Watch Stanford’s Francis Owusu make what might be the catch of the year

Stanford receiver Francis Owusu caught just one pass against UCLA on Thursday, but it might have been the biggest catch of the year.

In the third quarter the Cardinal ran a flea-flicker that began with running back Christian McCaffery lined up behind center in the shotgun.

McCaffery took the snap and tossed the ball to fellow running back Bryce Love as he came down behind the line of scrimmage. Love then pitched it back to crossing quarterback Kevin Hogan, who then put the ball in the air for Owusu.

Owusu turned to look for the pass but found his view obstructed by UCLA defensive back Jaleel Wadood, who was right on top of the receiver with his back to the ball.

Owusu, anticipating the ball’s delivery, reached around Wadood and made the catch blind, pinning the ball to the defender’s back as the pair tumbled to the ground in the end zone.

Owusu was awarded the touchdown for his efforts, Wadood was flagged for pass interference.

“I still can’t describe the catch,” Stanford Coach David Shaw said after the game. “I don’t understand what happened, to be honest. I was looking at my call sheet for the next call because I thought it was incomplete. And then it showed up on the board.”

At that point the game was already out of hand. Owusu’s score gave No. 15 Stanford a 42-17 lead over No. 18 UCLA. Stanford went on to beat UCLA, 56-35.

UCLA (4-2, 1-2 in Pac-12 Conference play) will host No. 23 California (5-1, 2-1) next Thursday. The Cardinal (5-1, 4-0) will be visited by Washington (3-2, 1-1) next Saturday.

Follow Matt Wilhalme on Twitter @mattwilhalme