The ACC Championship Game gave us a perfectly chaotic ending to conference championship weekend on Saturday night. Although Virginia trailed all game, the Cavaliers put together a brilliant 10-play, 96-yard game-tying drive to send the game to overtime. It was capped off with a Chandler Morris touchdown pass to his receiver Eli Wood for a 22-yard score.
On the play, it appeared as though Wood was forced out of bounds by the Duke defender, but he re-established himself and scored the game-tying touchdown.
Here's a breakdown of the rule that allowed the touchdown to stand.
What was the no-call in Duke-Virginia?
When the ABC broadcast showed the replay of the score, you can clearly see Wood step out of bounds. But just as Darian Mensah throws the ball, he is able to re-establish himself inbounds to haul in the catch:
But the refs did not review the play on the field, but the broadcast pointed out that Wood stepped out.
Virginia’s Chandler Morris with his best throw of the ACC Championship to tie it up with 22 seconds.
— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) December 7, 2025
The cardiac Cavs live! What an insane game pic.twitter.com/SS0aRTUUeN
Why was Eli Wood allowed to run out of bounds before catching the ball?
According to NCAA rules, a player can legally catch a forward pass, as long as he re-establishes himself in-bounds. Here's the language in the NCAA rulebook for 2025:
A86 is legally blocked out of bounds by B18 at Team B’s two-yard line A86, while attempting an immediate return to the field of play, leaps from out of bounds and is airborne as he receives A16’s legal forward pass He lands in Team B’s end zone with the ball in his grasp RULING: Incomplete pass A86 did not establish inbounds before touching the pass, and hence he was still out of bounds (Rule 2-27-15)
It's also clear that Wood was forced out of bounds by the defender, but he still managed to go back in bounds and make the grab.
What does it mean to "reestablish yourself?"
Re-establishing yourself essentially just means that if you are forced out by a defender, you can physically make your way back in bounds to plant both feet and "re-establish" yourself as eligible. Doing so makes you an eligible receiver again, capable of catching a forward pass.
Eli Wood season stats
The coolest part about Wood's touchdown catch? It was just his second touchdown of the season. On the year, he's had nine receptions for 104 yards and two scores.