UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen took a page out of Dan Marino’s playbook as the Bruins rallied from a 34-point deficit to stun Texas A&M 45-44 on Sunday.
The Aggies, trailing 44-38, had converted a fourth-and-6 play and 43 seconds remained when Rosen came to the line and appeared to call for a spike to stop the clock. Instead, Rosen lofted a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Lasley in the left corner of the end zone to tie the game, and UCLA converted the extra point to seal its improbable victory.
The touchdown pass capped a 10-play, 66-yard drive that started with 1:56 to play. Rosen led the Bruins on five straight touchdown drives in the second half. He passed for 491 yards and four touchdowns to erase a 44-10, third-quarter deficit.
Marino pulled off a similar play for the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 27, 1994. Trailing 24-21 with 38 seconds left, Miami had the ball on the New York Jets’ 8-yard line. Marino ran to the line of scrimmage and yelled “clock,” motioning that he was going to stop the clock by a spike. Instead, Marino took the snap and lofted a touchdown pass to Mark Ingram to give the Dolphins a 28-24 victory.
