Crazy Called Plays That Actually Worked

When all hope is lost (or if you just want to stick it to the other team), sometimes you just have to go for it with a crazy play call and hope it works.

Of course, there have been a lot (I mean a lot) of trick plays over the years, but you might not have seen a few on this list.

There are oldies but goodies too, like the Hail Flutie and the Music City Miracle. But there’s also some lesser-known trickery—a high school pitcher with a dirty pickoff move, for example.

Barking Dog

Distraction is a key tactic in a lot of these plays—using decoys or creating diversions.

I’d say getting down on your hands and knees and barking like a dog qualifies as a diversion.

"Hide the Midget"

So, the Arkansas State football team actually used a play called “Hide the Midget” in its bowl game against Ball State in 2014.

The play involved a fake handoff and a (relatively speaking) small wide receiver. Arkansas State’s quarterback discreetly handed the ball off to R.J. Fleming, who patiently wanted a beat before taking off to his left, unbeknownst to most of the Ball State defense.

Tipoff Trickery

In 2013, during a basketball game in the Philippines, one guy fooled everyone. His team won the opening tip, and he found himself headed toward the basket relatively unmarked. Still, instead of taking it to the hoop, he turned around and acted like he was going to dribble the other way. When the defenders failed to realize whose basket was whose, he turned back around for the easiest layup in history.  

Why didn’t he just make the easy layup to begin with—who knows? Maybe just to make the other team look bad? Success.

Fake Field Goal

In 2010, Notre Dame led Michigan State in East Lansing 31-28 in overtime. Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio opted against going for the tie and instead ran a fake field goal on 4th-and-long.

The holder, Aaron Bates, hit tight end Charles Gantt downfield for the game-winning touchdown. It’s pretty impressive to execute a trick play so well, especially in a rivalry game in overtime. No pressure.

Villar Steals Home

I’d be interested to see which happens more often—a Hail Mary working or a successful theft of home plate.

To intentionally steal home has to be one of the toughest, rarest things in baseball. But Jonathan Villar of the Houston Astros did it in 2013 against the Baltimore Orioles. It was just his eighth career game in the big leagues. Not too shabby, rook.

Who Has the Ball?

Along with distraction, confusion is another common trick. In this game between Indiana State and Missouri State, ISU trailed by one point with 42 seconds to go.

Missouri State kicked off after a field goal, and what ISU did next was priceless. After Dimitri Taylor fielded the kick, five of his own teammates immediately swarmed him in order to create confusion about who actually had the ball.

The tactic worked—Aaron Killebrew ended up with the ball and returned it 32 yards to set up great field position. ISU kicked the game-winning field goal soon after.

Hail Flutie

Like I said, a Hail Mary almost never works, so we might as well remember one of the most famous times it did.

The year was 1984. Boston College trailed Miami 45-41 with six seconds on the clock and the ball on Miami’s 48-yard line. BC’s 5’9” quarterback Doug Flutie took the snap, scrambled and launched a prayer. Somehow, Gerard Phelan caught the ball in the end zone, and the Eagles 47-45.

El Camino Real

In November 2013, a junior varsity football team from California pulled off a pretty ridiculous trick play—on the first play of the game.

Freshman Jahlil Pinkett, quarterback for the El Camino Real team, subtly took the snap and then trotted toward the sideline, telling his coach he had the “wrong ball.”

Everyone just stood there, and when Pinkett was close to the sideline, he pivoted and burst down the field for an 80-yard touchdown.

Coming off a loss the previous week, head coach Brandon Holmes told Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times, “We put in some fun plays to keep them interested.”

"The Ugly Kardashian"

If you liked the El Camino Real play, how about a middle school version?

In September 2014, the kids at Lewis and Clark Middle School in Missouri pulled off their own iteration of the wrong ball trick, something they called the “Ugly Kardashian,” according to MaxPreps.com.

Even better? Head coach Shawn Griggs said his inspiration for the play was “The Annexation of Puerto Rico,” which you’ll remember from Little Giants, if you’re cool enough.

Football Alley-Oop

When has a football play worked in a basketball game? Well, one time in Iowa, at least.

During a high school All-Star game, the team that won the opening tip immediately organized into a football formation. Collin Thomas acted as the center, and Bryce Carpenter was the quarterback. Carpenter dribbled up the court after the ball was “snapped” and connected with Hunter Van Haalen for an alley-oop.

Carpenter told Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register, “We kind of thought of it five minutes before the game started, and we decided to do it.”

The video quickly went viral and now has more than two million views on YouTube.

Fair Catch Decoy

When the Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams met recently, the Rams pulled a pretty serious fast one on the defending champs.

The Seahawks punted in the second quarter, and the Rams’ Tavon Austin made it seems like the ball was headed toward him by signaling for a fair catch. In reality, the ball was going to the opposite side of the field, where a suddenly wide-open Stedman Bailey caught it and took it 90 yards to the house. Oops.

In sports, don’t people often say, “Keep your eye on the ball”? That’s a thing, I’m pretty sure.

Soccer Confusion

Confusion breeds confusion, I guess. Set balls in soccer provide good opportunities for creativity when it comes to fooling the other team.

In this 2012 game between two German teams, Rot-Weiss Essen pulled off a ridiculous set piece. On a free kick from 20 yards out, a bunch of players stood around and looked confused about who would kick the ball. Some even timidly pretended to kick the ball.

Amid the confusion, Kevin Grund actually kicked the ball, straight into the net.

Music City Miracle

They don’t call it a miracle for nothing.

In January 2000, the Tennessee Titans trailed the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild Card Game with just 16 seconds to go. The Bills kicked off after a field goal put them up 16-15.

According to Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com, the Titans' plan for the return was a special teams play called the “Home Run Throwback.” It didn’t go precisely as planned in terms of personnel, but Titans fans will agree it worked out.

Lorenzo Neal fielded the kick and dumped the ball off to teammate Frank Wycheck. Wycheck acted like he was running right but turned and lateraled the ball in the other direction to Kevin Dyson. Dyson ran for dear life and made it all the way to the end zone for the game-winning score.

Buffalo fans to this day will tell you it was a forward pass, but history just remembers it as the Music City Miracle.

The Balk That Wasn’t a Balk

Some may say trick plays like this are cheap, but hey, it worked.

During a high school baseball game in Michigan, one pitcher successfully nabbed a baserunner by faking a pickoff attempt.

According to MaxPreps.com, the pitcher in question was Beal City’s Ty Rollin. He “attempted” to pick a runner from Muskegon Catholic Central off second base. He also acted as if he had errantly thrown the ball into the outfield, when in reality it was in his hand the whole time.

The runner bought the whole thing and took off for third base. Rollin, with the ball still sneakily in his hand, promptly tagged the runner out.

It sure looked a lot like a balk, but it wasn’t called. The runner was out, and Beal City went on to win the game in 10 innings. 

Boise State

The 2007 Fiesta Bowl will always be remembered for two plays. The fact that each worked, separately, is amazing. But the fact that they both worked, in the same game, for the same team, is incredible.

Boise State trailed Oklahoma 35-28 with just 18 seconds remaining in the game. On 4th-and-long from the 50-yard line, the Broncos executed a perfect hook-and-ladder play. The play resulted in a touchdown, and the game went to overtime.

In overtime, the two teams traded touchdowns. Oklahoma scored first, followed by Boise State.

The difference was that Boise State decided to go for two, and the win, after its score. An incredibly ballsy decision by head coach Chris Petersen paid off big time.

Quarterback Jared Zabransky and tailback Ian Johnson ran a beautiful Statue of Liberty play, and the Broncos won 43-42, capping off an incredible undefeated season.