Doc Five: Best College Football Buzzer Beaters – No. 5, Trinity University and 15 laterals
This offseason we will count down various topics from Monday through Friday, bringing you the top five of the important and definitely some not so important issues in college football. It's the Doc Five, every week until we will thankfully have actual games to discuss.
THE BEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL BUZZER BEATERS
NO. 5, TRINITY’s 15-LATERAL MIRACLE
It’s March Madness time and there’s no better way to make college football relevant during the month of March than to remember some of the sport’s greatest “buzzer beaters” throughout history.
And there were a lot from which to choose.
But in the end, the five that made us gasp, laugh, smack our heads and hit the rewind button made the cut. So we start with a game many local media dubbed the “Mississippi Miracle.”
On Oct. 27, 2007, Division III Trinity University found itself down 24-22 to Millsaps College with 2 seconds remaining. Millsaps College had actually tried to run the clock out, but backup quarterback Burt Pereira was touched down on fourth down with a couple clicks remaining, giving the Trinity Tigers the ball back at their own 40-yard line and a chance at history.
What resulted was a 15-lateral miracle that touched seven different players and included a no-look, over-the-shoulder pass on the 13th lateral and the final lateral bouncing off the ground and into receiver Riley Curry’s hands for the 28-24 win.
“Things have to go perfectly for that to work,” coach Steve Mohr told The Associated Press on Sunday after the game. “We couldn’t do that against air if we tried.”
The key to the whole play was the bounce as part of the 15th lateral. Millsaps’ defenders swarmed receiver Brandon Maddox, so he desperately pitched the ball into the middle of the field not knowing if there was a teammate on the other end. Luckily Curry happened to be streaking down the field and had the ball bounce into his hands. It was the only time the ball hit the ground during the entire play and it was the moment when many of the Millsaps players relaxed and thought the game was over.
“Some of the Millsaps players stopped. That created the seam for Curry,” Mohr said.. “It was never batted, never touched the ground except the last throw, 14 straight completions.”
“The worst part about it is we had five or six guys just quit on the play,” added Millsaps coach Mike DuBose. “That type of thing just shouldn’t happen. Sure, we were tired. But so was Trinity. You have to finish the play. We stopped.”
Curry picked the ball up at the 34 and ran it in for the score capping a play that lasted 62 seconds, which many media outlets deemed to be the longest play in college football history.
If anything, it was certainly one of the most impressive and more than worthy of our list. It’s hard to imagine this play will ever be replicated.
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