When a college football game reaches the far corners of the earth something crazy must have really happened. Unfortunately for the Utes and receiver Kaelin Clay that crazy thing wasn’t a positive.
It has only been two days since the Clay’s infamous premature drop in a 51-27 loss to No. 4 Oregon, and Utah fans probably still haven’t recovered from the 178-yard, 14-point swing play. But, the nation, nay, the world took notice and here are the reactions.
Let’s start from the far reaches of Taiwan where animators have recreated the game, and don't shed the greatest light on Clay.
The cartoon features Oregon’s Marcus Mariota riding a Duck, fans turning into bananas, and Clay overcelebrating. It at least might give Ute fans a laugh, right? Or is it still too soon? Yep, it’s definitely too soon.
The people over at LostLetterman.com named Clay’s hiccup the third-worst college football blunder ever. The two that beat it involve a guy tackling someone off the bench and a player returning a fumble the wrong way. Not the greatest company to be in.
A Sportscenter tweet pointed out Clay attended the same high school as Washington Redskins receiver Desean Jackson, who also has a history of precelebrating.
Coincidence? Most likely, yes, but here are two — yes, it’s happened more than once — instances of Jackson not taking the ball with him into the end zone.
Clay was given a Grantland.com, ‘Grape Job’ award a “…scratch-and-sniff sticker for your foreheads, in the hopes that you will be encouraged next time to actually make your tries count for something.”
Even the non-sports world has taken notice. Slate.com the poplar online magazine that specializes in politics, business, technology, arts and pretty much everything but sports wrote a blog on the play.
Clay knows he messed up and took full responsibility at postgame press conference as well as on his Twitter account.
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham also took the high road after the game, saying it was on coaching. The Ute coach reiterated those remarks at his press conference Monday afternoon. So, even in what may have been Clay’s lowest moment in his playing career his coaches and team still had his back.