Jason Burgos
On Thursday night, the Houston Cougars were able to complete one of the most legendary plays in football, a hail mary pass in the final seconds to win a game.
The West Virginia Mountaineers entered their game in Week 7 against the Houston Cougars hoping to continue what has been a strong season and push their record to 5-1. They were a solid favorite against the 2-3 Cougars and seemed to be closing in on the W after a wild fourth quarter.
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The first three-quarters of Houston vs. West Virginia was fairly run-of-the-mill and was nothing out of the ordinary for a college football game in 2023. However, what was a 21-17 game entering the final period exploded into a wild shoot.
In the fourth quarter, the two teams scored a combined 42 points. Twenty-two of those came from the Mountaineers as they scored with less than 20 seconds left and seemingly had the game locked up with seconds on the clock. That’s when things got interesting.
Houston Cougars win after falling behind with 12 seconds left
After getting the ball back, the Houston Cougars were able to get the ball to the 50-yard line and attempt an impossible Hail Mary pass. Quarterback Donovan Smith was forced out of the pocket and had to scramble to the left hash so he could set and unleash a bomb to the endzone.
When the ball came down 50 yards from where it started, it was tipped and shockingly caught by Stephon Johnson in the endzone for his second touchdown of the night. Footage of the wild moment that sent the Houston Cougars faithful into a wild frenzy can be seen below.
It is a true football rarity but one that seems to happen in college football more often than anywhere else and never seems to get old.
