| Hail Flutie | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | November 23, 1984 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1984 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Orange Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Miami,Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Miami by 6 points[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Paul Schmitt (Southern Independent) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 30,235 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Brent Musburger, Ara Parseghian, Pat Haden | ||||||||||||||||||||
TheHail Flutie game, also known as theMiracle in Miami, is acollege football game in1984 that took place between theBoston College Eagles and theMiami Hurricanes on November 23.[2][3][4] It has been regarded by FOX Sports writer Kevin Hench as among the most memorable moments in sports.[5]
The game is remembered for its last-secondHail Mary pass fromquarterbackDoug Flutie towide receiverGerard Phelan to give Boston College the win with awalk-off touchdown.
At the time, both teams wereIndependents. Miami was the defendingnational champion and entered the game with an 8–3 record,ranked twelfth in the nation. Boston College was ranked tenth with a record of 7–2 and had already accepted an invitation to theCotton Bowl onNew Year's Day. The game was played at theOrange Bowl inMiami, and televised nationally byCBS, withBrent Musburger,Ara Parseghian, andPat Haden commentating.
Records and achievements of the game included:
Played onFriday, the day afterThanksgiving, it kicked off shortly after 2:30 p.m.EST;[7] Miami was favored by six points.[1]
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 five touchdown passes. At the end of three quarters, the game was tied at 31, and the fourth quarter had multiple lead changes. With 28 seconds left, Boston College trailed 45–41. Three quick plays gained 32 yards, taking the Eagles from their own 20-yard line to the Hurricanes' 48-yard line.
With six seconds on the game clock, Flutie called the "55 Flood Tip" play, which the receivers run straight routes into theend zone, then tip the football to another receiver. Flutie scrambled to his right, narrowly averting a sack. He threw the football from his own 37, requiring the 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) quarterback to throw the ball at least 63 yards against 30 mph (50 km/h) winds, after having already thrown the football 45 times during the game.
The Miamidefensive backs doubted his ability to throw the ball into the end zone, and 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.[2][4]
| Statistics | Boston College | Miami |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 30 | 32 |
| Rushes–Yards | 34–155 | 33–208 |
| Passing Yards | 472 | 447 |
| Passing | 34–46–0 | 25–38–2 |
| Total Offense | 80–627 | 71–655 |
| Return Yards | 88 | 128 |
| Punts–Average | 3–32 | 1–45 |
| Fumbles–Lost | 2–1 | 5–1 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
| Penalties–Yards | 7–50 | 8–55 |
| Time of possession | 32:44 | 27:16 |
Flutiewon theHeisman Trophy shortly afterward, the first quarterback chosen in 13 years. He later said, "Without the Hail Mary pass, I think I could have been very easily forgotten. We would have gone to the same bowl game, the Heisman voting was already in, and the direction [of his career], everything would have been the same,except that pass put this label on me as 'It's never over 'til it's over' guy."[8]
A statue of Flutie was placed outside ofAlumni Stadium memorializing the play, and featuring the radio call on the side facing the stadium.
The game was placed inNCAA 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 theFlutie 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.
Boston College went on to win the Cotton Bowl; through 2025, it remains the program's most recentappearance in a major bowl game.
CBS TV announcerBrent Musburger:
Three wide receivers out to the right...Flutie flushed...throws it down...CAUGHT BY BOSTON COLLEGE, I DON'T BELIEVE IT! It's a touchdown! The Eagles win it! (Unbelievable!) I don't believe it! Phelan is at the bottom of that pile! Here comes the Boston College team! He threw it into the endzone! There was no time left on the clock! The ball went between two defensive backs of Miami!Jack Bicknell is the only person over there on the sidelines, he couldn't get the headset off fast enough!
Boston College radio announcerDan Davis:
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 end zone, Phelan is down there...(Statistician Dick Tarpey: OH, HE GOT IT!) DID HE GET IT? (Tarpey: HE GOT IT!) TOUCHDOWN!! TOUCHDOWN!! TOUCHDOWN!! TOUCHDOWN!! TOUCHDOWN BOSTON COLLEGE!! HE DID IT!! HE DID IT!! FLUTIE DID IT!! HE GOT PHELAN IN THE END ZONE!! TOUCHDOWN!! OH MY GOODNESS...WHAT A PLAY!! FLUTIE TO GERARD PHELAN!! 48 YARDS!! NO TIME ON THE CLOCK, IT'S ALL OVER!!
