Bluegrass Miracle
Bluegrass Miracle | |||||||||||||||||||
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wide receiver Devery Henderson right after catching the pass. | |||||||||||||||||||
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Date | November 9, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||
Season | Referee | Steve Shaw |
The Bluegrass Miracle was a 74-yard game-winning
Background
The play
Randall, as time expires, lets it fly...OH, MY GOODNESS! TOUCHDOWN, LSU! They win the game! They win the football game!
On the final play of the game, LSU called the play "Dash Right 93 Berlin". Tigers quarterback Marcus Randall took the ball and threw it from his own 18 yard line as far as he could downfield. Soon after Randall released the ball, triumphant Kentucky fans stormed the field around Randall. The pass was 25 yards short of the end zone. However, the ball was deflected off the hand of a Kentucky player between the Kentucky 30 and 25 yard lines and fell into the hands of LSU wide receiver Devery Henderson just short of the 15-yard line. Henderson broke an attempt at a shoestring tackle by the last Kentucky defender and ran into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.[2]
Confusion and aftermath
While Henderson crossed the end zone, the
Naming the play
On the day after the game,
The play became permanently known as the "Bluegrass Miracle" after a poll of LSU fans was conducted on the LSU Sports website days later. Other website suggestions for the name included "The Bluegrass Bomb" and "Miracle on the Bluegrass." The website also received write-in votes for such names as "The Divine Deflection," "It Works Devery Time," and "The Lexington Longshot."[4]
Awards and records
The "Bluegrass Miracle" also won the 2003
It also marked the second time in as many years that LSU foiled a Kentucky football comeback in the final moments of the game. In the 2001 game, also at Kentucky, the Tigers won 29–25, on a touchdown pass from Marcus Randall to Michael Clayton with 13 seconds left in the game. Earlier in the game, Kentucky had overcome a 12-point halftime deficit to take the lead in the 4th quarter.
References
- ^ "Ten years later, Bluegrass Miracle recalled". theadvocate.com/. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ^ "Remembering LSU's Bluegrass Miracle on the 10th anniversary". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
- ^ "Best College Football Buzzer Beaters - Bluegrass Miracle". sports.yahoo.com/. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ^ "Over 10,000 vote to name legendary LSU play". espn.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
External links
- LSU's Bluegrass Miracle 10 Years Later YouTube video