'INSANE PLAY.' Last-second Hail Mary lateral lifts Harvard to win vs Colgate

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College football teams have used Hail Marys to win games. They've used laterals, too.

But Harvard football on Saturday, Oct. 3, pulled a play from the Randy Moss playbook for a Hail Mary-lateral to eke out a win over Colgate to maintain their undefeated start to the season.

Trailing 17-14 at the Raiders' 39-yard line, the Crimson actually lined up for a game-tying 47-yard field goal attempt, before a false start penalty moved them back five yards to the 44. That penalty ultimately forced the offense back onto the field with just enough time left for a desperation heave to the end zone.

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Quarterback Charlie Smith threw the Hail Mary from near midfield to tight end Teigan Pelletier, who caught the ball at the 5-yard line. However, Colgate defenders couldn't bring the 6-6, 230-pound tight end down, giving him just enough time to make a heads-up play and lateral the ball to receiver Nathan Bailey, who took the ball and raced for the corner of the end zone for the win.

Here's the play and radio call of the hail lateral:

That sequence occurred after Colgate had taken a 17-14 lead off a Jake Stearney 13-yard touchdown pass to Matt Fogler with 27 seconds remaining.

With the win, Harvard advanced to 3-0 on the season. Smith finished the game completing 31-of-45 passes for 360 yards and two touchdowns to one interception. Pelletier had four catches for 62 yards, while Bailey had 16 catches for 197 yards and two scores.

Here's a sampling of reactions to Harvard's game-winning play:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'INSANE PLAY.' Last-second Hail Mary lateral lifts Harvard to win vs Colgate

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