Miami gave up a 24-12 fourth-quarter lead to Duke for what appeared to be a heartbreaking loss — only to win 30-27 in the most amazing fashion imaginable.
The Hurricanes received a Blue Devils kickoff on the final play of regulation and proceeded to lateral the ball eight times — criss-crossing the field on several occasions — before Corn Elder broke into the clear to score a 75-yard touchdown that will be replayed for as long as replays exist.
Watch one of the most amazing plays in college football history:
WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED. Duke scored with 6 ticks left, but Miami took the KO back as time expired for the game-winner https://t.co/gTy9jXLVoB
— ESPN (@espn) November 1, 2015
But even after the score, the Hurricanes couldn’t just celebrate. A flag flew and the play went into a lengthy nine-minute review to ensure (a) that no runner’s knee had touched the ground and (b) that the called block-in-the-block penalty had actually been in the back. But after the delay, the play was eventually allowed to stand.
The win gave Hurricances interim coach Larry Scott a win in his first game after relieving the fired Al Golden.
“We’ve been through a lot this week, but this says a lot about this team,” Elder said in his postgame interview. “We just kept fighting, kept fighting. We wanted to do this for Artie [Burns’] mom, Coach Golden and the City of Miami.”
Michael Badgley’s field goal with 5:54 to play gave the Hurricanes a 12-point lead, meaning the Blue Devils would have to double their output for the game in those final six minutes just to tie. But they did just that and three points more, Thomas Sirk’s 1-yard sneak with six seconds to play appearing to give Duke the win. The Blue Devils’ final drive was aided by three Miami penalties — giving the Hurricances a whopping 23 for the night.
But even 23 penalties weren’t 24 penalties, and as a result the Hurricanes will forever celebrate one of the most memorable endings in the program’s storied history.
THAT JUST HAPPENED. pic.twitter.com/lYN36TdPzM
— Miami Hurricanes (@MiamiHurricanes) November 1, 2015
Miami lateraled eight times to score the game-winning touchdown. (ESPN)
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