Cast your vote for the best catch of Week 11 (Videos)
Each Monday, we’ll gather the best catches from the weekend (or the midweek games) and bring them here for you to vote on in a poll. There could be only a few nominees, or there could be five or six. It all depends on the weekend. If you have a catch you’d like to nominate, don’t hesitate to hit us up on Twitter (@YahooDrSaturday).
The voting remains open until Friday and the winner advances to a final, end of the year vote where the best catch of the season will be determined. And since we started this midway through the season, some of our favorite catches from the first half will re-surface at the end of the season as well. Don’t you worry.
Some Tuesday night #MACtion gave us our Week 10 winner. Northern Illinois’ Kenny Golladay fought through tight coverage to haul in a clutch touchdown catch late in the Huskies upset win over Toledo.
Voting was close yet again, but Golladay took home 41 percent of the votes, barely edging Michigan State’s R.J. Shelton (37 percent). The rest of the voting was rounded out by North Dakota State’s Zach Vraa (9 percent), UCF’s Tre’Quan Smith (7 percent) and Idaho’s Callen Hightower (6 percent).
Here are the Week 11 nominees:
Austin Wolf – Akron
Akron sophomore wideout Austin Wolf only had one catch in Saturday’s win over Miami (Ohio), but he made it count. Zips quarterback Thomas Woodson found Wolf streaking down the sideline, but overthrew him just a tad. It didn’t matter; Wolf laid out and made a crazy diving catch for a 40-yard gain.
Wolf used every bit of his 6-foot-3 frame to make the catch down to the nine-yard line, leading to an Akron touchdown three plays later.
Nate Phillips – Arizona
Arizona’s Nate Phillips made a huge play when his team needed one. On the first play of the second overtime against Utah, Wildcats’ backup quarterback Jerrard Randall completed his only pass of the night when he found Phillips in the end zone. Phillips fended off Utes defensive back Boobie Hobbs and made a phenomenal one-handed touchdown grab.
Phillips had Hobbs right in his face, yet still managed to pull in the pass with his left hand as he fell to the turf. Great effort.
Phillips’ big catch ended up being the game-winning score, as the Wildcats’ defense stopped Utah on the subsequent possession.
Kenny Lawler – California
Cal junior Kenny Lawler had his least productive game of the season (two catches for four yards) in Saturday’s win over Oregon State, but no one is going to remember that. Instead, everyone will remember his highlight reel touchdown catch in the first quarter.
Lawler’s catch doesn’t look too impressive at first glance, but further replays showed the great effort needed to haul in that fastball from Jared Goff.
Lawler was able to leap and catch the ball at its highest point while maintaining possession and staying in bounds. What a play.
Macgarrett Kings Jr. – Michigan State
Macgarrett Kings Jr. marks the second straight week that a Michigan State Spartan has earned a nomination for catch of the week. This time, Kings made a great play to help jumpstart a sluggish MSU offense.
Kings dealt with contact from a Maryland defender but still was able to fight through it and locate the ball to make a one-handed grab.
As he fell to the ground, Kings alertly pinned the ball against his leg and secured possession for a 28-yard gain. That’s not easy.
Robby Anderson – Temple
Temple had a disappointing performance in Saturday’s loss to South Florida. The Owls had a chance to clinch the AAC East, and senior wide receiver Robby Anderson certainly played like it. Anderson caught four passes for 77 yards, including this impressive show of athleticism.
This was simply a one-on-one battle between Anderson and Bulls defensive back Johnny Ward and Anderson won it convincingly.
Anderson showed off his awesome vertical leap to bring the pass in while absorbing contact from Ward. He then was able to maintain possession as he fell to the ground. Impressive play.
Vote for your favorite catch in the poll below:
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
