Mike Norvell blasts late holding call that wiped out Florida State's potential game-tying TD vs. Miami

Norvell says the 'absolutely terrible' call in double overtime denied the Seminoles a chance to 'finish the game on the field'

Oct 19, 2026 at 3:00 pm ET • 2 min read

Florida State was one of many teams that walked away from Week 7 frustrated with late-game officiating after a holding call wiped out what could've been an all-time touchdown pass from Ashton Daniels to Micahi Danzy on third-and-21 in double overtime against No. 3 Miami. 

After getting a chance to sleep on it for a couple of days and to watch the film, Florida State coach Mike Norvell was still upset about the hold that cost the Seminoles points when he spoke with the media on Monday. 

"You have a holding call which was -- it was absolutely terrible," Norvell said. "I called and talked to Gary Patterson, head of officials, and I've not heard his final review for it, but I've got a lot of respect for the job everybody has and you go through the course of that game. 

"Same thing happened a few plays earlier that was not called, but in that moment, that play, it's a shame. It really is. I just, for that to not -- and we had to go convert the two-point play, but for those kids not to be able to go finish the game on the field in that moment was really disappointing."

The hold in question was called on Xavier Chaplin for using a snatch-and-trap technique that is regularly taught to offensive linemen, but has been flagged in some high-profile spots in recent years for holding. The technique calls for a lineman to get hands inside against a bull rush, disengage with one or both arms and rip down on the defender's arm to knock them off balance and send them to the ground. Norvell argues Chaplin executed that technique to perfection on this play. 

Offensive linemen argue it's well within what's typically allowed in blocking, since it's done with the hands inside, where holding is rarely, if ever, called. What typically draws officials' attention is the way defenders can be lurched to the ground, which reads as a hold even if that technique, as an actual hold, is divisive. 

When done by executing the technique on the opposing lineman's arms -- as Chaplin does on this play -- it certainly seems within the rules, but the larger debate is whether grabbing and ripping downward with the jersey, which sometimes officials see with the other arm, should be called. Holds are typically called only when an offensive lineman loses their leverage and a defender gets outside their body. 

The particularly frustrating part for Norvell and other coaches is that this is a coached technique that Chaplin executed and regularly goes uncalled, which is why, when it does get flagged (especially in a high-leverage spot), it causes controversy.

That wasn't the only officiating question Norvell and Florida State fans had about the ending to the game, as Duce Robinson nearly came down with a Hail Mary on fourth-and-31 that was ruled an interception on the field. It initially looked like there was a case for simultaneous possession as they came down, but that was not ruled, and, more curiously to Norvell, it wasn't ever discussed by the replay booth before confirming the interception. 

Norvell seemed less upset about that and was more in a "just asking questions" mode regarding the final play, but he felt the holding call was genuinely awful and robbed his team of a chance to force triple overtime, where a two-point shootout would've commenced. What the ACC says upon review will offer one of the clearest reference points for how officials view the snatch-and-trap technique as it's taught.