Michigan State Miracle
 | This article or section appears to be slanted towards recent events. (October 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
| 2015 Michigan St vs. Michigan Rivalry Football Game "The Michigan State Miracle" | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | October 17, 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Michigan Stadium (The Big House) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Ann Arbor, Michigan | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 111,740 | ||||||||||||||||||
The Michigan State Miracle is the nickname[1] given to what is arguably[citation needed] the most famous play of all time in the Michigan–Michigan State football rivalry.[2]
The game was played on 17 October 2015 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan, lead by first-year coach Jim Harbaugh, entered the contest ranked #12 in the country with a record of 5-1, while Michigan State came into the game ranked #7 in the country with a 6-0 record. This was the first meeting of coaches Mark Dantonio and Jim Harbaugh. Despite the ranking difference, Michigan was favored due to narrow wins by Michigan State in their two preceding games against unranked Purdue and Rutgers.[citation needed]
Michigan led Michigan State the entire game. With 10 seconds left, Michigan led 23-21 and held possession just past midfield. Facing a 4th down, Michigan lined up to punt, with the punt likely to either run all the remaining time off the clock or leave Michigan State with only enough time for one more play. Michigan punter Blake O'Neill fumbled the snap, but ran forward to pick it up. With several Michigan State players closing in, O'Neill found himself facing the wrong way after recovering his fumble and attempted to punt the ball sideways and out of bounds. O'Neill was hit as he attempted to get the kick off and the ball ended up in the hands of Michigan State defensive back Jalen Watts-Jackson with six seconds remaining. Watts Jackson ran down the sideline and crossed into the end zone just as time expired, winning the game 27-23.
ESPN Stats & Info calculated that the odds of Michigan State winning the game when Michigan lined up to punt was about 0.2%.
On October 20, 2015, Mark Dantonio named the play "Rangers: Mission 4:10" after the special-teams unit Watts-Jackson was part of. [3]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Mark Dantonio gave Michigan State's miracle play a name". Fox Sports (United States). 21st Century Fox. October 20, 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
- ↑ Russo, Ralph D (October 18, 2015). "Playoff Pulse: Michigan State miracle; Alabama rising". Business Insider. Axel Springer SE. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ↑ Charboneau, Matt (October 20, 2015). "Dantonio dubs final play 'Rangers: Mission 4:10'". Detroit News. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
This article "Michigan State Miracle" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
