ATLANTA -- Maybe they should just be dubbed the "Cardiac Bears". For some reason, the 2018 Miles football team has decided to make every game a nailbiter.

For the fifth time in nine games, a Golden Bears game ended with the winning team scoring on its final offensive play. Saturday against Clark Atlanta, quarterback Daniel Smith found wide receiver Mikhail Jacobs in the very back of the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown pass as time expired to erase a six-point deficit. After a penalty for unsportsmanlike celebration, kicker Jackson Spradlin kicked a 35-yard extra point into a swirling wind to give Miles a 28-27 win.

The victory kept Miles (3-6, 3-2 SIAC West) alive for the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Western Division crown and a shot at the league title if they beat Tuskegee at home next week (Saturday, 2 p.m., Sloan-Alumni Stadium).

The scene set up as it did two weeks ago against Kentucky State. Miles led 21-10 going into the fourth quarter, but a 17-point outburst by CAU (2-7, 1-4 SIAC East), capped by a 25-yard field goal from Carlos Saldana, gave the Panthers a 27-21 lead and the Golden Bears would have to drive 59 yards in 57 seconds to get the job done.

Smith (170 yards passing) and Jacobs (three catches, 61 yards) got the first 20 yards on the opening play of the drive. But from there, Miles picked up just 11 yards over the next four plays. With six seconds remaining, there was only room for one play and it had to go to the end zone. The problem was, everyone in Panther Stadium knew it.

On the final play, Smith rolled to his right and aired it out towards the freshman Jacobs, who at 6-foot-4 is the tallest receiver on the team. Clark Atlanta had three defenders on him, defensive backs Kenneth Morgan, Ezekiel Edmonds and Johnny Sharp. All three were in front of him and had designs on the ball. But somehow, even as Sharp and Morgan collided and had the ball bounce off of them, Jacobs stayed poised, let the ball fall to him, and pulled it in just two steps away from the end line. The score tied the game and set off a wild celebration in the end zone.

But there was an issue with the celebration. Because the game was only tied on the touchdown catch, Miles still needed the extra point to secure the win. The celebration, though, was flagged and the Golden Bears were assessed a 15-yard penalty, meaning Spradlin - another freshman - would have to navigate the win from 35 yards away instead of 20. But the only drama was waiting for the ball to come down as it split the uprights and set off another celebration at midfield.

Miles scored on its first possession when Smith ran in from six yards out to cap a 68-yard drive. The extra point was missed and the Golden Bears led 6-0. CAU would grab a 10-6 advantage but Miles would dominate the middle two quarters. Justin Hardy (131 yards rushing) scored on a 7-yard touchdown run and after a blocked punt on the ensuing possession, Spradlin would make a 26-yard field goal to give Miles a 15-10 lead going into the half. He would add a 31-yard field goal late in the third quarter, then open the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 45-yard kick to give Miles a 21-10 lead before the fourth quarter dramatics.

Charles Stafford threw for 280 yards and a touchdown and added another 93 yards rushing with a score to pace Clark Atlanta. Defensively, Austin Stephens had a game-high 11 tackles, Antonio Evans added eight tackles, and Jalyun Thomas had five tackles and a sack for Miles.