Vote for the catch of the year: Francis Owusu vs Thomas Sperbeck
We’ve reached the end, my friends.
After several months of nominees and votes, our field has been narrowed down to two finalists: Stanford’s Francis Owusu and Boise State’s Thomas Sperbeck.
Owusu and Sperbeck were the top two seeds in our tournament and the voting certainly reflected the brilliance of their catches.
In the Final 4, Owusu’s incredible Week 7 grab against UCLA outlasted the Week 10 one-handed touchdown catch from Northern Illinois’ Kenny Golladay, taking home 62 percent of the vote.
Meanwhile, the Boise State faithful were heard loud and clear by voting Sperbeck into the finals over Michigan’s Amara Darboh. Sperbeck garnered 91 percent of the votes.
You’ve no doubt seen these catches by now, but without further ado, here are the finalists for the 2015 Catch of the Year.
No. 1 Francis Owusu, Stanford – Week 7 vs. UCLA
Owusu, a 6-foot-3, 212-pound junior, only had one touchdown catch this season. Boy, did he make it count. Owusu was the deep target on a trick play in Week 7 against UCLA.
Heisman finalist Christian McCaffrey took a direct snap and pitched the ball to QB Kevin Hogan, who came in motion. Hogan then set his feet, pivoted and launched the ball more than 50 yards in Owusu’s direction. UCLA’s Jaleel Wadood had great coverage, but it wouldn’t matter. Owusu did this:
Owusu jumped into the air, located the ball and somehow pinned it against Wadood’s back as he fell to the turf. Wadood’s left arm actually obscured Owusu’s line of sight, but he was still able to make the acrobatic catch for a touchdown.
No. 2 Thomas Sperbeck, Boise State – Week 8 vs. Wyoming
Thomas Sperbeck established himself as one of the best, if not the best, wide receivers in the Mountain West this season. He led the conference in both receptions (88) and receiving yards (1,412) and was tied with two others for second with eight touchdown catches.
Sperbeck can make the big play (as evidenced by his 16 yards per catch average), but is just as capable of making a tough catch in traffic or doing something like this:
This play came in Week 8 against Wyoming. Sperbeck used every bit of his 6-foot frame to stretch out and tip the ball to himself as his momentum carried him out of bounds. As he headed toward the sideline, he controlled the catch only with his right hand and right arm while getting both feet inbounds. And he made it look easy.
Cast your vote for the best catch of 2015 and we’ll unveil the winner some time next week after the national championship game. Thanks to all who have voted throughout the season and made this a fun weekly post.
– – – – – – –
Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
