Central Michigan had no business being in position to beat Western Kentucky for the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl with no time left on the clock - but miraculously, it was.
After trailing 49-14 entering the fourth quarter, the Chippewas stormed back to within a touchdown - then pulled off this ridiculous play with no time on the clock:
Wide receiver Titus Davis gathered a third lateral after a 45-yard completion from quarterback Cooper Rush to wide receiver Jesse Kroll, then grazed the pilon complete an improbable 80-yard Hail-Mary-turned hook-and-ladder play for a touchdown.
Trailing by a point, Chippewas head coach Dan Enos was left with two options: he could kick the extra point and go to overtime, or attempt a two-point conversion to win it. He chose the latter.
It was left to Rush - who tied an all-time bowl record with seven touchdown passes - to complete a two-yard pass for the conversion, but his throw on a fade route was knocked incomplete.
Just like that, the Hilltoppers avoided the collapse and won the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.
It appeared that it would be Hilltoppers quarterback Brandon Doughty breaking the touchdown record after he tossed five scores in the first half in addition to 350 yards.
But his day, which finished with 486 yards and the five scores, was eclipsed by Rush, who threw for five TDs in the final quarter alone. Rush finished the game with 493 yards and the seven scores in addition to an interception.
Hilltoppers wide receiver Willie McNeal broke the school's reception record, surpassing Jake Gaebler (168) in the second quarter. He finished the game with five catches for 155 yards and a touchdown, leaving with 171 career catches.
The game was the first FBS bowl game played outside of the United States or Canada since the Bacardi Bowl was played in Havana, Cuba on Jan. 1, 1937.
