Hope College thought it won Saturday’s college football game against Alma College in overtime. The Flying Dutchmen stormed on the field to celebrate a hard-fought victory on their home field.
However, the final play of the game was overturned and the result was reversed.
This controversial officiating decision completely changed the outcome of the college football game. The Scots were granted the win after a lengthy discussion amongst the referees.
Hope College forced overtime against Alma College.
The game-tying sequence late in the fourth quarter started with an interception by Dutch cornerback Austin Harvey. Running back Trey Goike broke two big runs to move the ball into the red zone.
And then it stalled.
Hope eventually faced 4th-and-7 on the 11-yard-line with 1:15 remaining in the fourth quarter. A pass to the pylon fell incomplete. The ball bounced like a pinball off of the wide receiver’s arms, off of the defender’s helmet, back off of the wide receiver and onto the ground. That was it.
The Scots could take down the clock to end the game. It was over…
… until it wasn’t! A questionable defensive holding penalty on Alma kept the eventual game-tying drive alive. You can watch that full sequence here:
The Dutchmen punched it on a quarterback scramble just a few plays later. Head coach Peter Stuursma decided not to go for two. An extra point sent the game to overtime at 23-23.
College football controversy flipped the final result.
Fast forward to overtime. Hope got the ball first and scored a field goal. Alma needed three points to force a second overtime. It needed a touchdown to win.
The Scots decided to get creative. They ran a hook-and-ladder play on a screen to the sideline that came together perfectly…
… until it didn’t! Running back Eddie Williams dropped the lateral from wide receiver Zach Poff. The ball hit the ground and the Dutchmen jumped on top of the fumble. Game over.
Hope stormed onto the field to celebrate the win.
Oh my. #InstantClassic Alma defeats Hope 29-26 in OT. There will be extensive conversations about the hook and lateral catch/no catch. It’s over now! #D3FB #D3Voices pic.twitter.com/IH73qlJROu
— David Soliday (@NCCClassof88) September 27, 2025
Although the lost fumble by Williams appeared to cost Alma the game, the MIAA officiating crew was still in discussion. They ultimately overturned the call on the field and ruled the lateral as an incomplete pass instead of a fumble. You can watch it all go down in “real time” here:
The Scots got the ball back because the pass was ruled incomplete. They went on to score a touchdown to win the game by three.
Stuursma was irate when the officials announced the call as overturned. He was baffled.
“I have been coaching football for a long time and I have never seen anything like it. I thought we stopped them and won the game. But that was not the case,” the Hope head coach said. “I don’t know how you can reverse that. But I am proud of our dudes. They showed a lot of heart. I think we have a really good football team. I don’t think we lost the game, we just didn’t do enough to win in overtime.”
The controversial finish to overtime could have a huge impact down the road. Alma and Hope are the two favorites to win the MIAA title. If they both win out in their next six games — big if — the Scots would claim the outright title to earn a guaranteed spot in the NCAA Division-III Playoffs. Depending on regional rankings, the Dutchmen could be left out.