"It happened so fast," he said Monday. "I took a deep breath. . . . I just kind of had to make sense of what happened."
He's not the only one. A year later, "Fourth-and-18" still resonates with everybody involved in last November's BYU-Utah game. Even some of the Utes refer to the play by that name.
It would be fondly - or bitterly - remembered anyway, but Hall's 49-yard pass to Austin Collie that led to the winning touchdown in BYU's 17-10 victory was amplified by its place in history. It came a year after John Beck's touchdown pass to Jonny Harline on the last play of BYU's 33-31 win and created another miraculous or disastrous finish, from one perspective or the other.
"Final play of the game offensively for BYU, here we go . . ." - James Bates, the mtn.
Well, it almost was. The Cougars trailed 10-9 when they took over the ball at the 20-yard line with 1:34 remaining.
After defensive end Martail Burnett's strip that knocked the ball out of Hall's hand (Hall recovered for an 8-yard loss) and two incompletions, the Cougars found themselves facing fourth down, 18 yards to go.
Burnett's rush from the left forced Hall to move out to his right, as tackle David Oswald managed to push Burnett just beyond the quarterback. "I went right past him, man," said Burnett, now with the Minnesota Vikings. "He did a great job getting out of that pocket."
That also effectively reduced Hall's options to one receiver: Collie.
The play called for four receivers to run vertical routes into a two-deep zone defense.
The two safeties, Robert Johnson and Steve Tate, stayed in the middle with Andrew George and Dennis Pitta, while left cornerback Brice McCain covered Collie.
"Collie's by himself down the field. The ball's in the air . . ." - Greg Wrubell, KSL Radio.
Collie made a move at the 22-yard line, well short of the first-down marker, but that was enough to freeze McCain. "Just a little stutter-and-go," said Collie, who ran the same route for a touchdown Saturday at Air Force. "We run a lot of underneath stuff, so that sets it up a little bit."
The two met at the 28, like NASCAR drivers trading paint, then Collie sprinted past. "It's just a feeling of excitement, especially when the ball's in the air," Collie said. Throwing on the run, Hall launched a pass that traveled roughly 50 yards.
Collie waited, backpedaling like an outfielder, then caught the ball and ran to the Utah 39.
It was Hall's only completion of the drive.
"That is a huge mistake by Brice McCain." - Frank Dolce, KALL Radio.
The previous year, McCain had poked the ball away from Harline in the end zone on the second-to-last play, which was soon forgotten. Nobody really was singled out for the coverage breakdown on Harline's winning catch, but this was different.
And while it took the Cougars several more plays - including two 15-yard penalties that the Utes questioned - to score, the fourth-down conversion was the critical play. McCain was devastated. The recovery process began soon afterward.
"We've handled everything like grown men," he said recently. "I know I'm a good player. It just happens. . . . The coaches did a good job keeping my head up."
Aaron Alford, then in his first season of coaching the Ute cornerbacks, told McCain, "Don't let one game or one play determine the rest of your career."
McCain has responded with a solid senior season. As a co-captain, he was featured in the team's rivalry week news conference Monday. When coach Kyle Whittingham was asked about dealing with Collie, quarterback Brian Johnson immediately turned to McCain, who just laughed.
That's a healthy response for a cornerback. In that position, the ability to shake off bad plays is vital. A year later, McCain apparently has that covered.
kkragthorpe@sltrib.com
No. 16 BYU at No. 8 Utah
Saturday, 4 p.m.
TV: mtn.
