Virginia Tech beat Cal 42-34 in double-overtime on Friday night. The Hokies had a chance to put the game away near the end of regulation, but a questionable roughing the passer call extended a drive for the Golden Bears and allowed them to tie the game with 2:34 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Virginia Tech held a 27-20 lead with under three minutes remaining with Cal facing third-and-goal from the five-yard line. Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele faked a handoff and looked for someone to throw the ball to. As he moved around behind the line the Hokies defense converged on Sagapolutele with defensive linemen Aycen Stevens and Ben Bell meeting at the quarterback.
Sagapolutele was scked and fumbled. The fumbled was recovered by Cal, but instead of facing fourth down a flag was thrown for roughing the passer. Cal got a first down, the ball was spotted at the two and they scored a touchdown on the very next play.
Was it a hard hit? Sure. But roughing the passer on a quarterback who still had the ball in the pocket? Most viewers seemed to agree it was one of the calls of the season, if not ever.
Luckily, it all worked out in the end for the Hokies as they won their third game of the season and snapped a two-game losing streak.
