Hail Flutie

Hail Flutie
Boston College Eagles Miami Hurricanes (8-2) (8-3) 47 45 Head coach:  Jack Bicknell Head coach:  Jimmy Johnson AP 10 AP 12 1 2 3 4 Total Boston College 14 14 3 16 47 Miami 0 21 10 14 45
Date	November 23, 1984
Stadium	Miami Orange Bowl
Location	Miami, Florida

The Hail Flutie game is a college football game that took place between the Boston College Eagles and the University of Miami Hurricanes on November 23, 1984. It has been regarded by FOX Sports writer Kevin Hench as among the most memorable moments in sports.^[1] The game is most notable for a last-second Hail Mary pass from quarterback Doug Flutie to wide receiver Gerard Phelan to give Boston College the win. Miami was the defending national champion and entered the game ranked 12th in the nation. Boston College was ranked 10th with a record of 8-2 and had already accepted an invitation to the Cotton Bowl Classic at the end of the season. The game was played at the Miami Orange Bowl, and televised nationally by CBS, with Brent Musburger, Ara Parseghian, and Pat Haden commentating.

Notable achievements in the game included:

• the Hurricanes' Bernie Kosar passed for a school-record 447 yards.
• Miami running back Melvin Bratton ran for four touchdowns.
• Flutie passed for 472 yards and four touchdowns and became the first collegiate quarterback ever to surpass 10,000 yards passing in a college career.

The game

Boston College jumped out to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter before quarterback Bernie Kosar and Miami stormed back to tie. The two quarterbacks played phenomenal games, combining for 59-84, 919 yards, and 5 touchdowns. With 28 seconds remaining, Boston College trailed 45-41. Three quick plays took the Eagles from their own 20 yard line to the Hurricanes' 48 yard line.

Flutie called the "55 Flood Tip" play, in which the receivers were to run straight routes to the end zone. Then they were to tip the football to another receiver. Flutie scrambled to his right, narrowly averting a sack. He threw the football from his own 37-yard line, requiring the 5' 9" quarterback to throw the ball at least 63 yards against 30mph winds, after having already thrown the football 45 times during the game.

The Miami defensive backs doubted Flutie's ability to throw the ball into the end zone so they paid no attention to Phelan as he ran behind them. The ball came straight down over the mass of players, untouched, into Phelan's arms for the 47-45 win.

The final play was shown repeatedly in a Saturday Night Live sketch with Rich Hall as Flutie and Eddie Murphy as the Bishop Desmond Tutu.

This would be BC's last win over Miami until 2007.

Legacy

Flutie won the Heisman Trophy shortly afterward.

The game was placed in NCAA Football video games as a "College Classic", challenging players to recreate the ending. The scenario begins with the final play, forcing players to attempt the winning throw.

Some claimed that a great increase in applications to Boston College the year after this game was a result of this game. This has been called the Flutie effect and has been used to describe other colleges that have received an increase in applications and exposure after the success of a college athletics team.

Quotes from the play

Flutie flushed.........throws it down.........CAUGHT BY BOSTON COLLEGE! I don't believe it! It's a touchdown! The Eagles win it!

—Brent Musburger calling on the final play.

Here we go...here's your ballgame, folks, as Flutie takes the snap. He drops straight back...has some time, now scrambles away from one hit...looks...uncorks a deep one to the endzone, Phelan is down there...OH HE GOT! HE GET IT? HE GOT IT! TOUCHDOWN!! TOUCHDOWN!! TOUCHDOWN!! TOUCHDOWN!! TOUCHDOWN BOSTON COLLEGE!! HE DID IT!! HE DID IT!! FLUTIE DID IT!! HE GOT PHELAN IN THE ENDZONE!! TOUCHDOWN!! OH MY GOODNESS...WHAT A PLAY!! FLUTIE TO GERARD PHELAN!! 48 YARDS!! NO TIME ON THE CLOCK, IT'S ALL OVER!!

—Dan Davis calling the final play.

References

1. ^ FOX Sports: Ten Best Damn unforgettable sports moments

See also

• List of historically significant college football games

External links

• The Boston College Chronicle - Remembering the 'Miracle in Miami'
• FOX Sports - Ten Best Damn unforgettable sports moments
• St. Petersburg Times - Flutie's 'Hail Mary' shocks Hurricanes
• Inhistoric - The Hail Flutie Game
• Video clip of the game-winning play on YouTube