Stanford’s Francis Owusu Nails One-Handed Catch

Stanford wide receiver Francis Owusu completed an amazing one-handed catch early in the third quarter of the Stanford-UCLA game on Thursday night. He ran a double-reverse pass that returned the ball to quarterback Kevin Hogan right before he threw a deep, 41-yard pass to Owusu, despite coverage from a UCLA defender. The catch put the the Stanford Cardinals up 42-17 against the UCLA Bruins.

The construction of the pass was rather complex: running back Christian McCaffrey handed off to fellow RB Bryce Love on an intended sweep, but Love then tossed the ball back to QB Hogan, who lined up out wide at the start of the play. Owusu then caught Hogan’s lobbed pass on Bruin defender Jaleel Wadood‘s back, despite a pass interference from Wadood.

Oddly and coincidentally, wide receiver Kodi Whitfield completed a similar deep-pass touchdown reception, also against UCLA two years ago, in October. Many Stanford Cardinals remembered this pass and were quick to make the comparison. Stanford had practiced this type of play earlier in the week, but it never came anywhere near perfection. The actual game-day catch, however, was spectacular and is being hailed as one of the greatest catches in recent college football history.

The Cardinals defeated the Bruins with a final score of 56-35.