BYU made No. 1 on ESPN’s ‘SportsCenter’ top 10. Watch the play and see the reactions
Chase Roberts made the play of the game for BYU in the Cougars’ 38-31 win at Arkansas on Saturday night.
Turns out, it was also the play of the day nationally, at least according to ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
Roberts’ leaping one-handed touchdown grab for the go-ahead score — a 7-yarder with 8 minutes to play — gave BYU the cushion it needed to beat Arkansas, as the Cougars defense kept the Razorbacks from scoring in the contest’s final minutes.
The game-winning effort came in at No. 1 on the top 10 plays of the day from “SportsCenter.”
“Duh-nuh-nuh, Duh-nuh-nuh” pic.twitter.com/IcXzMRkqxI
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 17, 2023
Setting the scene
On Arkansas’ previous drive, the Razorbacks had a 49-yard field goal attempt clank off the upright and miss — if successful, that would have given Arkansas the lead just minutes into the fourth quarter.
On BYU’s ensuing drive with the game tied 31-31, the Cougars got third-down conversions from Parker Kingston (a 12-yard catch on third-and-10) and Kedon Slovis (an 8-yard run on third-and-8) before a Slovis 37-yard pass to Keelan Marion set BYU up inside the Arkansas red zone at the 10.
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Two plays later on second-and-goal, Slovis spun in the pocket then threw high over two defenders towards Roberts in the end zone, where the wide receiver leapt and corralled the pass with one hand for the momentum-swinging touchdown.
Here’s a couple more angles of the play:
NO HE DIDN'T 🤯
📺: https://t.co/853O6AXpZE pic.twitter.com/HKousGIZgM— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 17, 2023
The perfect video doesn’t exi…
pic.twitter.com/xCgwt4iT8s— Tyson Hutchins (@tysonhutchins_) September 17, 2023
How social media reacted
The touchdown understandably created plenty of buzz on social media.
Here’s just a sampling of what was said about Roberts’ game-winning effort:
What, this old thing? https://t.co/bajPzIAP3G pic.twitter.com/vrC1TX4zR9
— BYU Museum of Art (@BYUMOA) September 17, 2023
https://t.co/0wZPzj1pQI pic.twitter.com/5GF56x3TYs
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) September 17, 2023
Iconic! https://t.co/EyV2sDdxN6
— Tom Holmoe (@TomHolmoe) September 17, 2023
Yo @notthefakeSVP get this one ready to roll all night long! #SCTop10
— Jonny Linehan (@jlinehan9) September 17, 2023
— Bradley Pilkington (@bpilk10) September 17, 2023
— Jay Hill (@CoachJayHill) September 17, 2023
CHASE “ODELL BECKHAM” ROBERTS pic.twitter.com/QBG4rUy969
— Nathan Smith (@nbot5000s) September 17, 2023
We're wondering the same thing. pic.twitter.com/qImL738rYj
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 17, 2023
A ridiculous touchdown catch to give BYU the lead at Arkansas. pic.twitter.com/YdDRM161Vx
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) September 17, 2023
Chase Roberts HIM!! 🤯
— Isaiah Kaufusi (@isaiah_kaufusi) September 17, 2023
This Chase Roberts catch 🤯 pic.twitter.com/qXtHGXe1s6
— College Transfer Portal (@CollegeFBPortal) September 17, 2023
Ballgame. #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/nddFOZKGdx
— BYU (@BYU) September 17, 2023