College Touchdowns of the Week, Week 6: Ajani Sheppard's 79-Yard Answer for Temple
By QBS Blog · Published · 4 min read
UConn scored on its first drive. Temple answered in five plays, the last one a 79-yard touchdown: Ajani Sheppard threw 51 yards down the middle and JoJo Bermudez ran away from everyone. It was Temple's longest touchdown of the season.
Touchdown of the Week: Ajani Sheppard to JoJo Bermudez, 79 yards
Down 7-0 at Lincoln Financial Field, Sheppard shuffled his feet in the pocket, eyed Bermudez downfield and went deep. Bermudez caught it in stride and finished a 79-yard touchdown.
Sheppard said the read came from the week's film: "We knew in that formation we were going to get quarters, and that's exactly what they came out in. I knew Jojo was gonna run right by them. Just let him go get it." The UConn won the game 34-20.
Ajani Sheppard to JoJo Bermudez, 79 yards · Temple vs. UConnClock at the snap Q1 12:35Down and distance 1st and 10Score before Temple down 7Final UConn won 34-20Completion 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.
Fifty-one air yards down the middle with a 46% completion chance, plus 28 after the catch. It was Sheppard's only touchdown pass of the week.
Runner-up: Billy Edwards Jr. to Shamar Easter, 75 yards, North Carolina
Billy Edwards Jr. to Shamar Easter, 75 yards · North Carolina vs. PittsburghMoment Go-ahead touchdownClock at the snap Q4 12:43Down and distance 1st and 10Score before North Carolina down 3Final North Carolina won 21-17Completion 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.
Down three at Pittsburgh early in the fourth quarter, Billy Edwards Jr. threw deep to the right side for Shamar Easter, who went the distance for a 75-yard touchdown (47% completion chance). It held up: the North Carolina won 21-17. The play-by-play gives the depth (deep) but not the catch spot, so the graphic shows the whole play.
Third: Bear Bachmeier to Legend Glasker, 75 yards, BYU
Bear Bachmeier to Legend Glasker, 75 yards · BYU vs. Iowa StateClock at the snap Q3 1:18Down and distance 3rd and 6Score before BYU up 11Final BYU won 24-10Completion 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.
Up 11 late in the third quarter, third-and-6, Bear Bachmeier threw 29 yards down the middle and Legend Glasker ran the last 46 for a 75-yard touchdown (39% completion chance). The BYU beat the Iowa State 24-10.
Fourth: Lunch Winfield to KeDarius Wade, 45 yards, Louisiana
Lunch Winfield to KeDarius Wade, 45 yards · Louisiana vs. Louisiana TechMoment Fourth quarter, one-score gameClock at the snap Q4 11:36Down and distance 2nd and 8Score before Louisiana up 5Final Louisiana Tech won 32-31Completion 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 five early in the fourth quarter at Louisiana Tech, Lunch Winfield threw 35 yards to the left side for KeDarius Wade, a 45-yard touchdown (40% completion chance). The Louisiana Tech came back and won 32-31.
Fifth: Jackson Harris to Roman Mothershed, 41 yards, LSU
Jackson Harris to Roman Mothershed, 41 yards · LSU vs. KentuckyMoment Fourth quarter, one-score gameClock at the snap Q4 9:50Down and distance 1st and 10Score before LSU down 4Final Kentucky won 35-34Completion 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.
Down four at Kentucky in the fourth quarter, Jackson Harris threw 36 yards to the left side for Roman Mothershed, a 41-yard touchdown that put the LSU ahead (40% completion chance). It was Harris' first touchdown pass of the season. The Kentucky won 35-34.
The one that got away
Down 25-20 with six seconds left, first-and-goal, Ethan Grunkemeyer threw for Luke Reynolds in the end zone. It was broken up (67% completion chance), and the California won. Virginia Tech had taken a 20-19 lead with 1:15 left before Cal scored with 18 seconds to go.
The week in numbers
The week in numbers table
Stat
This week
Touchdown passes
156
Touchdown passes of 40+ yards
31
Touchdown passes thrown 20+ yards in the air
37
Late go-ahead or winning touchdown passes
5
Longest
79 yards, Ajani Sheppard to JoJo Bermudez (Temple)
Most touchdown passes
Braden Atkinson (Oregon State), 5
Every touchdown pass thrown 20+ yards in the air, College Week 6 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 5: Jared Hollins and Anthony Eager Go 69 Yards.
Data: CollegeFootballData.com play-by-play; completion chances, TD Scores and ACE by QuarterbackStats.com.
