Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than it is to be good. Take it from Purdue. The Boilermakers were staring a loss to Indiana in the face on 3rd and 14 in overtime down 38-31 when they needed to make a play.
Boilermaker QB Aidan O’Connell threw the ball a bit short of the sticks to his receiver and ended up picking up the first down — but not in the way you’re thinking.
Instead of the intended receiver catching the ball and picking up the first after the catch, the ball deflected off of his leg and ended up in wideout Jackson Anthrop’s hands for 23 yards and a first down on Indiana’s 5 yard line.
Just like they drew it up, y’all. I don’t know why teams don’t do this more often. Seems easy enough.
A few plays later on fourth down the Boilermakers finally scored a touchdown and tied the game up at 38. They ended up losing the game 44-41, but it’s still a win in my book because you won’t find a better play than this anywhere else.
