Still, things looked bleak for Notre Dame when starting quarterback Andy Pilney was carried off on a stretcher with less than a minute to play after being injured on a 30-yard run.

Layden had succeeded Rockne as Notre Dame's head coach by the time the Fighting Irish faced undefeated Ohio State in this thriller that became known as 'The Game of the Century.' Notre Dame was trailing 13-0 at the start of the fourth quarter but scored two touchdowns to trim Ohio State's lead to 13-12. When Kizer repeated the Hail Mary request on another Notre Dame possession in the fourth quarter and quarterback Harry Struhldreher scored to put the game away, another legend about Rockne's team was hatched. Notre Dame had been stymied on offense and was trailing 3-0 at the time, but promptly scored on a fourth-down touchdown run by Elmer Layden.

The first reference to a Hail Mary football play is believed to have occurred during this game, when Fighting Irish guard Noble Kizer turned toward his teammates in the huddle and said, 'Boys, let's have a Hail Mary,' before running a pivotal second-quarter play. Here's a look at more of those thrilling plays.

Whether they involve luck, wondrous skill, freakish deflections or breathtakingly bad judgment, Hail Marys have created some of the most frenzied celebrations and unforgettable moments that college or pro football has seen. This season, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers tossed two Hail Marys, including one that sent Saturday night's divisional playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals into overtime. Afterward, Staubach - a devout Catholic - told reporters, 'It was just a Hail Mary pass, a very, very lucky play.' 28, 1975, NFC divisional playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings and heaving a pass that wide receiver Drew Pearson caught for a 50-yard touchdown against the Vikings' Nate Wright. Staubach cemented his place in football lore by dropping back with 24 seconds left in the Cowboys' Dec. But fewer folks remember it was Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach who brought the term back into widespread usage in football in 1975 - or more than 50 years after it originated with Knute Rockne's famous 1922 Notre Dame team led by The Four Horsemen. Many people know the football definition of a 'Hail Mary' is a long pass under desperate circumstances that has so little chance of success it would take divine intervention for the play to succeed. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĬelebrating football's greatest Hail Marys, including two this season by Aaron Rodgers

Hail mary football roger staubach