Best Hail Mary Passes in College Football History

This is it, folks—the last play of the game. The quarterback drops back to pass, looking, looking, throws the ball as far as he can, and...He caught it. Touchdown! I don't believe it! This has to be one of the greatest plays I have ever witnessed.

Those are the type of things you hear when a Hail Mary pass has just been completed. It's rare to see these deep balls pay off for the offense, but it is a moment you will never forget when that prayer gets answered. You can't believe what you just saw, the defense can't believe they let it happen and just like that, a moment that will last forever in college football was born.

College football has seen its fair share of successful Hail Mary passes, but the ones that are filled with drama and importance are the ones that are most memorable.

Washington vs. Arizona: 2005

This is just a case of a defense not actually believing that a quarterback can throw the ball that far. Why put defenders more than 60 yards downfield when nobody could possibly make that throw?

Think again.

Washington quarterback Isaiah Stanback must have a bionic arm, as he threw the ball 69 yards downfield to wide receiver Craig Chambers for the score. There was no jump ball or tipped passes involved, just a simple deep route where the defenders couldn't do anything but watch. The Arizona secondary simply couldn't believe that Stanback could pull that off.

Washington went into halftime tied at 14 and ended up winning 38-14.

Miami (OH) vs. Akron: 2001

Ben Roethlisberger has had his fair share of big plays throughout his career, such as the late-second touchdown pass to win the Super Bowl in 2009 for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But he was a clutch player way before his NFL days.

Showing off his strong arm, Roethlisberger throws the ball more than 60 yards in the hopes of giving his receivers a chance. He actually overthrew all of his targets but got help thanks to Akron defenders who tipped the ball up. Wide receiver Eddie Tillitz juggled the pass before focusing on the task at hand and bringing the ball in for the score.

Don't they teach you to bat the ball down?

Miami of Ohio won the game 30-27 thanks to this miracle pass attempt.

Iowa vs. LSU: 2005

Uh, what happened?

Usually when a team needs a touchdown to score or is going to attempt a Hail Mary, the defense gets into a prevent defense to keep everything in front. Well, that isn't exactly what happened in this game. Iowa was trailing and was in no position to kick a field goal. LSU seemed lost on the field when Iowa quarterback Drew Tate calmly threw the ball to a wide-open Warren Holloway. 

The LSU defense had no shot of stopping this play, and Iowa went on to win 30-25.

If only every Hail Mary pass attempt were that easy.

Michigan State vs. Wisconsin: 2011

Michigan State was on the winning side of one of the greatest games of the last decade.

The Spartans watched a comfortable 31-17 lead evaporate in the fourth quarter, and the game looked like it was going into overtime with only four seconds left in regulation. That's when quarterback Kirk Cousins threw the ball up for grabs, which eventually landed in the hands of wide receiver Keith Nichol, who fought his way into the end zone for the 44-yard score.

The key to this play was the early jump by Wisconsin wide receiver Jared Abbrederis. If he doesn't mistime his jump and miss the ball completely, we wouldn't have this historic play.

This Hail Mary pass was as close as you can get. And even though it is still fresh in our minds, it's easily one of the best of all time.

Southern Miss vs. Louisville: 1989

Brett Favre was known as being a gunslinger even in his NFL days. There was no other play that fit that description perfectly than the game against Louisville.

Southern Miss and the Cardinals were tied at 10 with only a few seconds left to play. Favre then rolled out to his right, looked downfield and let it loose. Thrown into a crowd full of players, the ball was tipped and then caught by Darryl Tillman.

But this Hail Mary wasn't anywhere close to the end zone, as it was caught around the 25-yard line. So while Tillman and Favre get all of the credit on this play, the receiver who was able to take out two Louisville defenders also deserves a little bit of love.

Northwestern vs. Minnesota: 2000

Who would have ever believed that a Northwestern-Minnesota matchup would be this exciting?

The Wildcats rallied after trailing 35-14 at one point in the game. Just when you thought this bad boy was going to go into overtime, wide receiver Sam Simmons caught a 45-yard pass thrown by quarterback Zak Kustok.

What is unbelievable about this play is that the receiver who tipped the pass could have actually caught it himself. Instead, he had alligator arms and punched the ball forward. Simmons then did a terrific job of having the presence of mind to make sure his feet were in the end zone when he caught the ball.

Northwestern won the game 41-35.

LSU vs. Kentucky: 2002

This is just pure comedy. Well, unless you are a Kentucky fan, of course.

The Wildcats came into the game as huge underdogs, but looked like they were going to pull off the upset. LSU had only a couple of seconds left on the clock and had the length of the field to go. Kentucky head coach Guy Morris was showered with Gatorade, and the celebration the sidelines began.

That was until Marcus Randall's tipped pass landed in the hands of wide receiver Devery Henderson. He trotted into the end zone, and the Tigers won their third straight game over Kentucky.

This is exactly why coaches tell players from a young age that you don't celebrate until the game is actually over. Boy, it must have taken a while for this loss to heal.

BYU vs. SMU: 1980

This Hail Mary pass is so special because BYU was trailing by 20 points with only four minutes left to play. SMU clearly had this game won, and the Mustangs' performance down the stretch makes you believe that they thought so as well.

After BYU somehow gave itself a chance to win this game with only three seconds left, quarterback Jim McMahon dropped back to pass and let the ball fly downfield. Although you can't quite tell who caught the ball, tight end Clay Brown gave himself a chance by jumping between two defenders and muscling the ball away.

When the referees signaled touchdown, you just couldn't believe what you just saw.

Incredible.

Boston College vs. Miami: 1984

Talk about a Heisman moment.

Boston College's Doug Flutie had one of the most iconic moments in college football when he tossed the ball more than 50 yards in the Eagles' victory over big, bad Miami. Unlike most Hail Mary throws that are thrown up for grabs and hang in the air for a day-and-a-half, this throw was right on a rope that landed directly in the hands of Gerard Phelan.

This was the play that secured the 1984 Heisman Trophy for Flutie. It was also a shot in the gut for Jimmy Johnson and his Hurricanes. This is easily one of the most well-known Hail Mary plays and one of the most memorable plays in college football.

Colorado vs. Michigan: 1994

What is so disheartening for Michigan fans isn't the fact that Colorado ended up scoring on a Kordell Stewart bomb that traveled about 75 yards. It's that the Wolverines had a 12-point lead with just over two minutes left to play. When you add the Hail Mary pass, it is almost destined that Colorado was supposed to win this game for some reason.

As for the pass itself, it should be considered one of the best in all of college football. While most quarterbacks are climbing up the pocket or getting a running start in order to make the ball travel further, Stewart actually backed up and flung the ball 70-plus yards with the flick of a wrist.

The throw is jaw-dropping no matter how many times you watch it.

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