The Hail Mary a year later: 5 facts you might have forgotten about one of South Dakota's best sports moments

In what is arguably the most exciting finish in South Dakota sports history, the University of South Dakota beat South Dakota State on a Hail Mary during their big rivalry game on Nov. 13, 2021.

With one second on the clock and the Coyotes on their own 43-yard line trailing by three, Carson Camp scrambled out of danger and heaved a pass toward the end zone that was tipped, batted and bobbled before landing in the hands of USD’s Jeremiah Webb, who fell into the end zone for a game-winning score.

By now you've likely seen the play dozens of times, but we've scoured the Argus Leader archives for five things you might not know about it.

The Hail Mary pass shouldn't have had a chance to happen

The best play — and, probably, the most important play — in recent South Dakota football history wasn’t supposed to happen. South Dakota State head coach John Stiegelmeier said that the Jackrabbits practiced their previous play over-and-over: There were eight seconds left and SDSU was ahead 20-17 on fourth down, so SDSU quarterback Chris Oladokun rolled right and threw it high out of bounds. It usually takes eight or nine seconds off the clock, Stiegelmeier said.

But this time it didn’t. It went out of bounds with one second left on the clock, so USD quarterback Carson Camp had one last chance. His goal was to stay alive long enough for receivers to line up in the end zone 57 yards away, and then let it fly. Camp did, and though his pass didn’t make it all the way to the goal line, it fell into the arms of USD wide receiver Jeremiah Webb, who fell backward for the game-winning score in USD’s 23-20 win.

The play catapulted South Dakota into the playoffs and gave a national stage to maybe the best USD team in their Division-I history, but if Oladokun had taken an extra second, it wouldn't have happened. Or the Jacks could have punted, putting the Coyotes out of Hail Mary range but making a punt return TD possible.

After the game, Stiegelmeier defended the decision to run out the clock rather than punt.

“We practice that play, we’ve timed it ourselves,” Stiegelmeier said. “It’s eight or nine seconds. That’s how fickle the game of football is. One second and a whole different outcome. You make decisions and you see what happens. I think it was the right decision. I’ve been coaching way too long to wonder once a call is made if it’s the right decision.”

More:'Hang this in the Louvre': South Dakota football's Hail Mary vs. SDSU leaves fans speechless

It won Sports Illustrated's Smooth Play of the year

The Hail Mary won Smooth Play of the Year at The Sports Illustrated Awards on Dec. 8, 2021, in Hollywood, Florida.

The play was picked over professional golfer Jordan Spieth's shot at the Ryder Cup, then-Gonzaga point guard Jalen Suggs' Final Four buzzer-beater against UCLA, and Marshall's overtime goal to win the program’s first men’s soccer title — the other three nominees for the award.

The award was presented virtually by former NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal.

Camp, Webb, head coach Bob Nielson and a few other member of the Coyotes administration were in attendance to accept the award.

Camp and Webb went up to accept the award and were immediately asked their age (19 for Camp, and 20 for Webb), which led to applause from those in attendance.

Camp thanked "Coyote nation" for supporting the team in his speech.

"Great teams, great plays, it kind of (goes) with one another," Camp said. "At the University of South Dakota, that's what we do."

More:South Dakota football takes down SDSU with a game-winning Hail Mary

The pass has made Camp even more of a local celebrity

From the exit of the then-freshman Camp’s hands to former USD wide receiver Webb’s catch and the frenzy in the end zone, the “Vermiracle,” as some call it, fundamentally changed Camp’s life and career. It solidified an FCS playoff spot for just the second time in USD’s Division-I history, caught some national attention and put the university’s new NIL darling and potential future NFL draft prospect in program “lore,” as his USD bio now reads.

USD agreed that Camp would handle the awards speech. He figured he might go “off-script.”

Former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal announced the winner, the USD Hail Mary against “SD State,” in a prerecorded video and Camp skipped on stage with Webb. He leaned the mic towards him. “How’s everyone doing tonight?” he asked. He looked straight ahead and saw Tom Brady. He forgot everything he planned to say.

More:Carson Camp, South Dakota football's approachable star, navigates life in the small-town spotlight

“I didn't really know what stage fright was until I got it right then and there,” Camp said.

And with the addition of Name, Image and Likeness rules, Camp has cashed in on his newfound fame. Vermillion Pizza Ranch owner Brian Tookier met with Camp in August.

Tookier met with Camp “on and off” for several weeks. The idea: create a signature pizza, the “CC18,” to sell at Tookier’s Pizza Ranch in Vermillion. If it’s successful, it could pop up at Pizza Ranch’s in Camp’s hometown of Bloomington, Illinois, too.

“Ten years ago, if you would have told me that,” Camp said, “I would have laughed in your face.”

The Coyotes were just close enough to try a Hail Mary

The Hail Mary was made with the Coyotes at the 43-yard line. USD coach Bob Nielson admitted that if the Coyotes were just a few yards further away they would’ve had to try a trick play of some kind. But they were just close enough for the bomb. Camp got himself space to wind up and throw it long, and SDSU’s defense failed to knock it down. Instead, the ball got tipped into the air, bounced around and the pile fell into the end zone as Webb corralled it.

“It was slow motion,” Webb said. “The ball went up, bounced off a couple defenders’ hands – I saw it the whole way and I just happened to grab it out of the air.”

Added Nielson: “I’m really proud of our kids and really happy for them. Obviously a unique way to end the game, but as crazy as that play was I really thought our kids deserved to win that football game.”

More:South Dakota football's Hail Mary vs. SDSU earns The Sports Illustrated Awards nomination

It got USD into the playoffs and denied SDSU a playoff seed

Had the Hail Mary never happened, USD would’ve finished the regular season 6-5 and almost certainly been left out of the playoff field. SDSU would’ve been 9-2, which surely would’ve earned them a playoff seed.

Instead of a playoff bye, SDSU hosted Cal-Davis in a first round playoff game, and while they won that game easily, it forced them on the road for the rest of the postseason. The Jacks made a spirited and memorable playoff run, winning at Sacramento State and Villanova to earn their fourth playoff game in four time zones, but they simply ran out of gas and were thumped in the semifinals by Montana State. We’ll never know how their playoff fate may have been different if they’d earned one of the eight seeds.

As for the Coyotes, they lost their first round playoff game to Southern Illinois, but the win over their rivals was more than just a shot-heard-round the college football world, but a direct avenue to the second playoff berth in their brief FCS history.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: 5 facts on South Dakota football's Hail Mary vs. South Dakota State