Virginia’s unranked football team upset a previously unbeaten Florida State squad on Friday night, winning 46-38 in double overtime. The game was a showcase for the ACC’s decision to give viewers of some games a chance to see and hear what is going on at the ACC Operations Center during reviews.
Several critical plays during the game were reviewed. One of them was what ended up being the game’s penultimate play. With Virginia leading 46-38, Florida State appeared to score a touchdown on a pass from Tommy Castellanos to Duce Robinson. Robinson, though, bobbled the ball and was close to being out of bounds. So naturally, the play was reviewed.
Viewers saw the replays and heard what the officials on the field were talking about with the ACC Operations Center officials in Charlotte. All parties agreed that, while Robinson did catch the ball, he didn’t secure it until going out of bounds. Therefore, the pass was incomplete. The remainder of the conversation was spent clarifying where the ball would be spotted for Florida State’s next play.
After the announcement of an incomplete pass was made to the crowd at Scott Stadium, ESPN’s Bob Wischusen praised the ACC for its continued transparency.
“We just can’t thank the ACC enough, for allowing us to listen to that conversation,” Wischusen said.
Viewers got a chance to see and listen to the ACC Operations Center when an apparent touchdown catch by Florida State’s Duce Robinson was overturned and ruled incomplete.
“We just can’t thank the ACC enough, for allowing us to listen to that conversation,” Bob Wischusen pic.twitter.com/ssx325MNvc
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 27, 2025
Wischusen was far from the only person to praise the process. ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt was one of many people in sports media to laud the Operations Center look-ins.
The replay booth cam is the next great tv idea, like scorebug and first down line, that every game will eventually have. We all wonder what they are looking at and why a call stands or doesn’t.
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) September 27, 2025
Every conference needs to do the ACC look in to the review booth.
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) September 27, 2025
Every conference needs to do the ACC look in to the review booth.
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) September 27, 2025
What a game to have the replay center piped in.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) September 27, 2025
The broadcast being brought into the replay booth is the best thing College Football has done in recent memory
All conferences should follow the ACC’s lead
— Nick Perkins (@NickyPerkss) September 27, 2025
That replay booth conversation was some of the best sports TV of the year. Let’s make it universal
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) September 27, 2025
This is not the first ACC game to use this feature this year. The conference announced that viewers would be able to see and hear the replay booths before the season began, and the early reviews have generally been positive.
Will we see more of this in the future? Time will tell. But the reviews being so overwhelmingly positive in a high-profile game that featured several close plays in big spots likely works well for its future.
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