20 college football moments that deserve to be made into movies
By John Buhler
7. Hail Flutie
Doug Flutie is the most iconic player to have played for the Boston College Eagles on the gridiron. Yes, Matt Ryan and Luke Kuechly would go on to star in the NFL after great careers in Chestnut Hill, but Flutie has one of the most indelibly great moments in college football history in his arsenal. That’s one that includes a 1984 Heisman Trophy.
Flutie’s signature football moment bears his name and the type of pass it was: Hail Flutie. Boston College was a major rival with the Miami Hurricanes at the time as supreme football independents. The U was coming into form under then head coach Howard Schnellenberger. Jim Kelly had already starred in Coral Gables. Now some kid named Bernie Kosar was under center for the Hurricanes.
Flutie was a great college player, but frankly too small to be a major NFL quarterback. That didn’t matter, as he played with tremendous heart. He and Kosar battled on that late November day down in Miami. Both signal callers threw for over 450 yards through the air.
Down to Miami with seconds left on the clock, Flutie would execute the greatest Hail Mary in college football history. He connected with wide receiver Gerard Phelan on a 48-yard touchdown pass into the wind to beat the Hurricanes at the Orange Bowl as time expired, 47-45.
Without this pass, Flutie doesn’t win the Heisman Trophy. It left a lasting memory for Heisman voters to chew on in the final week before the ceremony began. While he didn’t have a great NFL career outside of a season plus with the Buffalo Bills in the late 1990s, Flutie was a star in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders and the Toronto Argonauts.