BALTIMORE (AP) — Division III Johns Hopkins used an obscure rule to win its game against Muhlenberg on Saturday, prevailing 31-28 when Kaleb Wayt made a 39-yard field goal on a fair catch kick.

When a player makes a fair catch, the receiving team has the option of attempting a field goal from that spot on the next play. It almost never makes sense to try it unless there's very little time remaining. In that scenario, the advantage of a fair catch kick is that the other team can't rush. The kick can be attempted from the line of scrimmage instead of several yards behind it, and the kicker can take a longer run to the ball.

A team can also try it even if the fair catch came with no time on the clock.

Every now and then, it's attempted in the NFL, sometimes from unusually long distances, and the rule was added for college before this season.

With the score tied at 28, Alex Orecchio made a fair catch on a short punt at the Muhlenberg 29. Then Wayt connected on the 39-yard field goal, putting the Blue Jays ahead with two seconds remaining.

Johns Hopkins shouldn't have even had the ball back before the end of regulation. Muhlenberg had first down from its own 2 with 18 seconds left, and the Blue Jays had only two timeouts left. But a Muhlenberg player's helmet came off, stopping the clock an additional time, and the Mules had to punt.

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