The unlikeliest of all heroes delivers

TALLAHASSEE — It was late under Doak Campbell Stadium Saturday evening, and the Miami Hurricanes locker room overflowed with players and coaches and all kind of noise that was sucked from the Florida State side of the stadium one play earlier.

Maybe it is a halfhour since Darrell Langham — in only his second play of the game — caught the pass to score the kind of touchdown that defined more than No. 13 Miami’s 24-20 win against Florida State.

It defined the flair for the dramatic that makes this rivalry so special, that makes this win one to remember, that had Miami fans still filing out of the stadium cheering and yelling, chanting by the locker room how

great it is to be a Miami Hurricane.

Langham came out and was still celebrating, players and coaches still hugging, with a big enough smile on his face to light the room. It was the kind of smile coach Mark Richt saw in passing, the kind the coach said, “Made it all worthwhile.”

Everyone was still talking about that last play by Langham. It actually began the play before. Langham, a redshirt junior, was standing ready on the sidelines in the manner he had been for most of his fourth season.

“Get in,” Langham was told by the coaches.

It wasn’t that it was his time. There was no one else. Starter Ahmmon Richards was hurting, a couple of others were out, and so he was the next guy on the list. “I was ready,” he said. There were 19 seconds left, Miami trailed by three points and was at the Florida State 34-yard line. On Langham’s first play of the game, the pass went from quarterback Malik Rozier to receiver Braxton Berrios in the manner they had much of this half.

Berrios was a star Saturday. He scored two touchdowns. He returned a punt 44 yards to set up one of those scores. Now he caught an 11-yard pass on third down to give a first down and, perhaps, cut a potential 51-yard field goal attempt into a more makeable shot.

“Braxton played big, real big,” Richt said.

There were 11 seconds left now. The ball was at the 23-yard line. That’s when the game in search of a hero and a script in search of an ending turned to the most unlikely player of all. Langham had three catches in a Miami career now in its fourth season. All three came in this year’s opener against Bethune Cookman.

Richt called a play for Rozier to throw a touchdown or throw the ball away. They’d kick a field goal. They’d at least get a tie for overtime then.

“Be smart,” he told his quarterback.

When he came to the line, Rozier saw man-toman coverage on his outside receivers. He knew where he was going. For so much of this game, Miami’s offense couldn’t find itself. It was scoreless in a first half it averaged 1.9 yards a play.

“He didn’t give up,” Richt said of Rozier. “He didn’t give up on himself. He didn’t give up on his team.”

Now he threw a perfect pass that only Langham could get. To the sideline. Back-shoulder. Langham caught his fourth pass as a Hurricane and immediately twisted and turned toward the goal line.

“It was amazing at the time,” he said. “It’s still just as amazing. Coach always told me when your number’s called, you’ve got to produce. I’m happy I was just able to do that.”

He put the ball over the goal-line just as his knee hit. That demanded a replay that held all sorts of consequence considering Miami took a celebration penalty.

In the end, they got to celebrate twice.

“I was just happy it was a touchdown,” Langham said.

This series has had some dramatic moments. “We’re coming back,” Michael Irvin once famously said. Wide Rights. Florida State had won the past seven years. It looked on its way to an eighth straight when the unscripted was scripted.

Langham made the biggest catch, the winning catch, twisting and turning his body into the end zone. But the picture of the catch was Richt.

The coach who shows no emotion dropped to the sideline on his knees. His arms were upstretched, signaling a touchdown of the most unlikeliest hero this great rivalry has delivered.

“You never know,” Langham said.

No, you never do.

Dave Hyde