The Miami Hurricanes have long been considered the Hell's Angels of college football. That's not fair, since the majority of players don't even own motorcycles.
Now, through the magic of ACC officiating, Miami has been handed a rare gift. And I don't mean the 30-27 "win" over Duke on Saturday night.
I mean a chance to throw its reputation back in the faces of all those who think the Hurricanes are a bunch of rule-breaking, fatigue-wearing, party-yacht football rowdies.
Sadly, Miami has chosen to punt.
It will not forfeit a game everyone agrees it lost. In fact, the fiasco has become a marketing tool.
Miami is selling "The Return" T-shirt for $24.95. What else would you expect in these dollar-driven days?
Please note: None of the proceeds will go to buying guide dogs for ACC refs.
The Return has quickly become part of football/circus history. An eight-lateral kickoff return extravaganza on the final play, featuring at least four missed calls and nine minutes of replay befuddlement.
The incompetence made the V.A. look like the Mayo Clinic. On Sunday, the ACC suspended the officiating/replay crew, essentially admitting this is a case of bank robbery.
The Hurricanes didn't plan the heist. They are more like bystanders tossed a bag of cash by fleeing robbers, and they are not giving it back.
That's fine by a lot of people. They say the refs also jobbed Miami by calling a league-record 23 penalties, at least 22 of which were evidence Mike Krzyzewski also runs the ACC's football operation.
They'll dredge up games where bad calls cost the Hurricanes, and say they'll forfeit this one as soon as Notre Dame forfeits it 1988 win over Miami.
That misses the point.
Every game has bad calls. Sometimes they even out, sometimes they don't. Either way, you can't summon the NCAA to investigate every whistle.
On Saturday, there was no time left when (among other things) a Miami ball carrier's knee hit the turf. If not for the blown call, the game would have ended then and there.
Such existential gaffes happen every 25 or 50 years. In 1990, refs gave Colorado an extra down and the Buffaloes beat Missouri.
In 1940, Cornell got a fifth down with nine seconds left and beat Dartmouth 7-3.
Scoff if you like, but the Big Red was ranked No. 2 and had an 18-game winning streak. It took a couple of days for the game film to be developed.
Cornell officials forfeited when they saw the replay. Players didn't like the decision, but they eventually saw its wisdom.
"Winning evaporates in time," Bud Finneran told the Los Angeles Times in 2010. "But something like this goes on forever."
The ACC says there is no way to change Saturday's outcome. And the fact is most schools would shrug and take the charity. So what if the "loss" knocked Duke out of the top 25 and skewed its bowl prospects?
That's what makes this such a grand opportunity. Miami could say, "Duke truly won, so we will mark this as a loss for us and hope everybody does the same."
What do the Hurricanes have to lose?
The season already has a toe tag. Instead of going down as another year of faded glory, The U would be remembered for uncommon character.
Critics would write editorials like this, which the New York Herald Tribune penned 75 years ago.
"Sportsmanship remains in its true form so seldom seen these day that when it can be truly applied, as it can to Cornell University … there seems to again to be hope in the world."
The Big Red gave America hope.
The Hurricanes are selling us T-shirts.
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