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Christmas Eve delivers new contender for college football catch of the year

Hawaii/Cal gave us one of the top snags of a memorable college football season full of great catches.
Joe Cox|
One big-time snag in the Hawaii Bowl battle between Cal and Hawaii immediately joined the season's list of top catches.
One big-time snag in the Hawaii Bowl battle between Cal and Hawaii immediately joined the season's list of top catches. | Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

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Hawaii Rainbow WarriorsIndiana HoosiersOhio State BuckeyesMiami (FL) HurricanesAlabama Crimson Tide

Great catches can pop up at surprising times. For instance, late on Christmas Eve, which much of the world turning toward holiday celebrations, the Hawaii Bowl delivered one of the top reception of the 2025 season.

The game, a battle between home Hawaii and ACC foe California, was a wild show, but was never bigger than on one particularly impressive snag that seemed to turn the tide of the entire game.

Hawaii trailed 21-0 midway through the second quarter, when on 3rd and 10 Hawaii QB Micah Alejado took a downfield shot at wideout Pofele Ashlock. Ashlock was well covered by California DB Quimari Shemwell, who was face-guarding Ashlock as he turned back to look for the ball. That's when football magic happened.

Ashlock, while falling down, somehow reaches around Shemwell and finds a way to snag the pass through the defender's body and to control the catch as he fell to the ground with a significant first down.

How significant was the catch? Hawaii turned that drive into its first score and rallied to claim a last-minute 35-31 win in the bowl game. Arguably, none of that happens without Ashlock's big play. But how does it stack up against other big-time catches of the season?

Jeremiah Smith's big grab

Ohio State star Jeremiah Smith contributed an impressive sticky-handed snag to the year's best efforts. Smith's touchdown came in an already secured victory over Penn State, But controlling a deflected pass against a pair of defenders with one hand earned Smith a catch of the year slot.

Omar Cooper's tiptoe snag

On the other hand, Indiana's Omar Cooper made his gravity-defying snag at the biggest time possible. With Indiana on the verage of being upset by Penn State, Cooper went up and managed to hold his foot up in the air long enough to touch his back foot in bounds on a difficult and historic catch. It's a wonderful combination of big time play and big time moment.

Bernard's up and over

Another strong candidate for catch of the year is Alabama's Germie Bernard. With the Tide clining to a 27-24 lead in a Playoff battle with Oklahoma, Bernard went up and over the top of the Oklahoma defensive back to haul in a massive catch. It's not dissimilar to Ashlock's catch, except that Bernard executed his snag in the air.

CJ's one-handed snag

One more possibility came from CJ Daniels in Miami's early upset of Notre Dame. Daniels worked in between two defenders and made a glorious one-handed snag for a key touchdown. As that score helped Miami win the game and end up besting Notre Dame for a CFP spot, it's another big, big catch.

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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