Statue of Liberty play The Statue of Liberty is a trick play in American football . Execution of the play . Although many variations of the play exist , the most common involves the quarterback taking the snap from the center , dropping back , and gripping the ball with two hands as if he were to throw . He then takes his non - throwing hand and uses it to place the ball behind his back while pump faking a throw to one side of the field . While his arm is still in motion during the fake throw , he hands the ball off behind his back to a running back or a wide receiver in motion , who runs the football to the opposite side of the field . The play is contingent upon the defense being tricked out of position by the pump fake , and then being unable to catch up with the runner as he runs in the opposite direction of the fake . The play is named after the positioning of the quarterback as he hands the ball off . If done correctly , he should have one hand in the air and the other at his side , resembling the pose of the Statue of Liberty . When executed properly , the Statue of Liberty is a very deceptive and high - yardage play . However , because of the difficult coordination of motions it is often very challenging to properly execute the play , and this may lead to a fumble , sack , or lost yardage . Additionally , disciplined defenses will be more likely to pick up on the fake and will not be tricked by the play . History of the play . Amos Alonzo Stagg was the first to call the play , and Stagg credited Clarence Herschberger with being the first player to run the play . The play was made popular by Fielding H . Yost during his tenure as head coach of the football team at the University of Michigan . The Northwestern Wildcats employed a version of this play in the 1949 Rose Bowl to run for a 45 - yard touchdown in the final minutes of the game , defeating the heavily favored California Golden Bears 20 – 14 . The Baltimore Colts ran a version of the play in December , 1970 . Led by 37 - year - old quarterback Johnny Unitas , the Colts beat the Oakland Raiders in the 1970 AFC Championship game 27 – 17 . This play was also a part of the offensive repertoire of the NFL ' s Los Angeles Rams teams of the mid - 1970s under coach Chuck Knox . The most famous use in recent years was by Jared Zabransky and Ian Johnson in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl between the undefeated Boise State Broncos and the Oklahoma Sooners . The play , known as " Statue Left " by the Broncos , clinched Boise State a two - point conversion for the overtime victory . The game between the two teams is referred to as one of the closest and most exciting college football games of all time , due in part to the do - or - die nature of this play . It is run in the trips shotgun set . The Sooners saw another Statue of Liberty play in their September 6 , 2008 , game against the Cincinnati Bearcats . Bearcats quarterback Dustin Grutza handed off to John Goebel , but the Sooners stopped Goebel for only a short gain . In a regular season matchup against the Michigan Wolverines in 2007 , Oregon Ducks quarterback Dennis Dixon faked a Statue of Liberty to running back Jonathan Stewart and then ran for a touchdown almost unseen . The New England Patriots employed an unusual variant of the play in their 2007 NFL divisional playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars . Strictly speaking , the play , which the Patriots called " Double Pop , " was actually a " reverse " Statue of Liberty play , in that the run , not the pass , was the fake element . Center Dan Koppen faked a direct snap to Patriots running back Kevin Faulk , causing the defense to move to stop the run ; meanwhile , Patriots quarterback Tom Brady , who received the football , faked an over - the - head snap , and held the Statue of Liberty pose with his back to the defense before turning around and throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver Wes Welker in the back of the end zone .