With the end of 2015 quickly approaching, The Chronicle's sports department takes a look back at the biggest sports stories of the year. Each day, The Blue Zone will review a major game, event or storyline that helped shape the course of the year in Blue Devil athletics.
Coming in at No. 5 on our list: The wild, controversial ending on Halloween night in Durham that gave Miami a dramatic win on an eight-lateral kickoff return, sparked national conversations about officiating and left the Blue Devils searching for answers.
Sporting a 6-1 record and coming off a four-overtime victory against Virginia Tech, the No. 22 Blue Devils headed into a Halloween encounter with Miami on the upswing, in full control of their destiny in the ACC Coastal division.
What ensued was one of the most memorable, controversial endings in college football history–one that left Duke heartbroken and turned the tables on what appeared to be a promising regular season.
After Thomas Sirk rallied the Blue Devils for consecutive touchdown drives and a two-point conversion in the final six minutes to overcome a 24-12 deficit, the Blue Devils headed to the kickoff tee holding a tenuous 27-24 lead with just six seconds remaining in the contest.
Ross Martin's squib kick became an eight-lateral sequence culminating with a long touchdown run by Miami's Corn Elder with no time on the clock, stunning a Duke crowd that had been roaring just seconds earlier.
But a flag near the 25-yard line put the result of the game once again in doubt. Confusion turned to chaos as officials met to discuss the possible penalty, temporarily halting the Hurricanes wild celebration as the Blue Devils anxiously waited their faith.
Following the referees' deliberation—which lasted around eight minutes—it was ruled that there was no foul on the play for a block in the back and the Hurricanes had officially won the game. Yet, replays showing running back Mark Walton's knee down on one of the laterals and a clear block in the back on the Miami 16-yard line caught the eye of the nation, as Duke weighed possibly protesting the results of the game.
“The offense and defense just battled. I had no answers for our guys in the locker room that expelled their gut on the field," Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said. "Not much I can do.”
Although the end result of the contest was just one more tally in the loss category, the impact of the game was far-reaching. The ACC suspended the game's officiating crew for two games, citing a "series of errors" made on the final play of the game. But the Blue Devils would go on to lose their next three contests, dropping them from contention in the ACC Coastal Division.
Duke rebounded with wins in its final two games of the season, including a 44-41 overtime win against Indiana In Saturday's New Era Pinstripe Bowl, which featured another game-deciding special teams ruling that drew significant attention.
READ MORE on the controversial ending and the fallout:
STUNNER: Miami beats Duke football on controversial kickoff return
A Halloween horror story: Officiating in question as Duke football processes Hurricane heartbreaker
ACC suspends officiating crew for 'series of errors' in Duke-Miami finish
Cutcliffe weighs in on officiating, future of replay in aftermath of Hurricane win
Check back tomorrow to see what comes in at No. 4 in our countdown of the top Duke sports stories of 2015.
A look at the rest of our top 10 countdown to date:
10. Rebecca Greenwell extends Elizabeth Williams' last dance against Albany
9. A look at Tommy John at Duke and beyond
8. The end of one era; the start of two more
7. Out with the new, in with the newer
6. Tyus Jones leads Blue Devils past North Carolina 92-90 in OT
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.