No. 8 Miami survived quite the scare on Friday night in a game against Virginia Tech that came down to the very final play in regulation.

And at least one national analyst in questioning the system when it comes to officiating.

Virginia Tech nearly snatched a win in the final moments when it threw a Hail Mary into the end zone. Initially, a whole slew of people came down right where the ball was. There was no call at first.

“I mean do any of us really trust that Virginia Tech didn’t catch that Hail Mary in the back of the end zone?” FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt said on The Joel Klatt Show.

“Folks: One, I don’t know how you just signal touchdown that late. People are celebrating. Is it a touchdown? And all the sudden his arms just kind of go up, like no one’s going to see him. Touchdown? Almost like it was a question. I’m Ron Burgundy? So now it’s a touchdown and it’s like, ‘Well, we’ve got to review it.’ Then they overturn the Ron Burgundy touchdown. And then it’s like overruled. It’s like hold on, hold on. How did both of those calls get made? I think both of them are probably wrong. It’s probably not a catch, but you can’t overturn it if that’s the way it’s called. I think it was all wrong, and it calls into question, by the way, what I’ve been banging on for a long time, why do we have conference officials and not national officials?”

The call favored Miami, which hung on to win after an improbable back-and-forth in the waning moments. The Hurricanes’ perfect season and their College Football Playoff chances remained intact.

Of course, Klatt pointed to the fact that it was ACC referees making the call as a point of interest.

“Because it at least can bring up the element of a conflict of interest,” he explained. “And I’m not suggesting that there’s a conflict of interest here, but in a day and age in which conferences are highly competitive with each other for spots in the playoff, for revenue, for all of it, all of it. They’re just highly competitive with each other.

“And now all the sudden you get your officials and your replay center involved in a call with the team that is your highest-ranked team. That is a conflict of interest. This is why we should change the way that we have officials slated and governed in college football. It should be a national officiating body in college football.”

Miami survived and won, but it’s hard not to see the logic in Klatt’s argument about the officiating. It’s a system that certainly invites some unwelcome questions.

The Miami Dolphins’ struggles continued Monday night when they dropped their third consecutive game, losing 31-12 against the Tennessee Titans at Hard Rock Stadium.

The Dolphins lost in prime time for a fifth consecutive time dating back to last season, a streak that included another loss against the Tennessee Titans last December.

The loss dropped the Dolphins record to 1-3.

We examined the five biggest storylines ahead of this Week 4 matchup, so it’s time to revisit them to see how they played out.

Before the game: The Dolphins will have a third different starting quarterback in three weeks, with Tyler “Snoop” Huntley getting his shot after Tua Tagovailoa and Skylar Thompson began Weeks 2 and 3. The hope is that Huntley’s experience from his time with the Baltimore Ravens can make a difference, along with his scrambling ability, something the Dolphins haven’t had at the position in quite a long time.

During the game: As was the case with Thompson against Seattle, Huntley didn’t play particularly well and he also didn’t get a lot of help from his teammates. Huntley missed a couple of throws he needed to make, mostly to Tyreek Hill, and he also wasn’t helped by drops by Hill and Jaylen Waddle. The passing numbers were very forgettable, but Huntley did lead the team in rushing with 40 yards.

Before the game: It will be a challenge for the Dolphins offensive line without starting left tackle Terron Armstead, who will be replaced in the starting lineup by either veteran Kendall Lamm or rookie second-round pick Patrick Paul for what would be his first NFL start.

During the game: It indeed was Patrick Paul who started at left tackle in place of Armstead for his first NFL start, and it was another rough outing for this group. De’Von Achane and Jaylen Wright combined to rush for 47 yards on 19 carries, a paltry 2.5 average. And we don’t need to mention the short-yardage issues.

Before the game: Second-year Titans quarterback Will Levis has really struggled so far this season, leading the NFL in turnovers through three weeks. Still, the Dolphins saw the good Will Levis when Tennessee came to Hard Rock Stadium for that forgettable Monday night matchup last December. Levis passed for 327 yards that night, 65 more yards than his next-highest total as an NFL quarterback. Levis, of course, engineered two late touchdown drives to help the Titans complete their stunning comeback from a 27-13 deficit.

During the game: As it turned out, Levis became a non-factor because of a shoulder injury, but only after gifting the Dolphins a turnover when he threw the ball right at Emmanuel Ogbah after he dropped into coverage off a zone blitz. When Mason Rudolph entered the game, he basically was asked to simply not turn the ball over, a sound strategy considering the struggles of the Dolphins offense.

Before the game: Levis’s favorite target on that December 2023 night was, not surprisingly, star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who had seven catches for 124 yards, the touchdown that brought Tennessee to within six points, and the longest play of the game-winning drive, a 36-yard pick-up on the very first play. The Dolphins defense can’t let Hopkins get loose like this again, and this is where Jalen Ramsey can and wants to step in. Remember the frustration last year with DC Vic Fangio and his refusal to let Ramsey shadow a wide receiver? Well, that’s been expected to change in 2024 with new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, and we saw a little bit of that last week when Ramsey was sometimes matched up against DK Metcalf. We’d expect Ramsey to get assigned to guard Hopkins on more snaps than not in this game, and it’ll be a battle to watch.

During the game: Because of the circumstances of the game, the Titans weren’t interested in throwing very much, which made Hopkins pretty much a non-factor. He caught only two passes for 31 yards, though he also drew a DPI against Kader Kohou in a third-down situation in the third quarter. As it turned out, the Dolphins didn’t really have Ramsey shadow Hopkins, but it was a non-factor in this game.

Before the game: A big talking point around the Dolphins and their offense during training camp concerned what new tight end Jonnu Smith could bring to the position, given his athletic ability and yards-after-catch prowess. Three games into the season, we’re still waiting for Smith to have some impact, and this would be a great time to start, considering he’ll be facing the team with which he began his NFL career in 2017. Smith is one of five former Tennessee players on the Dolphins roster, along with starting center Aaron Brewer, starting linebacker David Long, Jr., tackle Kendall Lamm, and defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand.

During the game: And … we’re still waiting. It was another uneventful game for Smith, who didn’t catch a pass and was targeted only once. Given the issues on offense right now, it’s kind of curious as to why the Dolphins aren’t getting Smith — or any tight end, really — more involved in the passing game. It’s also not like the tight ends are doing great work in run blocking or pass protection, either. It wasn’t a much better evening for Brewer or Hand, while Lamm was limited to special teams and Long couldn’t play because of his hamstring injury.

The Miami Dolphins are still the Not Ready For Prime Time Players.

The Dolphins lost their third straight game to the Tennessee Titans 31-12 on Monday Night Football at Hard Rock Stadium.

It was the Dolphins’ second consecutive loss in prime time. Two and a half weeks ago, they lost to the Buffalo Bills before a national audience on Amazon Prime.

It is important to note that during the first four games of the season, Miami has not held a lead at any point. The only time Miami held the lead was on the last play of the game against Jacksonville when they won their only game on a Jason Sanders field goal as time expired.

“I think that there’s a story within the tape, in all the things that we were looking to do,” Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “It was not up to my standard at all, its a collective issue for sure. We have to find a way to score points and all those guys have to figure it out.”

Miami’s offense has been inept since scoring one touchdown in the first half of the Buffalo game. Before scoring a touchdown late in the fourth quarter Monday night, the Dolphins had gone 173:03 without scoring a touchdown. They almost went more than 12 quarters without crossing the goal line.

Quarterback Tyler Huntley, who had his first start at quarterback for the Dolphins, had a very pedestrian night. Huntley went 12-of-20 for 81 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Huntley also ran the ball eight times for 40 yards.

He could barely get on track the entire game. He was out of sync with his receivers. He did not give Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle a chance to make a big play. Huntley clearly showed he had the arm to throw the deep ball but could not connect to two of the fastest receivers in the game.

“We never avoid adverse situations,” McDaniel said. “Tough times bring out the best in people if you have the right people and I believe we do.”

Nick Folk kicked five field goals for Tennessee to defeat Miami single-handedly. It was his fifth career game with at least five field goals.

Tony Pollard had 22 carries for 88 yards and a four-yard touchdown with 30 left to play in the game to lead the Titan’s offense.

The Dolphins knocked out Titans starting quarterback Will Levis in the first half with a shoulder injury. Tennessee’s backup quarterback, Mason Rudolph, came in and dismantled the Dolphin’s defense by merely going 9-of-17 for 85 yards and no touchdowns.

“There will be a list of things that we can tell the coaches and the players. If we don’t do this, things won’t change,” McDaniel said. “It has been too many weeks in a row. You just have to do certain things in order to win. Until we do that, we are going to get the same results.”