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South Carolina

Louis Riddick calls out officials after controversial ruling on Nyck Harbor catch

Chandler Vesselsby: Chandler Vessels08/31/25ChandlerVessels
nyck harbor
Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Louis Riddick believes Nyck Harbor should have been awarded a touchdown for a second-quarter catch in Sunday’s contest between South Carolina and Virginia Tech. Harbor corralled in what looked to be a score in the end zone, only to later have it called back by officials.

The receiver clearly got one foot in bounds, but there was some debate as to whether he maintained possession the whole way. He looked to have bobbled the ball before stepping out and it appeared on the replay that it may have touched the ground.

Riddick, who was on the call for ESPN, expressed his disagreement with the call. He argued that it looked like a catch to him and he was surprised by the official ruling.

“If it looks like a catch it should be a catch,” Riddick said. “I understand that that’s not the letter of the law as far as the rule is concerned. But the man had the ball in control, has two feet down. At the end it gets knocked loose. Credit Virginia Tech and their secondary for fighting the whole way and making it difficult on him.”

South Carolina ultimately had to settle for a field goal after Harbor’s catch was ruled incomplete. That put the Gamecocks up 10-5. Virginia Tech would later cut that deficit to 10-8 with a field goal of its own before halftime.

Harbor later got his redemption for the moment with the score that ultimately put the game away. With 7:42 remaining, the receiver broke free for a 64-yards touchdown catch that gave the Gamecocks a 24-11 lead, the score they would ultimately go on to win by.

In spite of the called back score from the second quarter, Harbor ended the game with three catches for 99 yards and the touchdown. That was a career high in receiving yards for the junior.

A former five-star recruit in the 2023 class, Nyck Harbor ranked as the No. 21 overall prospect according to the On3 | Rivals Industry Ranking. Despite this, we’ve yet to see a truly explosive season out of him yet. His 26 catches for 376 yards and three touchdowns last season was a career high.

He is expected to take another big leap forward this season, however, and his career-best performance on Sunday is a good start. South Carolina now moves on to face South Carolina State in a Week 2 matchup on Saturday.