ACC says refs blew calls against Hokies in loss to Georgia Tech

BLACKSBURG -- The Atlantic Coast Conference confirmed yesterday that Georgia Tech should have been called for illegal blocks on four plays during its 28-23 win over Virginia Tech on Oct. 17.

Officials flagged the Yellow Jackets for no such penalties during the game.

Following routine procedure, the Hokies' coaches submitted video of 11 plays they believed might have warranted penalties. The conference told them it agreed with four.

It is unclear what type of penalties Virginia Tech's coaches thought occurred on the other seven plays. It also is unclear which Virginia Tech player was being blocked on the four plays or when they happened.

Michael Kelly, the league's associate commissioner for football operations and communications, declined to comment on specifics of the missed penalties.

What is clear is the ACC's stance that the officials working the game will not be suspended. The mistakes are not serious enough to warrant suspension, Kelly said, and the ACC instead will use them as a teaching tool, which it almost always does when an official errs.

The ACC prefers not to publicize officials' mistakes, Kelly said, unless they involve "a misapplication of a rule or an egregious error." So far this season, the league has done it just once, after two deceptive substitution plays, one by each team, in a game between Georgia Tech and Clemson.

The four plays from Oct. 17 became public after Sunday's practice, when Virginia Tech's defensive backs coach, Torrian Gray, mentioned them in media interviews. Gray said the ACC told the Hokies' coaches that four blocks on free safety Kam Chancellor "should have been called illegal blocks by a guy coming from outside in and blocking below the waist."

Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson chafed at the situation yesterday. "It's two weeks ago," he told reporters in Atlanta. "Why are they worried about it now? They got out-schemed. So, it's illegal to out-scheme them, I guess. We blocked them the same way we blocked them a year ago, and they weren't complaining when they won [20-17]. Nobody from the conference called and told us that we did anything illegal."

Georgia Tech adjusted its blocking in the second half to target Chancellor, using a slotback to block him and create more running room on the perimeter. The strategy worked. Quarterback Josh Nesbitt ran 12 times for 22 yards in the first half and 11 times for 100 yards in the second.

Chancellor said the game wasn't frustrating "until they started doing a lot of illegal chopping, and I'm telling the referee what he's doing and he's not calling nothing. That's when it got frustrating to me."

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer mentioned Chancellor being targeted when addressing the blocks yesterday and also said, "I think when it's dangerous plays, we need to get that out of college football. That's the ones that worry you, plays that could hurt a player."

Virginia Tech's starting defensive tackle, junior John Graves, appeared to re-injure his right ankle on a low block with 2 minutes left in the first quarter. Georgia Tech's left guard tied up Graves' arms, while the left tackle dived low, awkwardly bending Graves' right leg. No penalty was called, and Graves did not return to the game.

A Meadowbrook High graduate, Graves originally suffered a high right ankle sprain in the season's third game, against Nebraska, and missed all but one special teams snap in the next two games. He returned the week before the Georgia Tech game, against Boston College.

A conversation between coaches and the conference about missed penalties happens every week in the ACC, after each coaching staff submits plays it believes the officials missed. The league tells each staff how many it agrees with.

"There's nothing abnormal about a coaching staff sending in double-digit plays and for us to ascertain that three or four of them should have been called," Kelly said. "There's nothing shocking about any of this to me, because it happens each and every week."

Kelly said the conversation typically remains private. "We certainly intend for all that communication to be between the conference office and the coaching staff, so it's disappointing that Torrian had shared that," he said.

Though the league rarely publicly reprimands officials, they are held accountable. Kelly said the ACC's coordinator of officials, Doug Rhoads, grades every game and totals each official's score at the end of the season. This determines bowl assignments and whether the league retains an official for next season.

Once the league figures out which official missed a call, Kelly said, "It certainly does affect their score. It's all taken into account, without question."

Contact Darryl Slater at (804) 649-6026 or dslater@timesdispatch.com