Sneaky big play of the game: Carnell Tate’s pair of catches help put game out of reach

Because Jeremiah Smith’s star shines so brightly, it sometimes feels like there’s a perception that Carnell Tate is playing in his shadow. But Saturday against the Huskies, even though Smith led the team in receptions and receiving yards, Tate reminded us his star shines pretty brightly in its own right. 

More than once this season, he’s come up with huge (and often insane) catches for the Buckeyes. We saw it against Texas when he seemingly transformed into an acrobat to get into the endzone. And today against Washington was no exception. 

Don’t let his stats fool you: Despite only logging 33 yards on three catches, Tate made the most of his opportunities, especially on a spicy 11-yard first-down catch on 2nd and 10. The Buckeyes led just 14-6 in the final three minutes of the third when Tate turned up the heat to keep the Buckeyes moving. 

With quarterback Julian Sayin under pressure and looking for a receiver, Tate managed to shake off Husky cornerback Deven Bryant to make a catch that had everyone doing a double-take. 

The play moved the chains for the Buckeyes in a big way, giving them a new set of downs on their own 48-yard line. Shortly after, he had another big 11-yard catch to put the Buckeyes just outside of the red zone on Washington’s 21-yard line. 

While OSU ultimately settled for a field goal on the drive, Tate played a big role in helping them extend their lead to two scores, and the athleticism it took for him to stay in bounds — and keep the clock running — is exactly why we love this guy. 

Watch his tremendous body control as he manages to drag his toe to make the catch count. We’ll be replaying this beauty on loop until next week.