On Nov. 9, 2002, LSU scored an unthinkable 75-yard touchdown as time expired that decided a thrilling midday matchup between No. 16 LSU and Kentucky. It was one of the most improbable moments in football history.
That play is now known as the Bluegrass Miracle.
The quarterback who heaved the pass that became folklore was Marcus Randall, then a sophomore pushed into the position after starter Matt Mauck suffered an injury.
“I have heard thousands and thousands of people’s stories of how they were watching the game, how they missed it because they got up and thought it was over or how they went crazy in the house,” Randall said. “It’s a real impactful play that people remember where they were, and it brings back memories.”
Randall was a hometown hero, having attended Glen Oaks High School just 20 minutes north of Tiger Stadium.
He went on to win a national championship with LSU in 2003, play in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers and then take the head coaching position at his alma mater in 2019. Recently, he was named the high school’s athletic director.
Randall and his wife Christina are now undergoing a project to compile people’s memories and records of the Bluegrass Miracle through a survey, hoping to enshrine the electric moment. It’ll require fan engagement from the LSU community.
“It will talk about the play, but it also talks about the people and the way they saw it through their eyes and where they were,” Randall said of the project.
Randall said people still stop him to ask about the Bluegrass Miracle and share their experience. He remembers it distinctly.
LSU stepped into Kentucky’s stadium in 2002 with a target on its back by being a top-25 team. And as the fourth quarter neared its end, the Wildcats thought that they had pulled an upset.
Kentucky had erased a 14-point lead to tie the game at 27-27 with 2:24 left in the game.
“It was like we were just breaking down, slowly but surely, all the way to the fourth quarter,” Randall said.
LSU got the ball back after the touchdown, but it couldn’t put anything together on its drive and was forced to punt the ball back to Kentucky. The Wildcats drove down for a field goal that gave them the lead with 15 seconds on the clock. A victory was a near certainty.
Kentucky then kicked the ball off back to LSU, and future New Orleans Saints wide receiver Devery Henderson was the kick returner who picked up the short kick and ran it out of bounds at the 13-yard line. After a delay of game penalty, LSU was backed all the way up to the 8-yard line.
“Thursdays were our days where we used to always go out, and we’ll practice the two minute drill,” Randall said. “So we knew what plays we’re going to pretty much run, but they would normally be around by the [30-yard line].”
Randall fired a pass over the middle to a wide open Michael Clayton, who quickly caught the ball and got down and called a timeout. After advancing the ball to the 25-yard line, LSU now had two seconds to go 75 more yards.
“Dash right, 93 Berlin,” Randall called in the huddle.
The snap came and Randall rolled out to his right.
“I’m looking for Michael Clayton,” Randall said he was thinking. “He’s our big tip guy, he’s the one that can jump the highest. He normally tips it, and everybody else gets the chance to try to catch it.”
Still, odds were slim at best.
“It never worked in practice, ever,” Randall admitted of the play.
So Randall released the ball, and it flew 50 yards downfield. Around the 20-yard line, the ball was tipped up into the air.
At the 15-yard line, Henderson caught the ball between two defenders. He eluded both and found an untouched path to the endzone.
“From my point of view, I could see that stuff happened, but I can’t fully see that he catches it and actually runs it off into the end zone,” Randall said. “So then I see our whole sideline starts to run into the end zone, and I said ‘Hold on, he caught it and scored it.’”
The moment felt impossible. Kentucky players had already drenched their coach with Gatorade, Wildcat fans had piled onto the sidelines and the clock had been well past zero.
“I’m looking down the field, and I could see their fans hanging from the goal posts already,” Randall recalled. “A lot of the fans already on both sidelines, already ready to rush the field, ready to celebrate out there.”
But what made the moment possible was their mindset heading into the play, Randall said.
“Everybody still gave 110%, and you see Mike Clayton running hard, Reggie Robinson running hard, everyone running hard,” Randall said. “So we were still preparing to try to win the game in that moment.”
LSU finished the 2002 season 8-5 but brought back 15 starters, building the foundation for LSU’s national championship team in 2003. The key returners were Clayton and Henderson, cornerback Travis Daniels and tackle Andrew Whitworth.
Players like Clayton, Henderson and Randall are legends because of their involvement in the Bluegrass Miracle, which will go down in history as one of the greatest plays in the program’s history.
