RGIII on deflected TD pass: 'It was crazy'
Yet, Griffin knows that 87 of his passing yards and one of those touchdowns just might go down as the most fortuitous play he'll ever be a part of, and one of college football's more humble stars isn't afraid to admit it.
"It was crazy," the junior Heisman Trophy candidate said. "In that situation a lot of times as a quarterback, when you see balls get tipped, a lot of times they get intercepted."
Midway through the third quarter, Baylor trailed OU, 24-17, and took possession at its own 16 yard-line. After a 5-yard penalty and a 2-yard gain, it was 2nd-and-13 from the 13.
Griffin took the shotgun snap, fired a line-drive pass up the middle. It ricocheted off the intended receiver and downfield, landing in the hands of streaking receiver Kendall Wright near midfield as if he was the intended receiver all along. Wright was 10 yards beyond the Sooners secondary and he was gone, 87 yards, for the game-tying touchdown.
"When I saw the ball bounce off my player’s helmet, my heart sunk a little bit," Griffin said. "But, as I continued to watch and I saw Kendall run with his hands out I was truly amazed because things like that don’t happen."
As Wright sprinted into the end zone, Griffin could only hold out his arms, palms up, and shake his head. He then dropped to one knee and, still shaking his head, said a prayer and then pointed skyward. As he trotted off the field, he continued to shake his head as if to say he couldn't believe what he just saw. And maybe he couldn't.
"To have a ball go off of a helmet, fly 20 yards and hit a receiver in stride and for him to run for an 87-yard touchdown is incredible," Griffin said. "I don’t think that’ll ever happen again in my career or just in football in general, but I’m glad we were a part of it that night."
Griffin and the Bears play Texas Tech Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium.
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Richard Durrett
Richard Durrett joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. He writes about colleges, the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers. Richard spent nine years at The Dallas Morning News covering the Rangers, Stars, colleges, motorsports and high schools.
Tim MacMahon
Tim MacMahon joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. Tim covers the Cowboys and Mavericks. He has covered the local sports scene from high schools to colleges to pros during his six-year tenure at The Dallas Morning News. MacMahon is a graduate of UNT.
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