Arguably, the Raiders’ two craziest games from last year’s football season have to be the 28-point back comeback against Dartmouth and the Homecoming Weekend win against Bucknell that was delayed by lightning for over an hour. However, it took a combination of these two games (comeback AND a lightning delay), plus perhaps the most memorable play in recent Colgate football history, to make Colgate’s 23-19 win over Coastal Carolina one for the ages.

The play in question, which is still nameless (Myrtle Beach Miracle possibly?), has received much play on ESPN2 and ESPNU this week. To refresh your memories, Colgate was about to attempt to kick a 33-yard field goal with eight seconds left to win the game. Junior holder Ryan Meyers fumbled the snap from junior Austin Douglas, but Meyers remained cool under the immense pressure from four Coastal Carolina defensive linemen. Meyers dropped back and fired a pass to junior tight end Adrien Schriefer at the 16-yard line. Schriefer then outran two defensive linemen into the end zone for the winning score.

Perhaps the most amazing part of this play was Meyers’ ability to stay calm, pick up the football and make the play amidst the oncoming rush. How many times have football fans seen a botch field goal attempt turn into disaster? However, Meyers’ ability to compose himself saved the day for ‘Gate.

“Find the ball and pick it up,” Meyers said when asked about what he was thinking when the ball was on the ground. “When I came out, I saw Schriefer with his hands up. He made a great catch and the line did a good job.”

After Meyers released the ball, he was hit by a freight train of rushers that were a step too late in stopping the play.

“I got walloped. Straight up. But it didn’t feel as bad as it looked because of the implications of the play,” Meyers said.

Believe it or not, the play was not as random as one might think.

“If a snap’s mishandled, that’s what we do. We practice that a lot,” Schriefer said.

Although the disaster plan was run with perfect execution, Schriefer was not sure whether the play was going to work as the waning seconds of the game ran down.

“I thought there were guys all around me,” Schriefer said. “It was such a lucky thing.”

Maybe there was a little bit of luck involved, but the players involed in the Myrtle Beach Miracle deserve all the credit in the world for giving Colgate a come-from-behind win. The clutch Schriefer picked the best time to score his first two touchdowns as a Raider when he hit the end zone twice in the fourth quarter, and the magnificent Meyers made the play that gave Colgate great momentum the rest of the way.