Saturday was a big day for some teams in the Group of Five, with Appalachian State and Marshall pulling off massive upset wins against Texas A&M and Notre Dame, respectively. However, another Group of Five team was on the other end of one of those upsets.
Buffalo lost to Football Championship Subdivision (FKA, Division I-AA) Holy Cross in a way that almost seems — in the most literal sense of the phrase — preordained.
The Crusaders and Bulls seemed headed for overtime. But with four seconds left, Holy Cross had a chance to win in regulation with enough time for one play. So, with four seconds left, the Crusaders lined up on the Buffalo 44-yard line and attempted a Hail Mary pass.
Indeed, Holy Cross tried a Hail Mary. You can probably see where this one is going.
Holy Cross winning on a Hail Mary. If you think that sounds like something you might see in a movie starring Jim Caviezel as a once great, now struggling football coach looking for one last big break, well, you’re not alone.
Many in the college football world noted the obvious connection here.
https://twitter.com/BADG3RMANTV/status/1568781182128594945
Damn. But if Holy Cross doesn’t complete the Hail Mary, who does? https://t.co/iOjztfastL
— Jeff Hopps (@JeffHopps) September 11, 2022
https://twitter.com/DiscoImperative/status/1568781090311274496
Holy Cross benefiting from a Hail Mary. The Catholics get their Notre Dame revenge. https://t.co/KkVoqmVfCB
— Alex
(@CamAlexander91) September 11, 2022
Feels unfair that Holy Cross gets to run Hail Marys https://t.co/stwXURLVkU
— alexquigley (@alexquigley) September 11, 2022
Give the Holy Cross QB a NIL deal with the Vatican https://t.co/Aejngr1FbV
— Harris (@HarrisVT) September 11, 2022
The only thing more fitting would have been if Buffalo had a nickname like the Blue Devils. Perhaps, though, that would have been too on the nose.
[Timothy Burke on Twitter, Photo Credit: ESPN+]
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