Tip Left, Rocket Left: Kordell Stewart remembers the Miracle at Michigan

Editor's Note: This is the second of a three-part series of stories CUSportsNation will publish based on a recent interview with former Colorado quarterback Kordell Stewart, who played for the Buffs from 1991-1994.

Stewart was the No. 60 pick in the 1995 NFL Draft by Pittsburgh and enjoyed a 11-year professional career with the Steelers (1995-2002), Chicago Bears (2003) and Baltimore Ravens (2004-2005).

Part I, looking at Stewart's recruitment to Colorado, the intensity of Big Eight Conference football in the 1990s, and CU's stacked 1994 squad, can be found here.

Part II, in which Stewart recalls the lead up to and execution of the Miracle at Michigan on Sept. 24, 1994, is below.

Retrospectively speaking, that the Miracle at Michigan transpired in 1994 seems fitting, given the talent of the team that made such an insane last second victory happen on Sept. 24 of that year.

If any Colorado squad of the past was capable of pulling off such a stunning comeback, it was the loaded Buffs team of 1994 that went 11-1 and finished the season as Fiesta Bowl champions as well as the No. 4 team in the nation.

Heading into the ABC-broadcasted game on Sept. 24, 1994, it would have been logical to expect an exciting battle between No. 4 Michigan and No. 7 Colorado in Ann Arbor.

But by the time the clocks read all zeroes, the game had quickly been cemented as something far more memorable than a heavyweight, Top 10 matchup.

Kordell Stewart has come to understand the legacy of that game and how it has permeated far outside the realm of Colorado Buffaloes lore and legend.

With a smile on his face, he'll frequently detail how the fan bases of more than one Big Ten program have made him an honorary member of their respective clans for the 70-yard bomb he tossed as time expired at the Big House in front of 106,427 souls.

Anytime he's back in Boulder — which he was last November, when members of the 1994 Buffaloes were honored at Folsom Field before CU faced Washington — he's mobbed by fans, many of whom ask him about the Miracle at Michigan.

It gets brought up to him at airports, out in public and by CU and Michigan fans alike.

No matter who asks him about that glorious day and comeback victory or what the context is, Stewart never fails to take you right back to when it happened and go over, in second-by-second detail, how history was made.

To appreciate in full Colorado's comeback, one must look back on what happened during the game before Stewart went under center at his own 36-yard line with six seconds to create a game-winning play.

For Stewart personally, had the game ended in normal fashion — or in other words, had CU failed to come back from a 26-14 deficit with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter — the Buffs' week three matchup at Michigan may have proved to be haunting.

After all, with the Buffaloes near the goal line, with 5:08 to play in the game, he'd fumbled the ball on Michigan's one-yard line, which the Wolverines recovered in their end zone.

The Buffs committed four turnovers that day that helped put their backs against the wall late in the fourth quarter.

If Stewart's fumble into the end zone hadn't transpired, the Buffs would have faced a 26-21 deficit with five minutes remaining in the game.

They would have had to kick the ball off, get a defensive stop, get the ball back and go from there — not a wholly unmanageable situation.

But of course, that's not what would end up happening and the Buffs were in desperation mode as the fourth quarter winded down.

Quickly after Stewart's costly turnover, with taunting in the background from some Michigan faithful further bringing him down, offensive coordinator Rick Neuheisel approached and offered a bode of confidence.

“I remember prior to all of it, Rick Neuheisel stopped me after I had fumbled the ball going into the end zone trying to extend," Stewart said. "He told me it was going to be the greatest comeback in college football history. The (Michigan) band was behind us calling us paper champions. But he said ‘Get yourself together, don’t worry about it — we still have time on the clock. There’s a lot of time left.’"

Good work by Colorado's defense got Stewart and the offense the ball back 76 seconds after Michigan recovered that unfortunate fumble in its own end zone.

Rashaan Salaam shortly thereafter scored his second touchdown of the day on a 1-yard rush, capping a 72-yard drive that made the score 26-21 in favor of the Wolverines.

Buffs inside linebacker Ted Johnson then made a critical third down tackle of Michigan's Tshimanga Biakabutuka on the Wolverines' final drive of the game, forcing a punt.

"We made a big stop, got the punt and Huddy (Chris Hudson) fair catches it inside the 15-yard line," Stewart recalled. "There it is. But we need to be in position to make it happen...All I knew is that we had to get the ball downfield 20 or so more yards to get in position to at least have a chance."

Stewart was indeed able to move the Buffs upfield, as he found Michael Westbrook for a 21-yard pass over the middle, getting Colorado to its own 36-yard line. He and the offense high-tailed it to the line of scrimmage and managed to spike the ball.

Stewart recalled momentarily losing track of the situation, and after the spike he headed to the sideline to confer with Neuheisel about what to do next.

"After throwing the ball to Michael Westbrook, running up (to the line of scrimmage) and spiking it, I was getting ready to go to the sideline and ask (Neuheisel) ‘What are we doing?’ He comes back and says ‘What are you doing over here? It’s Tip Left, Rocket Left! It’s not like we’re talking about a five-yard play. We’ve got to heave it! We’ve got to get it in the end zone!'"

As he walked back to his teammates, all eyes were fixed upon him.

"I get back to the huddle, and I see all my guys staring at me," Stewart said. "(C) Bryan Stoltenberg’s eyes were as moist as they could be — he and (WR) Blake Anderson and all the guys on the offensive line stared at me into my eyes all the way until I got back into the huddle. I said ‘Guys, give me a little time. Let’s go — Tip Left, Rocket Left.’”

As Colorado and Michigan fans will certainly remember, the Buffs had attempted a Hail Mary earlier in the game that failed, resulting in a Wolverines interception as time in the second quarter expired.

That doubtless was on the mind of Stewart and the offense as they hoped the second time would be the charm.

Despite the botched attempt earlier close to halftime, Bill McCartney and Neuheisel had made sure the team was prepared for such an emergency situation, as the Hail Mary was regularly run during weekly practices.

The simulated reps allowed Stewart and his receivers to become acutely aware of all the little intricacies — such as the spin of the ball, ideal positioning of the wideouts and how to best counter the swatting prevention techniques of defensive backs — that needed to be understood in order to make the Hail Mary happen.

"Every Thursday of every week, we had practiced the Hail Mary pass," Stewart said. "The position of the receivers mattered for catching the ball. I would throw it from about 60 of 65 yards, just to emulate potentially what would happen if we called that play. It ended up leaving my hand right from the 26-yard line and with the point of the ball coming down, I’m sure if it continues and hits the ground, it’s either a yard into the end zone of right on the line."

Stewart got the time he needed to make the throw — thanks in large part to a key block thrown by Salaam and OT Tony Berti — and as his pass descended downfield, Anderson and Rae Carruth zeroed in on it, as did Michigan's Chuck Winters.

Winters and fellow defensive back Ty Law collided with Carruth and Anderson to try to get at the ball, with Anderson somehow managing to deflect it in the air with his right arm.

While Law recovered in time to get both arms around Westbrook's waist, it was too late, as the Stewart's pass fell into friendly hands and he came down with the ball in the end zone, sealing the Buffs' last second comeback.

"I look at the sideline, and everyone just runs on the field full speed," Stewart remembered. "I ran downfield (and) it just became a surreal moment. I just broke down in tears. What else can you do? I couldn’t believe it. I just lost my breath and before you knew it, I was exhausted. I started cramping because I gave everything I had — I had nothing left in the tank. I got on the plane and just couldn’t talk. I was numb."

The next morning on Sept. 25, The New York Times "SportsSunday" section read: 'On the Wing of a Prayer, Colorado Shocks Michigan.'

Westbrook's game-winning moment was featured as the cover image of Sports Illustrated for the Oct. 3, 1994 edition and has been labeled "The Catch."

As the 26th anniversary of one of the greatest college football plays approaches, Stewart doesn't plan on forgetting anything regarding how it went down — and the cast of characters that helped make it happen — any time soon.

"From a minute before, to hours and days and years later, it’s a play that I remember what led up to it — let alone to still talking about it to this day," he said.

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