After the game, coach Nibs Price defended Riegels, saying "It was an accident that might have happened to anyone." That one play overshadowed Riegels' football talents. Georgia Tech center and captain Peter Pund said Riegels was "the best center I have played against all year. He's a battler, and he never quit." Riegels would take his spot as team captain during his senior year, earning All-America honors, and he helped the Bears to a 7–1–1 record during the following season. Later, the NCAA football rules committee would pass a rule barring a player from advancing a recovered fumble once it hits the ground, which remained in place for several decades. According to one contemporary article, there were approximately 4,500 stories totaling an estimated 250,000 column inches written about Riegels' wrong way run in newspapers across the United States.