No. 23 Miami Rallies To Overcome Boston College
Oct. 23, 1999
By JIMMY GOLEN
AP Sports Writer
BOSTON (AP) – Fifteen years after “Hail Flutie,” Miami mounted a miraclecomeback of its own.
The Hurricanes rallied from a 28-point, third-quarter deficit to beat BostonCollege 31-28 Saturday – Miami’s 10th consecutive victory over BC since theEagles’ epic victory in 1984.
“We have a long history. It goes all the way back to Doug Flutie,” saidtight end Daniel Franks, who caught the game-tying touchdown pass with 3:51left. “Every time we play, it seems like a dogfight.”
After a first half in which the Hurricanes made virtually every mistakeimaginable, Kenny Kelly led No. 23 Miami (3-3, 1-0 Big East) to four touchdownsin 13:20.
Then, facing a fourth-and-17 from the BC 35 with 14 seconds to play and notimeouts, Kelly hit Reggie Wayne for a 22-yard gain. He caught the pass at thesideline and stepped out of bounds to stop the clock, setting up AndyCrosland’s game-winning 30-yard field goal with 3 seconds left.
The Eagles (5-2, 2-2) have come close at home the past three times but havenot beaten Miami at all since Flutie heaved a 48-yard pass to Gerard Phelan towin a 47-45 shootout and the 1984 Heisman Trophy.
“I don’t know what it is about coming to Boston, but it makes for this typeof game,” Hurricanes coach Butch Davis said. “The last time was adouble-overtime game. Today, it was a miraculous effort by our kids in thesecond half.”
Kelly completed 20-of-36 for 218 yards and three touchdowns, going 9-for-14for 124 yards in the fourth quarter alone. Cedric Washington ran for acareer-high 183 yards for Boston College, and he also recovered a fumble tohelp put Miami in a 28-0 hole.
It was the biggest lead Boston College has ever had against Miami, breakinga previous best of two touchdowns set in Flutie’s famous shootout againstBernie Kosar.
“It’s inexcusable,” Eagles safety Pedro Cirino said. “We’re never goingto let it happen again.”
Kelly hit Will McPartland on an 8-yard pass with 2:11 left in the third tomake it 28-7, then added a 32-yard pass to James Jackson with 10:07 left in thefourth.
On Boston College’s next play from scrimmage, Washington fumbled anddefensive end William Joseph recovered, taking it to the Eagles 6. Jackson tookit in on the Hurricanes’ first play to make it 28-21 – just 22 seconds aftertheir last score.
The first half could not have been more different.
Boston College’s first two scores also came courtesy of Miami mistakes, asthe Hurricanes committed two fourth-down penalties in the first quarter thatled to BC’s first two touchdowns.
The Eagles had lined up for a 39-yard field goal on their first drive whendefensive end Michael Boireau jumped offsides to give BC a first down. On thenext play, Tim Hasselbeck hit Bryan Arndt on a fly pattern for a 17-yardtouchdown to make it 7-0.
On BC’s next possession, John Matich kicked a 44-yard field goal but wasknocked down by linebacker Chris Campbell. The Eagles took the three points offthe scoreboard and, after Carlton Rowe’s two carries brought it to the 2,William Green went in to make it 14-0.
In the third quarter, BC had a second-and-12 when Edward Reed picked offHasselbeck’s pass at the Miami 46 and returned it 22 yards before DedrickDewalt stripped him of the ball.
Washington fell on it for BC at his 35, a net gain of two yards and a firstdown for the Eagles. Washington ran three times from the 31, punching it infrom 3 yards to make it 28-0 with 6:18 left in the third.
Miami, which started the season with two victories, hadn’t beaten a DivisionI-A team since August. Since beating Ohio State in the kickoff classic, theHurricanes have beaten I-AA Florida A&M, lost three times and had three offweeks – the most recent last Saturday when Hurricane Irene forced postponementof the game against Temple until Dec. 4.
