Nic Anderson’s diving, juggling grab against Oklahoma was the kind of play that stops a stadium cold.
It left Kentucky coach Will Stein searching for an explanation, and his reaction said plenty: “I don’t know how that happened,” Stein said after Kentucky’s 21-13 win at Oklahoma last week. Tight end Willie Rodriguez, who was right there as the play unfolded, had the simpler response: “I was just, ‘Wow!’”
That catch also earned a place in a pretty exclusive conversation. After watching a frankly alarming amount of Kentucky football over the years, I’d put Anderson’s reception among the four best catches I’ve seen by a Wildcat player. By “best,” I mean the highest degree of difficulty on a completed play.
Here’s how I’d line them up, from four to one:
Nic Anderson, 2026, at Oklahoma
Kentucky was hanging on to a 14-13 lead when Kenny Minchey dropped back on second-and-8 from the Oklahoma 29. He tried to hit Anderson on a crossing route, but the play turned into a scramble of hands, body control and sheer concentration.
As Anderson and Sooners defensive back Courtland Guillory went to the ground for the ball, Guillory got a hand on it. The pass then hit Anderson’s hands more than once, bounced backward, landed on his hip and popped forward again before Anderson finally pulled it in with both hands against his stomach.
The result was a 17-yard gain with 9:08 left.
“That was a crazy catch,” Will Stein said. “But focus and concentration, I thought, (were) the key in that.”
Kentucky couldn’t cash in on the drive. Minchey was sacked on a fourth-and-3 play from the OU 5-yard line, and the possession ended without points.
Jacob Tamme, 2007, vs. Tennessee
This one came in the middle of a furious Kentucky comeback, with the Wildcats trailing 31-14 late in the third quarter. Andre Woodson rolled left from the UK 22 on second-and-10 and launched the ball deep down the left sideline.
Tennessee safety Eric Berry tracked it and rose for what looked like an interception. Instead, Tamme came flying in from behind, out-leaped Berry and ripped the ball away at the top of the jump.
Kentucky turned that into a 40-yard gain with 1:08 left in the third quarter.
“Just a great play,” Rich Brooks said.
The grab helped swing the game. Kentucky rallied to tie Tennessee at 31 and send it to overtime, though the Volunteers eventually won 52-50 in four overtimes.
Javess Blue, 2014, vs. ULM
Kentucky was up 24-14 and working in the red zone when Patrick Towles dropped back from the Warhawks’ 21-yard line midway through the third quarter.
Blue raced toward the back of the end zone, tipped the ball to himself, then somehow pinned it against his right shoulder with one hand while a Louisiana Monroe defender held his left arm.
The catch and the PAT gave Kentucky a 31-14 lead with 7:17 left in the third quarter of a 48-14 win.
“Beautiful,” Mark Stoops said. “I loved it.”
That play also landed at No. 1 on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 that night.
Dicky Lyons Jr., 2006, at Mississippi State
On second-and-7 from the Mississippi State 18, Andre Woodson was hit as he threw toward an open Lyons in the end zone. The ball sailed, forcing Lyons to sprint and leap while making the catch with one hand.
At the same time, he got a foot down in the back of the end zone.
Officials originally ruled it out of bounds, but replay review overturned that call and made it a touchdown.
The score put Kentucky ahead 14-0 with 46 seconds left in the first quarter of a 34-31 victory.
“That catch in the end zone is one of the most unbelievable catches I’ve been around in a long, long time,” Rich Brooks said.
That grab mattered beyond the score sheet, too. It helped trigger the win that marked a turning point in the Brooks era.
Before the Mississippi State game, Brooks was 12-29 as Kentucky’s head coach. From that point on, he finished 27-18.
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