Bluegrass Miracle
| Bluegrass Miracle | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | November 9, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Commonwealth Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||||||||||||||
The sports page of the Baton Rouge Advocate on November 10, 2002, the day after the "Bluegrass Miracle." The top photo shows Kentucky defenders deflecting the pass, and the large center photo shows LSU wide receiver Devery Henderson right after catching the pass. |
The sports page of the Baton Rouge Advocate on November 10, 2002, the day after the "Bluegrass Miracle." The top photo shows Kentucky defenders deflecting the pass, and the large center photo shows LSU wide receiver Devery Henderson right after catching the pass.
The Bluegrass Miracle was a 74-yard game-winning touchdown pass by the No. 16 LSU Tigers with no time left on the clock against the Kentucky Wildcats on November 9, 2002 at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. The ball was tipped by a Kentucky player before being caught at the 15-yard line by Devery Henderson of LSU, who ran it in for the score.
Kentucky, the home team, was the underdog to the defending SEC champion Tigers. LSU was ahead by as many as 14 points at one point and led 24–14 after a field goal with 13:58 left in the fourth quarter, but Kentucky came back with a 13–3 run to tie it at 27. However, a Kentucky player called the Wildcats' last timeout on first down from the LSU 11 with 15 seconds left on the clock, and rather than risking a turnover or a tackle within the field of play that would leave the clock running and the Wildcats unable to line up to spike the football, head coach Guy Morriss opted to send kicker Taylor Begley out to kick a 29-yard field goal, giving the Wildcats a 30–27 lead with 11 seconds left on the clock. LSU got the ball back, but the ensuing kickoff pinned the team at its own 9-yard line. On the first play of the series, the Tigers quickly got the ball to their own 26-yard line on a pass from quarterback Marcus Randall to wide receiver Michael Clayton. An LSU timeout stopped the clock with 2 seconds left, and set up a desperation Hail Mary pass. The chances for success were considered slim because Randall's arm was not strong enough to reach the opponent's end zone from 70+ yards away. Kentucky players were so confident that they had won the game that they gave head coach Guy Morriss a Gatorade bath before the final play had taken place.
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