Feleipe Franks said his first thought when he rolled out of the pocket was to run. In a split second, he had to decide whether there was enough time to get out of bounds and still have a monster field goal try.
Then, he saw him.
“Out of the corner of my eye,” said the redshirt freshman quarterback.
There, running like a blur, was Tyrie Cleveland.
Just like practice.
In the huddle, when Franks had barked out the same play Will Grier did two years ago against Tennessee from the same exact yard line, Cleveland looked at Franks.
“Give me a chance,” he said.
Still, it wasn’t the plan. The plan was to run “Train Right Open Big Ben In” and hope for something, anything that would either set up Eddy Pineiro’s big leg or create another miracle.
Cleveland had simply run past defensive back Micah Abernathy because, well, he can. The safety had rolled up trying to take away a mid-range completion and Franks had purchased some time when he rolled out.
So what the heck?
Let it fly.
The ball sailed through the air and all eyes shifted down the field and saw the unbelievable.
Cleveland was behind the defense.
“I was ready to run down and get ready for a field goal,” said offensive tackle Martez Ivey. “But I saw (Franks) throw it and I thought, ‘This isn’t going to be a field goal,’ ”
Instead, it was yet another special moment for Florida football and another kick to the pancreas for Tennessee.
Cleveland grabbed the perfectly thrown ball as he fell to the ground and just like that a season that was already on life support in its third week received defibrillator paddles to the chest.
“I was just shocked that it all happened,” Cleveland said.
Join the club. Everyone there, everyone watching at home, everyone with an even casual interest in a game that was for the most part unwatchable will never forget the fourth quarter and the unforgettable final play.
Two years ago, Florida had laid a Lindsay Scott-like play on the Vols. On a sticky Saturday, they brought back the old “Doug Flutie.”
Cleveland, such a young pup, told the media he had never heard of Flutie. But he promised to “check him out.” (Has he never seen a Dr. Pepper commercial?)
Jim McElwain remembers it. He remembers being in the house they named the “Cow Palace” at Eastern Washington when Flutie’s Hail Mary fell into the arms of Gerald Phelan.
Now?
“I’ve got some burned images in my mind that I will carry for the rest of my life,” he said.
One thing about the Florida head coach — his teams sure are good at creating indelible moments.
For a night anyway, all of the problems of a game that looked like it was slipping away could be forgotten and forgiven. A throaty Gator Nation in desperate need of having something to cheer about had more to cheer about than it could have ever imagined.
A defense that had played so well was running on fumes and Gummy Bears in the fourth quarter and nobody could have liked Florida’s chances in overtime. The Gators had so many freshmen playing on defense it was surprising the officials didn’t ask for their IDs before they let them check in.
And it finally looked like the lack of offense coupled with weary legs caught up with Florida when Tennessee had first-and-goal at the nine with a minute to play.
Fortunately, Tennessee is still Tennessee.
Florida, at this point in the game, could not tackle Vols running back John Kelly. So, of course, Tennessee threw it three times (Kelly did drop a sure touchdown) before tying the game with a field goal.
This was the same offense that did not run the ball on first-and-goal at the half-yard line and eventually threw a pick, one of three the Gators had in the game.
But Butch Jones is Tennessee’s problem. On Saturday night, all of the problems of an inconsistent offense and what happened in Arlington, Texas, were drowned out in a roar that was still echoing deep into the night.
In a city where the fallen trees and limbs are still piled up like snow plowed to the curbs, a memory of a lifetime fell from the sky.
“I knew I had it,” Cleveland said. “I made it my business to come down with it.”
Business as usual when it comes to Florida-Tennessee.
Contact Pat Dooley at 352-374-5053 or at pat.dooley@gvillesun.com. And follow at Twitter.com/Pat_Dooley.
Great last 9 second finish, now work on the rest of the game.
Somehow, I think you were rooting for the Gators to lose.
Three amazing Gator Moments in 2017: The 3ozza, the Baseball Championship-winning Interference Call, and now another Tennessee Killer. Wow! Wow! Wow!
Well said, Dooley. Gooooo Gators!
Would like an explanation why 20 seconds ran off clock with 2 TO’s and score tied and a great kicker ? Head Coach makes 4MM and assistants make 100’s of thousands a year ! No one could see what was happening ? Hail Mary bailed out incompetence! BTW I was at the Flutie game
Luck a strategy is not. This only serves to prolong the pain. Mac’s gotta go.
Who would U.F go and get for Head Coach, jh? A ”troll screen name” to be sure!
”Those who have the right to criticize also have the right to help” (or compliment when it’s due). ~Abraham Lincoln. But some here, who only act like Gator fans, are really just mere trolls.
It’s really quite sad that those who criticize here on Gatorsports.com are so paralyzed by their own insecurities that they cannot ”give credit when it’s due”. I say, GO GATORS, and don’t listen to the trolls in orange and blue! And… CHOMP-ON!
I’ll give credit to Mac for recruiting Franks. Ok, fine. But Mac has not shown a trend of improvement. It’s not “trolling” to air legitimate criticisms, even if it hurts your delicate sensibilities. The offense is still dink’n run-kick, and still blocks poorly. The lack of ability in sustaining drives continues to leave the “D” hanging out to dry in the 4th. I don’t recall poor clock management from Mac before, but that abysmal 2-minute drill that left us with TWO timeouts in our pocket and 0:09 on the clock was inexcusable. Franks totally saved Mac, and I’m thrilled we won, but it wasn’t due to coaching excellence.
I’m weary of the over-emoting, lip-quivering interviews broadcasting meaningless emotion, and yeah, I think the sauce rollout was as low-rent a move as a non-championship coach with a shaky offense could make. I really believed in Mac, and I’m a lifelong Gator. But I have no faith in his ability to build our program back to an elite level. The sooner he is gone the better. Go Gators!
that pass was longer than the list of UF players under criminal investigation…
OK – GATOR NATION – I like you was happy we won BUT do not be fooled – we have problems – Named Nuss/and offensive line coach -either fix or this roller coaster ride will be on going and ugly!
Great play but a lot of work still to do. I had to turn the sound off on the tv because I could stand listening to Danielson and Nessler fawning over The Vols, they always root for the Gators opponent.
Yes, I tired of hearing about the “3 missed field goals”, well it was simple to me (1) they were not good enough to make them or get closer in and (2) we were good enough to make ours…PERIOD! Overall, I’ve always liked Danielson and still due, they just got overly caught-up in the “what ifs”, yesterdfay. Nessler is a BIG breath of fresh air after Vern, who I will never miss.
Gary might as well wear a I Hate ALL Things Florida shirt. I cannot stand the guy. He’s a bad influence on my children and family.
An 0-12 season could not make it more difficult to be a Gator fan than the poor-mouthing you read here from other “fans”. I know some, like “jh” for instance, are obvious trolls, but most are not. Pretty sad when it’s hard to tell the trolls from the “fans”.
i like franks, he needs experience, gators are an offensive line away from competing.
My firm belief–at least until we tee it up against Kentucky– is that “the play” has lifted the evil spell that has plagued the Gators’ offense since Tim Tebow moved on. I’m betting we’ll see steady improvement over the next several weeks and a lot more fireworks and that Coach Mac will be regaled as the offensive mastermind he was hired to be. Or something like that. To the team: Thanks for the moment, boys. In the context of the devastation and misery wrought by Irma up and down the state, a beautiful, uplifting memory that will last and last.
Please, please stop calling this a “Hail Mary”. This was an excellent read by a receiver who won the 1-1 match up and got behind the defense. This was a perfect throw from a QB who saw his guy had a step on the defender. This was a pass to a specific receiver at a specific spot on the field. It was NOT a heave into the end zone that was up for grabs with one of our guys ending up with it. Calling this a Hail Mary takes away from just how great a play this was.