Cast your vote for the best catch from college football's Week 2
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 another round of voting that will help crown the best catch of the regular season.
Week 1 gave us an array of highlight reel catches. And after narrowing things down to six candidates, the sideline balancing act of Houston’s Linell Bonner took home the crown of top catch from Week 1.
Bonner took home 38 percent of the vote, edging Iowa State’s Hakeem Butler (21%) and Colorado’s Bryce Bobo (19%). The voting was rounded out by D.K. Metcalf of Ole Miss (11%), Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon (8%) and Northern Arizona’s Emmanuel Butler (2%).
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Let’s get to the Week 2 nominees:
Sergio Bailey II – Eastern Michigan
There weren’t many positives to take away from Eastern Michigan’s 61-21 road loss to Missouri, but Sergio Bailey II had a pretty good game. The junior had a team-leading seven receptions for 57 yards and an awesome five-yard touchdown early in the third quarter.
Bailey fought threw a bit of contact from the Mizzou defensive back and laid out for a nice touch pass from Todd Porter. Bailey needed full extension to get his hands on the ball, and he maintained possession after a fall to the turf. Great play.
Tyler Conklin – Central Michigan
By now you’ve heard about the controversial ending that mistakenly gave Central Michigan an upset win over Oklahoma. That play has overshadowed a great performance by Chippewas junior tight end Tyler Conklin, who caught seven passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns. His second score, which tied the score 17-17 in the third quarter, was an impressive play.
Even with an OSU defender in his face, Conklin was able to tip the ball to himself with one hand and then bring it in for the reception with the same hand as he fell to the ground. That’s not easy.
Kyle Davis – Auburn
True freshman Kyle Davis only had one catch in Auburn’s 51-14 win over Arkansas State. He made it count. Sean White found him deep down the middle of the field and Davis reached up with one hand and hauled it in for a 42-yard gain while absorbing a big hit.
Davis only used his right hand to catch this ball. He didn’t have the time to bring it in to his body; he pretty much palmed the entire football and improbably maintained possession. That was Odell Beckham-like.
Hunter Renfrow – Clemson
You probably know the name Hunter Renfrow by now from his big performance in the College Football Playoff. The former walk-on is already making big plays in 2016. In Clemson’s underwhelming 30-24 win over Troy, Renfrow showed off his athleticism with a tremendous touchdown catch in the first half.
Renfrow is only 5-foot-10, so he had to completely sprawl out in order to bring in this strike from Deshaun Watson. This 35-yard connection was Renfrow’s only catch of the day, but his second TD of the year so far.
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DeAndre Thompkins – Penn State
After Penn State fell behind Pitt by three scores in the first half, sophomore DeAndre Thompkins played a big part in the Nittany Lions getting back into the ballgame. He led the team with 87 receiving yards on three catches, including this one-handed effort early in the fourth.
PSU’s Trace McSorley found Thompkins streaking down the left sideline and Thompkins was able to bring in a clutch catch with just his left hand with a Pitt defender draped all over him. The catch set up a PSU touchdown two plays later. However, the PSU comeback attempt came up short as the Panthers held on 42-39.
There are your five nominees for the week. Cast your vote in the poll below:
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!