Greatest BC Football Game 1st Round Matchup Matchup (2)1984-#12 Miami vs. (15) 1986 - #17 Georgia
In our third BC Ultimate Football Game matchup we are going to have one of the most iconic football games of all time, the 1984 Hail Flutie game against Miami versus a great bowl win against an SEC powerhouse, the Georgia Bulldogs.
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#10 Boston College 47 #12 Miami 45
This game had it all. The upstart Eagles headed down to Miami to face off against the defending National Champions. In a game that was light on defense, but heavy on excellent quarterback play it was Heisman hopeful Doug Flutie facing off against stud Miami QB Bernie Kosar. The two put on a clinic throwing for a combined 919 yards and 5 touchdowns. Bill Connolly's book 50 Best* College Football Teams of al Time Broke Down the Game Well (well worth the read):
"It was back and forth from the start on a rainy night at the Orange Bowl. BC went up 14-0, but Miami struck back with two scores. Flutie scored on a nine-yard run, and Miami responded. Flutie hit Phelan for a 10-yard score before halftime, and Miami responded again after half. Miami took a 38-34 lead on a 52-yard run by Melvin Bratton, and a one-yard plunge by Strachan put BC back on top.
With just under four minutes left, Miami got the ball back and pulled off what should have been a perfect, game-clinching drive. The Hurricanes went 79 yards and ate up all but 28 seconds from the clock. Bratton scored on a one-yard run to give Miami a 45-41 lead.
But Flutie had half a minute and two timeouts. He found Stradford for a 19-yard gain, then hit Gieselman for 13 more. A pass to Peter Caspariello fell incomplete with six seconds left. And then came the play you know".
1986 Hall of Fame Bowl: Boston College 27 Georgia 24
Flutie mania had died down hard, as the Eagles went 4-8 the first year after Doug Flutie left, and 1986 seemed like it was going to be more of the same as they lost three in a row to kick off the season, but they figured it out cranking out eight wins in a row to face off against Georgia in the Inaugural Hall of Fame Bowl Game.
BC started the game off hot, jumping out to a 20-7 lead at half on 242 yards and a touchdown pass from quarterback Shawn Halloran. But Georgia wouldn't be denied as they roared back in the second half cutting the lead to 20-17 after a pick six by Gary Moss. UGA jumped out to a 24-20 lead when James Jackson scored on a five yard touchdown run, but it was Halloran with the heroics for the Eagles, as he hit Kelvin Martin for a five yard touchdown catch with 32 seconds left to win it for the Eagles. My old editor Brian Favat had some great nuggets on the game on BC Interruption.