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The Hail Flutie game, also known as the Miracle in Miami, is a college football game in 1984 that took place between the Boston College Eagles and the Miami Hurricanes on November 23. It has been regarded by FOX Sports writer Kevin Hench as among the most memorable moments in sports. FOX Sports: Ten Best Damn unforgettable sports moments
The game is remembered for its last-second Hail Mary pass from quarterback Doug Flutie to wide receiver Gerard Phelan to give Boston College the win with a walk-off touchdown.
At the time, both teams were Independents. Miami was the defending national 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 the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day. The game was played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, and televised nationally by CBS Sports, with Brent Musburger, Ara Parseghian, and Pat Haden commentating.
Records and achievements of the game included:
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 the end 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 quarterback to throw the ball at least 63 yards against winds, after having already thrown the football 45 times during the game.
The Miami 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.
A statue of Flutie was placed outside of Alumni Stadium memorializing the play, and featuring the radio call on the side facing the stadium.
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.
Boston College went on to win the Cotton Bowl; through 2025, it remains the program's most recent appearance in a major bowl game.
Boston College radio announcer Dan Davis:
Scoring
Statistics
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! Statistics !! Boston
College !! Miami32 33–208 447 25–38–2 71–655 128 1–45 5–1 3 8–55 27:16
Legacy
Flutie won the Heisman 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, everything would have been the same, except that pass put this label on me as 'It's never over 'til it's over' guy."
Quotes from the play
CBS TV announcer Brent Musburger:
See also
External links
Categories: 1984 Ncaa Division I-a Football Season, Boston College Eagles Football Games, Miami Hurricanes Football Games, American College Football Incidents, November 1984 Sports Events In The United States, 1984 In Sports In Florida, 1980s In Miami, 1984 Ncaa Division I-a Independents Football Season, Nicknamed Sporting Events
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