Historic LSU football plays up for best of all time

Two plays that will live on forever in LSU football lore are in the running for NFL.com’s greatest college football plays of all time.

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If you have ever watched an LSU football hype video at Tiger Stadium, chances are you are well acquainted with The Bluegrass Miracle and Billy Cannon’s Halloween night run.

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Now, these two memorable moments in Bayou Bengal history have a chance to secure their place among the best ever in college football.

On Wednesday, NFL.com’s College Football 24/7 released its top-24 college football plays of all time. The plays will be voted on by the fans over the course of the next few weeks, with the winner being announced on July 31st.

Here are the details regarding formatting of the tournament, per NFL.com:

"The 24-play field — and the tournament seedings — were determined by a panel of CFB 24/7 experts. The tournament will have five rounds of voting in a typical bracket style format, with eight great plays earning first-round byes. The plays with the most votes within its matchup at the end of each round will advance to the next round of voting. The plays have been divided into four, six-play regions, with the four regions named after legendary coaches spanning the game’s early formative years (Knute Rockne) to the modern day (Urban Meyer)."

Billy Cannons Halloween night run to take down the Ole Miss Rebels was one of the eight plays to receive a first round bye.

On that now-legendary night in 1959, No. 1 LSU trailed No. 3 Ole Miss 3-0 late in a defensive battle in which neither offense appeared destined to score a touchdown. That is when Cannon dropped back to return a punt and took matters into his own hands.

The rest is history.

Cannon would break seven tackles on the 89-yard return, leading the Tigers to a victory over their hated rival and securing the first and only Heisman Trophy in school history.

The Bluegrass Miracle may not have had as far-reaching implications as Cannon’s touchdown run, but its status in LSU football history is not far behind.

On November 9, 2002, the Tigers had surrendered a 14-point lead to Kentucky on the Wildcats’ home field, and were on the verge of a major upset. Their opponent had taken the lead 30-27 on a field goal with 11 seconds remaining, and LSU found itself on its own 26-yard line with only two ticks left on the clock.

Kentucky had already doused its coach in the traditional Gatorade bath, and the celebration was underway in Lexington. Fortunately for the Tigers, Marcus Randall and Devery Henderson had different plans in mind.

Randall rolled out to his right, launching a pass as far as he could. The football then bounced off a Kentucky defender and right into the hands of Henderson, who sprinted the final 15 yards into the endzone and onto a miraculous LSU victory. The Hail Mary pass would go on to win the 2003 ESPY Award for Best Play.

The Bluegrass Miracle will face some tough competition in the first round, however, as it goes up against Nebraska’s 1997 ‘Flea Flicker’ to beat Missouri and keep its national title hopes alive.

Voting for the first round concludes on Tuesday, July 7th.

Click here to vote for The Bluegrass Miracle

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