Adv25-28

The Eagles got the ball back at their 20.

In the huddle, Flutie told teammates that if they could get the ball to the 50 they had a chance. They got to the Miami 48 but there were only 6 seconds left.

The next play was called "Flood Tip." Three receivers run down the right side into the end zone and one is supposed to tip the ball to another.

But first Flutie had to throw it 63 yards, having ended up on his own 37 when he rolled out to the right.

"He threw this beautiful spiral," said Reid Oslin, who was BC's sports information director and was on the field. "It went over the Miami defenders and you couldn't see who was back there from our vantage point.

"All of a sudden, the back judge just put up his hands and walked off the field. The guy never changed the expression on his face and that was it."

There was no time left. The dramatic battle of two powerful offenses was over.

"That last play, call it luck or call it whatever you want, was just an exclamation point on the game," Bicknell said.

It was the only nationally televised college game of the day, and fans who had gathered with their families for the Thanksgiving weekend watched it together.

That play led in part to increased admissions applications at BC and helped football recruiting. Flutie went on to play in the U.S. Football League, the Canadian Football League and the NFL.

"Although I'd love for everybody to remember a lot of the other things I've achieved in my career, at least I have that signature moment to be remembered by," he said. "Very few days go by without it being brought up."

Even the quarterback who led this year's Eagles to an outstanding season and an almost certain bowl game was affected by The Pass.

"I had seen it when I was a little kid," Paul Peterson said. "All I knew about Boston College before I came here was that, really."

When Bicknell attended a reunion of members of that Cotton Bowl team a few weeks ago, he thought about one player's absence.

"The thing that struck me this time is that after Flutie threw that pass and jumped in the air the guy that caught him is Steve Trapilo," Bicknell said.

Trapilo, a guard who played for New Orleans from 1987 to 1992, died of a heart attack in May. He was 39.

Running back Troy Stradford is a sports radio broadcaster in Miami, offensive lineman Mark MacDonald is a doctor in Minnesota, fullback Steve Strachan is vice president of a software company and linebacker Bill Romanowski had a long NFL career.

One thing hasn't changed in the past 20 years.

"It's still great to see the replay," Oslin said. "Phelan still catches it every time."