College Touchdowns of the Week, Week 2: Liberty's Backup Throws the Winner
By QBS Blog · Published · 4 min read
Liberty trailed FCS Gardner-Webb 23-17 when backup Jaylen Henderson took over to start the fourth quarter. With 2:34 left, third-and-10, he rolled left and threw an off-balance strike 39 yards downfield, and Darius Copeland finished a 54-yard touchdown. Liberty won 24-23.
Touchdown of the Week: Jaylen Henderson to Darius Copeland, 54 yards
Gardner-Webb led 23-17 after three quarters. Liberty went to Henderson to start the fourth quarter, and on third-and-10 he rolled out to his left and threw off balance down the field. Copeland was wide open, and the 54-yard touchdown put Liberty up for good with 2:34 left.
It was Henderson's first touchdown pass of the season. The Liberty won 24-23 over the Gardner-Webb.
Jaylen Henderson to Darius Copeland, 54 yards · Liberty vs. Gardner-WebbMoment Go-ahead touchdownClock at the snap Q4 2:41Down and distance 3rd and 10Score before Liberty down 6Final Liberty won 24-23Completion chance from air yards, lane, down, distance, field position, pressure and weather (the model behind ACE). Play-by-play gives the throw's lane and air yards, not the exact spot, so the catch is drawn in the middle of its lane.
A 36% completion chance on third-and-10, down six, late in the fourth quarter: the TD Score counts the go-ahead moment in full because the throw was hard.
Runner-up: Mason McKenzie to Dawson Pough, 78 yards, Boston College
Mason McKenzie to Dawson Pough, 78 yards · Boston College vs. RutgersMoment Fourth quarter, one-score gameClock at the snap Q4 7:19Down and distance 3rd and 6Score before Boston College up 6Final Boston College won 28-21Completion chance from air yards, lane, down, distance, field position, pressure and weather (the model behind ACE). Play-by-play gives the throw's lane and air yards, not the exact spot, so the catch is drawn in the middle of its lane.
Up six in the fourth quarter, third-and-6, Mason McKenzie threw 28 yards to the right side and Dawson Pough ran the other 50 for a 78-yard touchdown (41% completion chance). The Boston College beat the Rutgers 28-21.
Third: EJ Colson Jr. to Kam Thomas, 83 yards, UTEP
EJ Colson Jr. to Kam Thomas, 83 yards · UTEP vs. Texas SouthernClock at the snap Q1 12:42Down and distance 1st and 10Score before TiedFinal UTEP won 51-10Completion chance from air yards, lane, down, distance, field position, pressure and weather (the model behind ACE). Play-by-play gives the throw's lane and air yards, not the exact spot, so the catch is drawn in the middle of its lane.
Tied on the first drive, EJ Colson Jr. threw 38 yards down the middle and Kam Thomas ran the last 45 for an 83-yard touchdown (47% completion chance). The UTEP beat the Texas Southern 51-10.
Fourth: William Watson III to T.Y. Harding, 49 yards, Massachusetts
William Watson III to T.Y. Harding, 49 yards · Massachusetts vs. Sacred HeartClock at the snap Q1 14:16Down and distance 1st and 10Score before TiedFinal Massachusetts won 37-10Completion chance from air yards, lane, down, distance, field position, pressure and weather (the model behind ACE). Play-by-play gives the throw's lane and air yards, not the exact spot, so the catch is drawn in the middle of its lane.
On the first drive of the game, William Watson III threw 48 yards down the middle and T.Y. Harding caught it at the 1 and scored from 49 (41% completion chance). The Massachusetts beat the Sacred Heart 37-10.
Fifth: AJ Surace to KJ Duff, 60 yards, Rutgers
AJ Surace to KJ Duff, 60 yards · Rutgers vs. Boston CollegeClock at the snap Q4 6:26Down and distance 1st and 10Score before Rutgers down 14Final Boston College won 28-21Completion chance from air yards, lane, down, distance, field position, pressure and weather (the model behind ACE). Play-by-play gives the throw's lane and air yards, not the exact spot, so the catch is drawn in the middle of its lane.
Rutgers' answer in the same game: AJ Surace threw 44 yards down the middle and KJ Duff finished a 60-yard touchdown (44% completion chance). The Boston College won 28-21.
The one that got away
Down 23-17 with 1:35 left, third-and-goal, Landyn Locke threw for Chris Reed in the end zone. It was broken up (62% completion chance), and the Tulsa won 23-17.
The week in numbers
The week in numbers table
Stat
This week
Touchdown passes
215
Touchdown passes of 40+ yards
50
Touchdown passes thrown 20+ yards in the air
72
Late go-ahead or winning touchdown passes
2
Longest
94 yards, Landyn Locke to Jerrian Parker Jr. (Sam Houston)
Most touchdown passes
Gunner Stockton (Georgia), Jayden Maiava (USC), Kevin Jennings (SMU), 5 each
Every touchdown pass thrown 20+ yards in the air, College Week 2 Where it was caught Line of scrimmageEach line runs from the line of scrimmage to the catch, in the lane the play-by-play gives (left, middle or right of the passer). The end zone is on the right.
How we pick the Touchdowns of the Week
Every touchdown pass gets a TD Score: how unlikely the completion was (one minus the completion chance, times 10), plus 0.1 for each yard the ball travelled in the air and 0.05 for each yard of the touchdown, plus the moment: 8 for a winning touchdown in the final 40 seconds or overtime, 4 for any other fourth-quarter go-ahead touchdown, 3 for one that set up the tie, 1 for any other fourth-quarter or overtime touchdown in a one-score game. The moment counts in full on throws with a completion chance of 60% or less and shrinks on easy ones. Touchdowns in garbage time (a margin over 22 points in the fourth quarter, over 28 in the third) count in the week's numbers but not in the top five. Completion chances come from the same model behind ACE (air yards, lane, down, distance, field position, pressure and weather). A quarterback can appear at most twice. In college, the play-by-play labels each throw short or deep instead of giving exact air yards, so the completion chance uses that label; air yards are read from the spot of the catch where the play text gives it. College numbers cover every game with an FBS team in it. Last week: College Touchdowns of the Week, Week 1: Dante Moore to Dakorien Moore Beats Boise State.
Data: CollegeFootballData.com play-by-play; completion chances, TD Scores and ACE by QuarterbackStats.com.
