No. 9 Boise State faced No. 7 Oklahoma as heavy underdogs in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. The Broncos needed a series of trick plays to pull off one of college football’s greatest upsets.
Oklahoma rallied from a 28-10 deficit to take a 35-28 lead with 1:02 remaining. Boise State found themselves in fourth-and-18 at midfield with just 18 seconds left on the clock.
Quarterback Jared Zabransky connected with Drisan James, who immediately lateraled to Jerard Rabb for a 50-yard touchdown. The “Hook and Ladder” play tied the game and sent it to overtime.
The Sooners scored first in the extra period.
Boise State faced fourth-and-2 from the 6-yard line. Receiver Vinny Perretta took a direct snap and found Derek Schouman in the end zone for another trick-play touchdown.
Coach Chris Petersen decided to go for the two-point conversion instead of kicking the extra point to tie.
The Broncos weren’t done with their trick plays. They ran a perfectly timed “Statue of Liberty” play, with Zabransky faking a pass before handing off to Ian Johnson. Johnson scored the game-winning conversion for a 43-42 victory.
Johnson proposed to his girlfriend Chrissy Popadics, a Boise State cheerleader, on the sideline moments after scoring the winning points.
The couple remains married today, proving that college football can be pretty romantic after all.
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