College Football Old School Game of the Week: "Wide Left" Allows #1 Miami to Escape FSU Upset Bid

 

Xavier Beitia angusihes after his potential game-winning field goal sailed wide left in the Seminoles' 2002 game with Miami.

It's the two most frightening words to Florida State Seminole fans: Wide Right.

Those are the two words to describe a trio of heartbreaking losses to the Miami Hurricanes which occured over a decade in the annual rivalry between the Canes and the Noles.

It started with "Wide Right I" in 1991 when Gerry Thomas missed a potential game-winning 34-yard field goal in the final seconds to give #2 Miami a 17-16 win over #1 Florida State.

One year later, Dan Mowrey had his 39-yard field goal attempt sail wide right on the final play of the game as #2 Miami prevailed with a 19-16 win over #3 Florida State.

Eight years after that, the third chapter would occur as Matt Munyon's 49-yard attempt at the end of regulation would also go wide right to give Miami a 27-24 win over #1 Florida State.

Then in 2002, the next cruel chapter in the Seminoles' fortunes against Miami would occur with a slightly different twist.

The Hurricanes were the #1 ranked team in the country having won their previous 27 games and were the defending national champions after a 2001 season.

The Canes were led by second-year head coach Larry Coker who had a roster which featured quarterback Ken Dorsey who had this point had won 31 of his 32 career starts, future NFL Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Andre Johnson, tight end Kellen Winslow II son of former Hall-of-Fame tight end Kellen Winslow Sr. and running back Willis McGahee, who had run for 640 yards and 10 touchdowns in the first five games of the 2002 season.

While the Canes were seeking a second consectuive national championship, the Noles came into the game looking rebound following a tough 2001 season in which they went 8-4 and finished #15 in the final polls, ending a 14-year streak of finishing in the top 5 in the final AP and coaches polls.

The Noles were led by head coach Bobby Bowden, who was in his 27th season as the FSU head coach, as he saw his Seminoles led by quarterback Chris Rix get off to a 4-0 start before losing to unranked Louisville on a rainy Thursday night.

This loss helped drop FSU from #4 to #11 in the country as they bounced back with a 48-31 win over Clemson to move back up to #9 as the Noles traveled to South Florida to take on the defending national champions who entered the game as nearly two-touchdown favorites.

 After the Seminoles punted following their opening possession of the game, the Hurricanes would drive 89 yards in 13 plays for the game's first touchdown as McGahee punched it in for a four-yard touchdown to give Miami a 7-0 lead.

The drive featured Dorsey completing four of five passes for 77 yards as he hit Ethenic Sands for 14 yards, Johnson for 14 yards, Kevin Beard for 22 yards, and Winslow for 27 yards.

The two teams would trade punts until early in the second quarter when Miami had the ball at the Florida State 26-yard-line thanks in large part to a 37-yard pass from Dorsey to Sands, when Ken was intercepted by FSU linebacker Michael Boulware to give the Seminoles the ball at their six-yard-line.

The Miami defense would force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball at their 44-yard-line as a holding penalty would derail the drive and force the Hurricanes to punt the ball back to the Seminoles, only for Leon Washington to muff the kick which was recovered by Antrel Rolle to give the Canes the ball at the FSU 15-yard-line.

But on the very next play from scrimmage, Dorsey would fumble the football while trying to scramble, leading to a recovery by FSU linebacker Allen Augustin to give the Seminoles the ball back at their 16-yard-line.

From there, the Noles would drive 84 yards in four plays as Nick Maddox would take it in for a 30-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 7 with 9:29 left in the second quarter.

Following a Miami three-and-out, the Noles would take the lead as Xavier Beitia would kick a 45-yard field goal to give the Noles a 10-7 lead with 6:12 remaining in the second quarter.

The Seminoles would force another three-and-out to give their offense the ball at the 50-yard-line where it took FSU five plays to get back into the end zone as Rix hit  Talman Gardner for a 10-yard touchdown to push the Florida State lead to double digits at 17-7 with 2:34 to go before halftime.

Seminoles running back Greg Jones ran for 189 yards on 31 carries and scored one touchdown.

Having allowed 17 unanswered points, the Hurricanes needed a response from their offense as the first half came to an end as Miami would begin its ensuing possession at their 20-yard-line.

Dorsey would complete three of his next four passes for 21 yards to put the Canes at their 41-yard-line as they would pick up the next 13 yards on the ground on runs of nine yards by Jason Geathers and four yards by McGahee to give Miami a 1st down at the FSU 46-yard-line.

That is when Dorsey completed back-to-back passes to Beard, first for 16 yards and the second for 20 yards to give Miami a 1st & goal at the FSU 10-yard-line as an illegal participation penalty on the Noles would give the Canes five extra yards and a fresh set of downs at the five-yard-line.

After two incomplete passes, Dorsey would find Winslow for the five-yard touchdown to end the 12-play, 80-yard drive which cut the FSU lead to 17-14 with 26 seconds left in the first half.

The Noles would run out the clock to end the first half to go into the locker room ahead 17-14 but set to give the ball back to the Hurricanes to start the second half.

The Canes would drive from their 36-yard-line to the FSU 48-yard-line until Dorsey was picked off by Seminoles free safety Kyler Hall to give the Noles the ball at their 14-yard-line.

Following an exchange of punts, the Noles got the ball back at their four-yard-line as they would drive into Miami territory primarily on the ground game as eight running plays totaled 38 yards while Rix complete passes of 24 and 9 yards to Anquain Boldin to set up a 42-yard field goal by Beitia to increase the FSU lead to 20-14 with 3:25 left in the third quarter.

The Canes would begin their next possession at their 16-yard-line as a 15-yard pass from Dorsey to Johnson on 3rd & 9 would give Miami a 1st down at its 32-yard-line when the Hurricanes appeared to be in FSU territory as Roscoe Parrish caught a 53-yard pass from Dorsey, only to have negated by a chop block which cost Miami 15 yards.

Miami would be forced to punt the ball back as the Noles would take over in Hurricanes territory as an incomplete pass and a run for no gain would set up 3rd & 10 as the third quarter came to an end.

The fourth quarter would begin with a run by Rix, who somersaulted over a few Hurricane defenders for a seven-yard gain which got 15 yards added to it as Miami linebacker Jonathan Vilma was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to give FSU a 1st down at the Canes' 24-yard-line.

Four plays later, the Noles were back in the end zone as Greg Jones took it in from 11 yards out to increase the FSU lead to 26-14 as Bowden opted to go for the extra point instead of attempting a two-point conversion which would have made it a 14-point game as Beitia would make the extra point to make it 27-14 with 11:44 left in the fourth quarter.

Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns passes.

After both teams went three-and-out on their next possessions, the Canes got the ball at their 30-yard-line with 9:32 left in the game and Miami needing two touchdowns to take the lead.

That is when the Canes went to a no-huddle offense as Dorsey completed a 37-yard pass to Johnson to start the drive, which was followed by an incomplete pass and then an 11-yard run by McGahee to give Miami a 1st down at the FSU 22-yard-line.

After another incomplete pass, Dorsey would find Johnson again this time for 19 yards to give Miami a 1st & goal at the FSU three-yard-line as McGahee ran for one yard before Beard caught a two-yard touchdown pass to end the seven-play, 70-yard drive which took only 82 seconds to complete and cut the Noles' lead to 27-21.

The Noles would pick up one 1st down on their next possession before they punted the ball back to the Canes who took over at their 21-yard-line with 5:36 left in regulation.

That is when Dorsey completed a short screen pass to McGahee, who sprinted down the right sideline until he was tackled at the FSU 11-yard-line after a 68-yard play which would set up Geathers' 11-yard-touchdown run to give Miami a 28-27 lead with 5:17 left in the game.

The momentum had clearly turned in Miami's favor especially after they forced a three-and-out to get their offense the ball back at the 50-yard-line with 4:08 remaining and a chance to run out the clock with a few 1st downs.

However, the Seminole defense would force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at their 46-yard-line after Freddie Capshaw shanked the punt which traveled only three yards.

After two running plays picked up six yards, the Noles faced a 3rd & 4 when Rix completed an eight-yard pass to Gardner to give FSU a 1st down at the Miami 40-yard-line.

Rix would find Gardner again, this time for 15 yards, to give the Noles a fresh set of downs at the Miami 25-yard-line as FSU kept it conservative as they ran two plays then spiked the ball to set up a 43-yard field goal attempt by Beitia that would in the game and end the Hurricanes' 27-game winning streak.

But Beitia would join the list of FSU kickers who missed a game-winning field goal against Miami as his kick sailed wide left, instead of wide right, as time expired with the Canes coming away with the 28-27 win as the Orange Bowl scoreboard put out the words "Wide Left I".

The Seminoles would go to win the ACC despite two more losses during the regular season as they earned a trip to the Sugar Bowl where they fell to the Georgia Bulldogs 26-13 to finish the season with a 9-5 record while Miami would run its winning streak up to 34 games before losing to Ohio State 31-24 in double overtime in the Fiesta Bowl to deny the Canes a second straight national title.

As for Beitia, he would get a chance at redemption 14 months after "Wide Left" as the Noles faced the Canes in the Orange Bowl on New Years' Day 2004 as he attempted a 39-yard field goal with five minutes left in the fourth quarter that would give FSU the lead.

However, his kick sailed wide right and no good, allowing for the Hurricanes to run out the clock and come away with the 16-14 win.

NFL Old School Game of the Week: Undefeated Patriots Survive Upset Bid By Ravens

Jabar Gaffney makes the game-winning touchdown catch with 43 seconds left in the Patriots' Week 13 game with the Baltimore Ravens.

The 2007 New England Patriots are the only team in NFL history to go through a 16-game regular season undefeated, but they almost didn't accomplish that feat, thanks to a major scare they got in the 12th game of the regular season when they travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens on Monday Night Football.

The Patriots had storm their way to a 11-0 record thanks to their high-powered offense led by quarterback Tom Brady, who was on pace to break Peyton Manning's record of most touchdown passes in a season, as Brady had thrown 39 touchdown passes through the first 11 games, with 16 of those touchdown passes going to Randy Moss, who had been acquired through a trade with the Oakland Raiders in the offseason, who also had a chance to set a NFL record, the most touchdown receptions in a season which had been held by Jerry Rice since 1987.

Brady needed 11 more touchdown passes and Moss needed seven touchdown catches in the Patriots' last five games of the regular season to set the new NFL records.

While the Patriots were rising, the Ravens were falling as they entered the game with the Patriots on a five-game losing streak.

The Ravens were coached by Brian Billick, who was in his ninth year as the Baltimore head coach, but was now fighting for his job as his team stood at 4-7 as they prepared to host the undefeated Patriots.

To make matters worst, starting quarterback Steve McNair was out with an injury and was replaced with Kyle Boller, who the Ravens had selected in the first round in 2004 but was seen to be a bust at this point in his career.

With the state of the Ravens and the Patriots' average margin of victory being 23 points in their first 11 victories, Baltimore was an 19-point underdog as they prepared for their Monday Night game against the Ravens.

A competitive game seemed unlikely, but that would happen as the game wouldn't be decided until the final play of the game.

The Patriots got the ball to start the game and promptly drove to the Ravens' three-yard-line, thanks in large part to a 42-yard pass from Brady to Donte Stallworth and three Baltimore penalties which gave the Patriots 24 more yards.

But the Ravens' defense would rise up and held the Patriots out of the end zone, forcing New England to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski which put the Patriots ahead 3-0.

After the Ravens punted on their initial possession, the Ravens defense made the Patriots offense do something that they had rarely done all year: go three-and-out, giving the Ravens the ball at their 30-yard-line.

On 3rd & 11 from the 29-yard-line, Boller went deep and connected with Devard Darling for a 53-yard gain that put the Ravens at the Patriots' 18-yard-line.

From there, Willis McGahee carried the ball four straight times for 11 yards, which was followed by back-to-back completions from Boller to Derrick Mason, with the last one being a four-yard touchdown pass to give the Ravens a 7-3 lead with 1:23 left in the first quarter.

The Ravens defense would force a second straight three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at their 34-yard-line as the Baltimore offense drove to the Patriots' 27-yard-line until they faced a 4th & 6.

That is when Billick decided to gamble and go for the 1st down, which he got when Boller found Mason for 12 yards to give the Ravens a 1st down at the Patriots' 15-yard-line.

However, the Ravens would gain only four more yards on the next three plays and had to settle for a 29-yard field goal by Matt Stover, which increased the Baltimore lead to 10-3 with 8:49 left in the second quarter.

The Patriots offense would finally got back on track on its next possession as they put together a nine-play, 60-yard drive which was capped off by an one-yard touchdown run by Heath Evans, that with Gostkowski's extra point tied the game at 10 with 5:24 left before halftime.

Ravens running back Willis McGahee carried the ball 30 times for 137 yards and scored one TD.

After an exchange of three-and-outs, the Patriots would get the ball at their 36-yard-line with 1:04 left on the clock and two timeouts left in their pocket.

Following an incomplete pass, Brady would throw only his fifth interception of the season as Ravens safety Ed Reed made the pick after Brady's pass bounced off the hands of Wes Welker and landed in the arms of Reed at the Baltimore 40-yard-line.

Reed would return the interception into Patriots territory until he was stripped of the ball by Patriots running back Kevin Faulk, resulting in a fumble that was recovered by tight end Benjamin Watson to give New England the ball at their 27-yard-line.

Following that near disaster, the Patriots decided to run out the clock and go into the halftime break tied at 10 with the Ravens set to get the ball to start the second half.

The Ravens would drive 73 yards in eight plays with McGahee carrying the ball six times for 48 yards, with the last carry being a 17-yard touchdown run to give Baltimore a 17-10 lead.

However, the Patriots would respond with a 10-play, 72-yard drive which culminated with a three-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Moss, the 40th TD pass for Brady and the 17th TD catch for Moss, to tie the game at 17 with 4:29 left in the third quarter.

But the Ravens would not back down as Yaman Figurs returned the ensuing kickoff 38 yards to give the Ravens great field position as they would begin their drive at their 44-yard-line.

From there, McGahee would account for 29 yards on the next two plays, 18 on a run and 11 on a screen pass, ultimately leading to a one-yard touchdown pass from Boller to tight end Daniel Wilcox on the second play of the fourth quarter to give the Ravens a 24-17 lead.

Then after forcing the Patriots to go three-and-out for the fourth time in the game, the Ravens seemed poised to increase their lead as Figurs returned the ensuing punt 33 yards to the New England 26-yard-line.

But on 3rd & 14, Boller was intercepted by Patriots safety James Sanders at the one-yard-line, whose 42-yard return gave New England the ball at their own 43-yard-line.

After an offensive pass interference penalty on Welker pushed the Patriots back 10 yards, Brady connected with running back Lawrence Maroney on a 43-yard screen pass to give New England a 1st down at the Ravens' 24-yard-line.

But once again, the Ravens' defense would stiffen as they would not allow another 1st down, forcing the Patriots to settle for a 38-yard field goal by Gostkowski which cut the Baltimore lead to four points at 24-20 with 8:46 left in the 4th quarter.

The Ravens were unable to move the ball on their next possession as they went three-and-out forcing them to punt the ball back to the Patriots who took over at their 44-yard-line with a chance to take the lead.

The drive would start out well with a 19-yard pass from Brady to Moss to put the Patriots at the Ravens' 37-yard-line, but back-to-back offensive penalties killed the drive and forced the Patriots to punt back to the Ravens, who took over at their 28-yard-line with 5:28 remaining to play.

But for the second straight drive, the Ravens would go three-and-out, forcing them to punt the ball back to the Patriots who took over at their 27-yard-line with 3 1/2 minutes to go and two timeouts left in their pocket.

After an incomplete pass on the first play of the drive, Brady would hit Watson for 23 yards to give New England a 1st down at the 50-yard-line.

Following another incomplete pass, Brady hit Faulk for nine yards leading to a 3rd & 1 where Brady snuck for two yards to get the 1st down at the Baltimore 39-yard-line.

Then after throwing two straight incomplete passes, Brady connected with Faulk again for nine yards to set up 4th & 1 at the Ravens' 30-yard-line with 1:53 to play.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady completed 18 of 38 passes for 257 yards and threw two touchdowns.

Brady tried to catch the Ravens defense off guard by hurrying up to the line and quickly running another quarterback sneak.

But the Ravens defense was able to stop Brady short of the 1st down, only to have the officials come in and tell the crowd that a timeout had been called by the Ravens.

The Ravens defense was in disbelief at the call, but replays showed that defensive coordinator Rex Ryan had called timeout before the Patriots had snapped the ball.

Given a reprieve, the Patritos tried for the 1st down again, this time giving the ball to Evans, who lost a yard as he was tackled by linebacker Bart Scott, only to have the Patriots be called for a false start on right guard Russ Hochstein.

The penalty cost New England five yards but gave them a third chance to get the 1st down, which they got when Brady scrambled for 12 yards, which along with an illegal contact penalty on Ravens cornerback Samari Rolle, put New England at the Ravens' 18-yard-line with 1:38 to go.

Faulk ran for five yards on 1st down, but Brady would throw two straight incomplete passes, leading to a 4th & 5 at the 13-yard-line with 55 seconds to play.

Brady would throw a pass intended for Watson in the end zone, only for the pass to fall incomplete.

But once again a flag was thrown as Ravens defensive back Jamaine Wishbourne was called for pass interference, giving the Patriots a 1st down at the Ravens' eight-yard-line.

That is when Brady took the snap and fired a pass toward the left corner of the end zone intended for Jabar Gaffney, who bobbled the ball as he went out of bounds.

But the officials signaled touchdown and after the instant replay booth reviewed the play, the call stood and the Patriots had their first lead of the game.

After the review of the touchdown, Scott was so outraged that he drew two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, one for arguing with the officials and another for throwing a referee's flag that would be assessed on the ensuing kickoff.

Gostkowski would kick the the extra point to make it a 24-20 game with 43 seconds left as Reed was called for lining up offsides on the extra point, which would also be added on the ensuing kickoff, meaning that the Patriots would kick off from the Ravens' 35-yard-line.

The 35 yards in penalties would come back to haunt the Ravens as they started their final drive from their 20-yard-line with 43 seconds left and one timeout.

Boller would complete back-to-back passes, one to running back Musa Smith for 13 yards and the other to Mason for 12 yards to put the Ravens at their 45-yard-line where they burn their last timeout with 13 seconds left in the game.

Then after an incomplete pass on the next play, the Ravens were left with eight seconds on the clock, forcing them to go their "Hail Mary" formation.

That is when Boller fired a "Hail Mary" pass that was caught by Mark Clayton, but three yards short of the end zone, as he was tackled by a swarm of Patriot defenders as time expired, allowing for New England to escape with the 24-20 win and move their record to 12-0.

It would take weeks for the Ravens to recover from the heartbreaking loss as they would lose their next three games, including one to the winless Miami Dolphins, until they broke their nine-game losing streak with a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the regular season finale to finish the season with a 5-11 record.

But the damage of the season had been done as Billick was fired after the season and replaced by John Harbaugh, who would lead the Ravens to their second Super Bowl title in franchise history in 2012.

Meanwhile, the Patriots would go on to become the first time since the 1972 Miami Dolphins to finish a regular season undefeated as they would win their next four games to finish the season 16-0 as Brady would break Manning's record of most touchdown passes in a season and Moss would break Rice's record of most touchdown catches in a season as Brady connected with Moss on a 65-yard touchdown pass in the Patriots' 38-35 win over the New York Giants in the regular season finale.

But after defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars and the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Playoffs, the Patriots would be stunned by the Giants in Super Bowl XLII 17-14 to end the season 18-1.