No. 17 Utah had all the momentum early against Oregon in their game Saturday night. Already up 7-0, a long strike down the field to Kaelin Clay looked as if it would push Utah’s lead to 14-0 against the No. 4 team in the nation. The Utah faithful went wild.
But hey, why’s that Oregon player charging toward Utah’s end zone? Jubilation turned to pandemonium turned to confused, startled silence.
Turns out Clay pulled his best impersonation of DeSean Jackson, prematurely dropping the ball on the 1-yard line — seemingly only noticed by Oregon, as even the ESPN cameras panned toward the stands while the 99-yard fumble return was happening on the field. It was one of the most stunning turns you will ever see in a sporting event, which ended as a 51-27 Oregon victory.
Take another look, and see just how close Clay was to justifying all that early exuberance: