Boston College v. Miami, 1984
Encyclopedia
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. 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:
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 back
s 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.
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.
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
game that took place between the Boston College Eagles
Boston College Eagles
The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams representing Boston College. They compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The men's and women's ice hockey teams compete in Hockey East. The women's crew team competes in the Eastern Association of Women's Rowing...
and the University of Miami Hurricanes
Miami Hurricanes football
The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...
on November 23, 1984. It has been regarded by FOX Sports writer Kevin Hench as among the most memorable moments in sports. The game is most notable for a last-second Hail Mary pass
Hail Mary pass
A Hail Mary pass or Hail Mary route in American football refers to any very long forward pass made in desperation with only a small chance of success, especially at or near the end of a half....
from quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Doug Flutie
Doug Flutie
Douglas Richard "Doug" Flutie is a former American and Canadian football quarterback. Flutie played college football at Boston College, and played professionally in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, and United States Football League...
to wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
Gerard Phelan
Gerard Phelan
Gerard Phelan is a former college football player, who lined up at wide receiver for Boston College.-Early years:Phelan played football for Archbishop John Carroll Catholic High School in Radnor, Pennsylvania, and graduated in 1981....
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
Miami Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl, formerly Burdine Stadium, was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, west of downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team...
, and televised nationally by CBS
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
, with Brent Musburger
Brent Musburger
Brent Woody Musburger is an American sportscaster for the ESPN and ABC television networks. Formerly with CBS Sports and one of the original members of their legendary program The NFL Today, Musburger has covered NASCAR, NBA, MLB, NCAA football and basketball games. Musburger has also served as a...
, Ara Parseghian
Ara Parseghian
Ara Raoul Parseghian is a former American football player and coach of Armenian descent. He served as the head football coach at Miami University , Northwestern University , and the University of Notre Dame , compiling a career college football record of 170–58–6...
, and Pat Haden
Pat Haden
Patrick Capper "Pat" Haden is the athletic director at the University of Southern California. He played quarterback for the USC Trojans before playing professionally in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976 to 1981...
commentating.
Notable achievements in the game included:
- the Hurricanes' Bernie KosarBernie KosarBernard Joseph "Bernie" Kosar, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. Kosar played for the Cleveland Browns from 1985 to 1993 and then finished his career with the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins.-Early life and high school career:A Hungarian-American...
passed for a school-record 447 yards. - Miami running back Melvin BrattonMelvin BrattonMelvin Bratton attended the University of Miami, where he played running back for the Miami Hurricanes and starred in the national championship game at the 1988 Orange Bowl against Oklahoma, where he blew out his knee...
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 KosarBernie Kosar
Bernard Joseph "Bernie" Kosar, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. Kosar played for the Cleveland Browns from 1985 to 1993 and then finished his career with the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins.-Early life and high school career:A Hungarian-American...
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
End zone
In gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...
. 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 back
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
s 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
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
sketch with Rich Hall
Rich Hall
Richard "Rich" Hall is an American comedian, writer and musician.-Early life and career:Hall was born in Alexandria, Virginia and grew up in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He is part Cherokee Indian...
as Flutie and Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
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
NCAA Football series
NCAA Football is a football video game series in which you play as any current Division I FBS college team. This game is developed by EA Sports. Because of NCAA rules, current college players are not permitted to be used as the cover athletes...
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
Flutie effect
The Flutie Effect or Flutie Factor refers to the phenomenon of having a successful college sports team increase the exposure and prominence of a university...
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.