It's the kind of moment every player dreams of: clock winding down, no timeouts, a championship on the line.
If you weren't acting out these moments in your backyard as a kid, you don't know what it's like to feel alive.
Sam Houston State quarterback Eric Schmid got to live out this fantasy in Frisco, Texas.
The Bearkats were down 21-17 to South Dakota State with 21 seconds left in the fourth quarter of the NCAA FCS National Championship game.
Schmid drove the offense down to the SDSU 10-yard line. His team needed a score.
Sam Houston State's Winning TD Pass
16 SECONDS LEFT
SAM HOUSTON.
— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 16, 2021
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The Jackrabbits held the four-point advantage with 5 minutes, 41 seconds remaining when kicker Cole Frahm made the blunder of all blunders by toeing the kickoff out of bounds.
Schmid marches the offense down the field while milking the clock. On the way, the Bearkats converted two season-saving fourth-down conversions to put them in scoring position.
On third-and-goal, the SHSU signal caller fires a laser over the middle to wide receiver Ife Adeyi for the game-winning touchdown pass. The sophomore was able to sneak into an opening in the Jackrabbits' defense.
SDSU tried a hook-and-ladder in a last ditch effort to no avail.
Bearkat wide receiver Jequez Ezzard got them there with 10 catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns, but it was Adeyi's grab that brought the national title home.
Sam Houston 23, South Dakota State 21. Final.
The heroic play secured the first FCS title in the Huntsville, Texas program's history. It was a crazy end to a crazy coronavirus pandemic-riddled college football season that forced the FCS to play in the spring.
"It just showed such character by our kids. You're talking about the ultimate game and you have to make one last drive," Sam Houston State head coach K.C. Keeler said. "It's really a special group when you consider this thing started in June and we had no idea when this thing would ever end. You know, we decided not to play a fall season. ... It's been an emotion-draining year, a physically draining year."
It was obviously a big moment for the players and coaching staff, but the real winner is the guy who was overflowing with happiness.
The Sam Houston State faithful have TEARS in their eyes. 1st national championship! pic.twitter.com/TtRoKKonNo
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) May 16, 2021
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