The Miracle at Michigan refers to the final play that occurred during the

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

game played on September 24, 1994, between the

Colorado Buffaloes The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado. The university sponsors 17 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden Buffalo ...

and Michigan Wolverines at

Michigan Stadium Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "The Big House," is the football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the largest stadium in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, the third largest stadium in the world, and the ...

in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The game was decided on Colorado

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Kordell Stewart Kordell Stewart (born October 16, 1972) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "Slash", he played college football at Colorado ...

's 64-yard Hail Mary pass to

Michael Westbrook Michael Deanailo Westbrook (born July 7, 1972) is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and is also a former mixed martial artist. Westbrook played college foot ...

, the second touchdown by the Buffaloes in the last 2:16. The game was described as one of the two wildest finishes in Michigan football history. Colorado trailed Michigan 26–21 with six seconds left when Stewart heaved the ball more than 70 yards in the air into the end zone where Westbrook caught it on a planned deflection from Blake Anderson for the game-winning touchdown. The play, which was named "Rocket Left", was called by

Bill McCartney William Paul McCartney (born August 22, 1940) is a former American football player and coach and the founder of the Promise Keepers men's ministry. He was the head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder for thirteen seasons (1982–1994), ...

, Colorado coach and former Michigan assistant coach. Westbrook, Anderson and

Rae Carruth Rae Theotis Carruth (born Rae Lamar Wiggins; January 20, 1974) is a former American football wide receiver, and convicted murderer. After playing college football at Colorado, Carruth was drafted in the first round of the 1997 NFL Draft by the ...

lined up wide left and James Kidd lined up wide right. The same play was called to end the first half, resulting in a

Chuck Winters Charles "Chuck" Winters (born February 7, 1974) is a former Canadian Football League linebacker and defensive back who played for the Toronto Argonauts. Early life Winters grew up in the tough Herman Gardens project of Detroit, Michigan. When h ...

interception.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miracle at Michigan 1994 Big Eight Conference football season 1994 Big Ten Conference football season Colorado Buffaloes football games Michigan Wolverines football games American football incidents September 1994 sports events in the United States 1994 in sports in Michigan Nicknamed sporting events