the football. He just basically pulls him to the ground. In the normal course of the game, this is going to be called 100 out of 100 times.”

Former NFL referee Terry McAulay posted on social media, saying he believed it was pass interference. “As the ball arrives the defender grabs the jersey with the right hand and pulls the defender down,” McAulay wrote on X.

This is defensive pass interference. Everything up until the ball comes in is just mutual contact between two players tracking the ball.

But as the ball arrives the defender grabs the jersey with the right hand and pulls the defender down.

Best angle: pic.twitter.com/AaWTHtMEz7

— Terry McAulay (@tjmcaulay) January 9, 2026

Ole Miss coach Pete Golding and Chambliss clearly wanted a penalty called and another, shorter chance at the game-winning score. But not everyone agrees with them.

ESPN officiating analyst Bill LeMonnier said the referees made the correct call, according to The Athletic. LeMonnier noted “mutual combat” between Stribling and O’Connor, with Stribling grabbing at O’Connor. He said neither player gained an advantage from the contact.

“We’re going to leave that alone 99 percent of the time,” LeMonnier told The Athletic.

Golding deferred attention from the controversial final play in his postgame press conference.

“Those situations are tough to call,” Golding said. “Yeah, there was contact, but it happens a lot. That’s not why we lost the game.”

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2026/01/09/um-hail-mary-penalty/