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Vote for college football's 2016 catch of the year: Elite 8
We’re down to eight.
After last week’s round one voting, our 14 initial catches have been pared down to eight. There were six first round matchups, and five were decided by less than a 15 percent margin.
We’ll start with the lone blowout. BYU’s Moroni Laulu-Pututau, the No. 3 seed, took care of No. 14 seed Sergio Bailey of Eastern Michigan. Laulu-Pututau garnered 86 percent of the vote and will move on to face No. 11 seed Shaedon Meadors of Appalachian State. Meadors bested Northern Illinois’ Kenny Golladay, 53 percent to 47 percent.
This week we’ll see the two top seeds, both of whom had first-round byes. No. 1 seed, Ohio State’s Noah Brown, will take on No. 8 seed Zach Pascal of Old Dominion. Pascal had 56 percent of the votes to beat Michigan fullback Khalid Hill (44 percent). No. 2 seed, Memphis’ Anthony Miller, will go head-to-head with Washington’s Dante Pettis, the No. 7 seed. Like Pascal, Pettis got 56 percent of the vote to beat No. 10 seed Mike Gesicki of Penn State.
Though his Week 14 catch was knocked off, Gesicki’s Week 13 grab, the No. 13 seed, knocked off No. 4 seed Bryce Bobo of Colorado by a 53-47 percent margin. Gesicki will take on No. 5 seed Jeremy Tabuyo. The Texas A&M wideout defeated No. 12 seed Linell Bonner of Houston by just 31 votes (51 percent to 49 percent).
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Let’s take a closer look at the Elite 8 matchups:
No. 1 seed Noah Brown (Ohio State) vs. No. 8 seed Zach Pascal (Old Dominion)
Noah Brown, Ohio State — Week 3 vs. Oklahoma
In Ohio State’s big win over Oklahoma, Noah Brown had four touchdown catches and his third of the night was remarkable. Oklahoma defensive back Michiah Quick was all over Brown, but the redshirt freshman jumped and grabbed the ball in midair. Brown somehow established possession of the ball by pinning it against Quick’s back as he fell to the turf.
Zach Pascal, Old Dominion — Week 12 vs. Florida Atlantic
Old Dominion senior Zach Pascal had nine catches for 178 yards and a touchdown in a Week 12 win over Florida Atlantic. One of his best plays of the day was this fingertip catch on a deep ball from David Washington. Pascal has 63 catches for 893 yards and eight touchdowns heading into ODU’s bowl game.
No. 2 seed Anthony Miller (Memphis) vs. No. 7 seed Dante Pettis (Washington)
Anthony Miller, Memphis — Week 11 vs. South Florida
Memphis junior Anthony Miller put up huge numbers in a close loss to USF in Week 11. Miller hauled in 10 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown in the 49-42 defeat. His best catch of the night was Odell Beckham-like.
The best part of the play is that he briefly lost possession but regained hold of the ball and tapped a foot inbounds in a split second. Miller has 84 catches for 1,283 yards and 11 touchdowns heading into Tuesday’s bowl game vs. Western Kentucky.
Dante Pettis, Washington — Week 6 vs. Oregon
Dante Pettis caught eight passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns in Washington’s 70-21 demolition of Oregon back in Week 6. One of his two scores was this diving effort in the third quarter:
No. 3 seed Moroni Laulu-Pututau (BYU) vs. No. 11 seed Shaedon Meadors (Appalachian State)
Moroni Laulu-Pututau, BYU — Week 7 vs. Mississippi State
BYU sophomore Moroni Laulu-Pututau had just two catches in an October overtime win over Mississippi State, but he made them count. In addition to a 15-yard touchdown grab, he also hauled in this one-handed beauty:
Here’s another look at his catch:
Shaedon Meadors, Appalachian State — Week 9 vs. Georgia State
In a 34-10 win over Georgia Southern in Week 9, Appalachian State junior Shaedon Meadors had six catches for 126 yards. He had a 30-yard catch in the second quarter you have to see to believe. Even though the DB had a hand on the ball, the 6-foot-2 Meadors was strong enough to snatch it away and maintain possession as he fell out of bounds.
No. 5 seed Jeremy Tabuyo (Texas A&M) vs. No. 13 seed Mike Gesicki (Penn State)
Jeremy Tabuyo, Texas A&M — Week 5 vs. South Carolina
Texas A&M senior Jeremy Tabuyo had a career-high 89 receiving yards in an Oct. 1 win over South Carolina. 29 of those yards came on this wild one-handed catch in the second quarter. Tabuyo was ablel to locate the ball, rotate in mid-air and catch the ball with just his left hand.
Mike Gesicki, Penn State — Week 13 vs. Michigan State
In Penn State’s Big Ten East-clinching win over Michigan State, Gesicki set the PSU record for receiving yards by a tight end. This 45-yard scoring grab in traffic expanded PSU’s lead to two scores in the third in an eventual 45-12 win. Impressive play from a 250-pounder.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
