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Miami Vs. Georgia Tech: Orwin Smith Safety Due to Miscommunication

Georgia Tech's Orwin Smith may have been at the center of the strangest play of the college football season on Saturday against Miami, when he was responsible for a safety on a kickoff without being tackled. It was one of many crazy plays in Georgia Tech's 42-36 overtime loss to the Hurricanes, and Smith was asked about the play after the game.

Smith said that miscommunication contributed to the play, as he wanted to take the kick out of the end zone but his teammate Jamal Golden was urging him to take a knee in the end zone. Smith put his hand on the ground to steady himself outside of the end zone, but then took a knee behind the goal line for a safety. According to the rules:

The NCAA rulebook states that a play becomes a touchback when "a kick becomes dead by rule behind the defending team’s goal line and the attacking team is responsible for the ball being there."

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Photographs by coka_koehler used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.