Baylor
Boston College
Missed Extra Point Costs Bears Chance at OT Win
7/27/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 4, 1999
BOSTON - Boston College took a thrilling 30-29 overtime win from Baylor as a Bear extra point attempt went wide left.
The Bears and Eagles had played a hard-fought game that wound up tied 23-23 in regulation. BC's Cedric Washington scored on his squad's first overtime drive and the Bears answered with a Jermaine Alfred sneak from the one.
The final difference came down to a PAT attempt by Kyle Atteberry which went wide.
"The snap was good and the hold was good," coach Kevin Steele said of the missed extra point. "He just said he mis-hit it. He's an outstanding young man and a good kicker who's hit that 100 times.
"We had trouble stopping the running game and we had three breakdowns in the kicking game," coach Steele said. "You can't win many games like that."
Earlier the Bears had a PAT and punt blocked. BC totalled 350 yards on the ground while the Bears netted 110. Washington totalled three touchdowns and led all rushers with 177 yards.
Baylor countered with Alfred's pinpoint passing. The senior connected of 15-of-18 passes for 254 yards. He threw two touchdowns, incuding a beautiful scoring strike to Andra Fuller for 73 yards, and no interceptions.
The season opening win put the homestanding Eagles at 1-0 while BU opens the Steele era at 0- 1.
After Baylor's first drive ended in a punt, the Bears batted down two Eagle passes to end the drive. (The BU linemen and linebackers totalled four on the day, equalling the entire season total of 1998.) On the ensuing punt, Samir Al- Amin broke through to block the punt and set the Bears up on the BC 28.
Alfred led the Bears down to the five, where Atteberry hit a 22-yard field goal to make it 3- 0, Bears, with 8:21 remaining in the first quarter. The drive covered 27 yards in six plays and consumed 3:18.
The Eagles responded with a methodical 15 play, 80-yard scoring drive. The key play came when Eagle QB Tim Hasselbeck faced a third-and-10 from the 14. Dropping back to pass he found everyone covered, but he scrambled for 12 yards to keep the drive alive.
Halfback Carlton Rowe scored his first career touchdown from the one and with 2:33 to play in the opening quarter, and BC had taken a 7-3 lead.
Baylor recorded its initial touchdown of 1999 on a wild play as Alfred hit fullback Melvin Barnett in the left flat at about the five. As Barnett struggled for extra yardage the ball popped free into the endzone where wide receiver Lanny O'Steen recovered it for the six pointer.
Before O'Steen recorded his first career TD, tailback Elijah Burkins took an Alfred screen pass in the left flat and turned it into a 46- yard gain after the Bears faced a third-and-10. The 10-play, 80-yard drive took 3:56 off the clock and put the Bears up 10-7 with 9:39 remaining before intermission.
Boston College took possession late in the half and appeared to be ready to retake the lead when they moved right through the Bears and reached the BU 20 with just 30 seconds remaining. But linebacker McKinley Bowie thwarted the threat when he intercepted a Hasselbeck pass in the left flat and returned it 83 yards for a touchdown to put BU up 16-7.
It stayed that way at halftime as BU was flagged for excessive celebration and the 35-yard extra point attempt was blocked. Baylor's lead came despite a big Eagle statistical advantage. BC led in first downs 13-4 and total yards 200-131.
While BC controlled the lines, the Bears hung in the game with big plays.
Boston College wasted no time in establishing dominance on the lines again as they took the second-half kick and marched down to the Bear five. With the help of back-to-back delay of game penalties, BU held at the four, forcing the Eagles to kick a 21-yard field goal.
John Matich capped the 11-play, 68-yard drive when hit the three-pointer and pulled BC to within six at 16-10 with 9:40 to go in the third.
The Eagles kept it going when they stopped the next Bear drive and then broke through to block Kyle Atteberry's punt. Ralph Parent's block set halfback Washington up for a four-yard run up the middle.
Just as Baylor had done earlier, Boston College was flagged for excessive celebration on the TD. The result was similar as the 35-yard PAT kick flew wide left.
With 8:08 in the third, the game stood tied at 16.
Baylor's next drive reached the Eagle 38 but died when an option pitch right to Bush lost a yard. The Eagles had a nice drive to the Bear 30 stall out, but they managed to pin Baylor deep in their own territory.
A rushed Atteberry punt and good return quickly set the Eagles up on the BU 30. But the Bear defense stiffened and held the Eagles to a 38- yard field goal attempt that sailed wide right.
Baylor then had a promising drive of its own stall. Mixing the pass and run well - both Mark Cogdill and Reginald Newhouse caught nice Alfred passes - the Bears reached the Eagle 28. But Bush, struggling for extra yardage, lost the handle and gave the Eagles life.
But the BU picket line held again. Baylor got it back on its own seven after a 61-yard Kevin McKyler punt with 9:57 to play.
The Bear drive netted six yards and forced a punt by Atteberry. It went 49 yards and set BC up on its own 48 with 8:21 showing.
The Eagles made the most of this opportunity as Washington bounced around right end to score and put his team up 23-16 with 6:42 to play. The six- yard score capped a five-play, 51-yard drive that consumed 1:40 off the clock.
With the Eagles seemingly in control, Baylor refused to die. Alfred hit a streaking Andra Fuller down the right sideline where he broke a tackle and kept his balance for a 73-yard scoring strike, the longest of his career.
With 5:42 remaining the game was again tied, this time at 23.
Each team had a possession before the overtime period.
