BYU Cougar football fans celebrated Sept. 5 as the team beat Nebraska University off of a stunning, last-second Hail Mary play.
With one second on the clock, down by one point and 45 yards to go to get into the end zone, BYU’s backup quarterback Tanner Magnum, who returned from his LDS mission three months prior, hiked the ball. Rolling out to his right, the freshman quarterback heaved the 45-yard pass into the wind.
The pass made its way down the field to the front of the end zone, where in the middle of a number of Nebraska defenders BYU senior wide receiver used his 6-6 and 215 lbs. frame to create just enough space to haul in the catch and fall into the end zone.
What happened next was pandemonium for the BYU football team as even Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall, known for his usual clam demeanor on the field, was seen running and jumping in jubilation.“I was flipping out I couldn’t believe it! What a way to start off the season for a guy who’d just gotten off his mission a few months earlier,” said Dallin Olander, a sophomore accounting major from Washington.
Coach Mendenhall’s and the BYU football team’s celebration weren’t the only ones caught on tape. On Monday, Sept. 7, KSL Sports, the local NBC sports news station in Utah, published a compilation video of fans reactions to the play on YouTube. The video shows Cougar fans celebrating in their houses watching the game alone or with their family and even fans celebrating in their cars as they listened to the game via radio.
“I went crazy. I screamed so loud I am pretty sure everyone in the hales heard me,” said freshman Connor Miles, an undeclared major Utah. Not only did the play make an impression for BYU fans, but it also got significant national attention. ESPN Sports Center put the Hail Mary pass as it’s number one top play for the day.
The last-minute Hail Mary touchdown gave the Cougars the 33-28 win and dealt Nebraska their first season home opening lose in 29 years.The Cougars followed up this miraculous win with a repeat last second victory over Boise State Saturday, Sept. 12. Once again, Magnum threw a Hail Mary pass on a 4th and 7th with 45 second to go.
Clayton Kearl, a senior business major from Utah, said, “These last two games have been some of the best I have watched my whole life. Hopefully they can continue this magic next week against UCLA.”This last-second magic has created Cougar faithful optimism for what could be a historic year. BYU will now go on the road to play #10 UCLA and then Michigan.