User:Stubbleboy/MichiganStateMiracle

The Michigan State Miracle is the nickname given to what is arguably the greatest play of all time in the history of college football.

The game was played on 17 October 2015 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan, lead by first-year coach Jim Harbaugh, entered the contest ranked #12 in the country with a record of 5-1, while Michigan State came into the game ranked #7 in the country with a 6-0 record. This was the first meeting of coaches Mark Dantonio and Jim Harbaugh. Despite the ranking difference, Michigan was favored due to narrow wins by Michigan State in their two preceding games against unranked Purdue and Rutgers.

Michigan led Michigan State the entire game. With 10 seconds left, Michigan led 23-21 and held possession just past midfield. Facing a 4th down, Michigan lined up to punt, with the punt likely to either run all the remaining time off the clock or leave Michigan State with only enough time for one more play. Michigan punter Blake O'Neill fumbled the snap, but ran forward to pick it up. With several Michigan State players closing in, O'Neill found himself facing the wrong way after recovering his fumble and attempted to punt the ball sideways and out of bounds. O'Neill was hit as he attempted to get the kick off and the ball ended up in the hands of Michigan State defensive back Jalen Watts-Jackson with six seconds remaining. Watts Jackson ran down the sideline and crossed into the end zone just as time expired, winning the game 27-23.

ESPN Stats & Info calculated that the odds of Michigan State winning the game when Michigan lined up to punt was about 0.2%.

On October 20, 2015, Mark Dantonio named the play "Rangers: Mission 4:10" after the special-teams unit Watts-Jackson was part of.