# Biggest comebacks with x:xx remaining? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 11, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121 "2009-11-11T01:10:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/1 "2009-11-11T01:10:08Z")
I’m wondering if anyone has tabulated data for a variety of sports about the biggest comebacks with only x minutes remaining (or, in the case of baseball, x innings remaining). What I’m thinking of is something that I could refer to when I’m watching a team that’s down by 15 with 1:54 left on the clock, and say: “If they make it, it would be a new record” or “Hey, the Giants came back to win by 2 with just 1:48 left on the clock in '74” My example is football (because that’s what I was watching when I thought this question up), but I’m curious about any major sport. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/2 "2009-11-11T01:36:06Z")
Probably not a record, but in Game 1 of the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2008, Montreal ended up winning 4-3 in OT against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers had a 2-goal lead after the first, the Habs tied it in the second only to have it become 3-2 Flyers early in the third. With 29 seconds left in the game, Alex Kovalev scored to tie it, and 48 seconds into overtime, Tom Kostopoulos scored to win. The Habs then crashed and burned and lost the next 4 games in a row, eliminating them from the playoffs. But I remembered that game enough to be able to Google it today! Last year, the Carolina Hurricanes tied their series against the Devils by winning Game 4 with a score of 4-3. The winning goal by Jussi Jokinen, came with **0.2 seconds** left on the clock. Martin Brodeur threw a hissy fit. The Devils won the next game, but the 'Canes took home the next two to move onto the next round of the Playoffs. ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/3 "2009-11-11T05:23:55Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > Probably not a record, but in Game 1 of the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2008, Montreal ended up winning 4-3 in OT against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers had a 2-goal lead after the first, the Habs tied it in the second only to have it become 3-2 Flyers early in the third. With 29 seconds left in the game, Alex Kovalev scored to tie it, and 48 seconds into overtime, Tom Kostopoulos scored to win. > > The Habs then crashed and burned and lost the next 4 games in a row, eliminating them from the playoffs. But I remembered that game enough to be able to Google it today! > > Last year, the Carolina Hurricanes tied their series against the Devils by winning Game 4 with a score of 4-3. The winning goal by Jussi Jokinen, came with **0.2 seconds** left on the clock. Martin Brodeur threw a hissy fit. The Devils won the next game, but the 'Canes took home the next two to move onto the next round of the Playoffs. And not only that, but in the seventh game, the Devils were 3-2 with 1:20 left to go in the third, but the Canes scored twice in the final 80 seconds to win 4-3. As for baseball, there’s [this game](http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS198906040.shtml), where the Toronto Blue Jays were losing 10-0 after six innings, but ended up winning 13-11 in 12. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/4 "2009-11-11T05:26:46Z")
The Colts came back against Tampa Bay with 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter when they were down 35-14. I remember that game because I shut the game off with 5 minutes left to play, figuring the game was over, and missed the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/5 "2009-11-11T06:53:29Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > The Colts came back against Tampa Bay with 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter when they were down 35-14. I remember that game because I shut the game off with 5 minutes left to play, figuring the game was over, and missed the whole thing. I probably would have done the same, except I’d had the foresight to wager on the Colts, so I stuck with it, running the preposterous scenarios in my head: “Ok, if they score here right away, then recover an onside kick, they can forgo a second onside kick if they take less than 90 seconds on their next TD drive. Then. . .” At least, it \*seemed \*preposterous. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/6 "2009-11-11T07:35:16Z")
Insight Bowl, December 29, 2006. At halftime, Texas Tech trailed Minnesota by four touchdowns. I turned the TV off and went into the other room to surf the net. When I came back, Tech was jumping and cheering, and the announcers were talking about overtime. What the hell?! Thank goodness for DVRs; I was able to back up at least the last hour and watch the biggest comeback in Division I-A bowl game history. In the final twenty minutes of the game, Tech scored 31 unanswered points, tying the game at 38-38 with a 52-yard field goal at the buzzer. In overtime, the Gophers scored first with a field goal; Tech followed with a touchdown to win the game, 44-41. It was beautimus. ---
**Author:** ![ekweizn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7c8e57/32.png) [@ekweizn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekweizn)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/7 "2009-11-11T09:06:00Z")
[The Comeback](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Comeback_(American_football)), a 32-point comeback with about 13 minutes left in the third quarter is probably the greatest comeback in NFL history, though tainted from an obvious missed call on an illegal touch by Don Beebe (from an Oilers’ fans perspective). ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/8 "2009-11-11T09:34:00Z")
[Illinois comes back](http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=254000061) from 15 points down with 4 minutes to play to beat Arizona in the NCAA Elite Eight. It’s probably not a all-time NCAA record but I’m not aware of a bigger comeback in a shorter time frame than that in the NCAA Tournament. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/9 "2009-11-11T09:58:04Z")
In soccer one of the most famous “last gasp” comebacks was Manchester Utd’s win against Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champion’s League Final. They were 0-1 down after 90 mins were up, and then scored twice in injury time to win 2-1. > **[1999 UEFA Champions League final](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_UEFA_Champions_League_Final)** > > The 1999 UEFA Champions League final was an association football match between Manchester United of England and Bayern Munich of Germany, played at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, on 26 May 1999, to determine the winner of the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League. Injury time goals from Manchester United's Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær cancelled out Mario Basler's early goal for Bayern to give Manchester United a 2–1 win and their first European Cup title since 1968, their second overall. Ref... ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/10 "2009-11-11T10:05:35Z")
[1999 UEFA Champions’ League Final](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_UEFA_Champions_League_Final) (soccer): at the end of regulation time, Bayern Munich were ahead of Manchester United 1:0, heading into 3 minutes of injury time. By the time the game was over, Man U had scored twice, for what is probably the hugest football upset – at least as far as I can remember. There have probably been bigger turnarounds – but never in so important a game. ETA: ::Shakes fist at Wallenstein:: ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/11 "2009-11-11T12:31:59Z")
September 18, 2006. The Dodgers trailed the San Diego Padres 9-5 going into the bottom of the 9th. They tied the game on four consecutive solo homeruns. Then they blew the lead and went into the bottom of the 10th trailing 10-9. Then they won the game on a two-run walk-off homerun by Nomar Garciaparra. I have friends who were at that game and left in the 8th inning. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/12 "2009-11-11T12:39:28Z")
The Heidi Bowl was one of the most famous of these. It was a televised game between the Jets and Raiders. > [@](#): > > This game is memorable largely because the NBC television network terminated the broadcast in the Eastern and Central time zones with 65 seconds left to play in the game in favor of broadcasting a pre-scheduled two-hour airing of Heidi, a new made-for-TV version of the classic children’s story. (The telecast included commercial breaks; the actual film ran 104 minutes.) > > With the Jets leading 32-29 with only 65 seconds left in the game, NBC executives attempted to reach their broadcast operations unit to extend coverage of the game but were unable to reach them in time to delay the cutover or reinstate coverage before the game ended. In the meantime, the Raiders came back and scored 14 points, winning 43-32. As a result, no fan following the match on TV was able to see Oakland’s comeback live. The complaints to the network indicated a new height of popularity for the game in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/13 "2009-11-11T13:25:17Z")
Maryland trailed Miami by around 28 points at halftime and came back to win. That is one of the biggest college FB comebacks. In college BB UNC scored 8 points in the last 17 seconds to tie Duke and won in OT. And there was no 3 point shot back then. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/14 "2009-11-11T13:55:24Z")
There’s the Indiana Reggie Millers’ comeback against the Knicks: > [@](#): > > [With 16.4 seconds remaining](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggie_Miller) and the Pacers trailing by six points, Miller made a three-point shot, stole the inbounds pass, dribbled back to the three-point arc and tied the game with a second three-pointer, stunning the Knicks bench and their fans. On the ensuing possession, Knicks guard John Starks was fouled by Pacer Sam Mitchell but missed two free throws; Miller rebounded the second miss and was fouled. Miller made both free throws, and the Pacers’ defense denied the Knicks’ last chance for the win. Doubt it’s an NBA record, but it might be a playoff record. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/15 "2009-11-11T14:03:51Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > [Illinois comes back](http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=254000061) from 15 points down with 4 minutes to play to beat Arizona in the NCAA Elite Eight. It’s probably not a all-time NCAA record but I’m not aware of a bigger comeback in a shorter time frame than that in the NCAA Tournament. [How about ten points in 54 seconds as a comparison?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhoAuSamgr4) Duke scores ten in a row against Maryland to force overtime, where they won. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/16 "2009-11-11T16:40:54Z")
[Tracy McGrady scores 13 points in 30 some seconds to singlehandedly beat the Spurs in 04.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceLlz7dOOvY) McGrady should have been a legend up there with Kobe, Lebron and Wade, what a waste of talent. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/17 "2009-11-11T16:54:49Z")
> [@Wallenstein](#): > > In soccer one of the most famous “last gasp” comebacks was Manchester Utd’s win against Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champion’s League Final. > > They were 0-1 down after 90 mins were up, and then scored twice in injury time to win 2-1. To be fair, when United are playing, and losing, injury time can last longer than the second half itself. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/18 "2009-11-11T17:08:16Z")
World series record is probably the 4th game on 1929. In the bottom of the 7th, Philadelphia was losing 8-0. They scored 10 runs in the inning (a WS record) and won the game 10-8. ---
**Author:** ![President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_Johnny_Gentle)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/19 "2009-11-11T17:17:12Z")
This past Spring, in the NCAA D1 Men’s Hockey championship game, Miami was beating Boston U 3-1 with a minute left to play. BU tied it with goals with 59 seconds and 17 seconds to play, and then won in OT. Back in 2002, in a similar situation, although not as drastic, Minnesota tied Maine with 53 seconds left in regulation, and went on to win the Championship in OT. The Miami-BU game wasn’t even the strangest moment from the tournament last Spring. That probably came in the 2nd OT between Air Force and Vermont, when there was a play stoppage with 4:00 left in the period. There had been a chance that the puck went into the net and the referee went to the instant replay. After more than 10 minutes in the replay booth, the ref came out and announced that UVM had won with a goal with 5:50 to play in the OT, almost 2 minutes of game time prior. IIRC, Air Force had nearly scored in the intervening time - had they done so, UVM would have had a comeback for the ages - winning in a sudden death OT despite surrendering a goal. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121/20 "2009-11-11T17:55:57Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > [Illinois comes back](http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=254000061) from 15 points down with 4 minutes to play to beat Arizona in the NCAA Elite Eight. It’s probably not a all-time NCAA record but I’m not aware of a bigger comeback in a shorter time frame than that in the NCAA Tournament. There’s KU’s 9 point recovery with 2 minutes to go in the Final against Memphis in '08, but that was to put it into overtime. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-comebacks-with-x-xx-remaining/517121.md?page=2)