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The Loop

BYU QB Zach Wilson went full Patrick Mahomes with this slick shovel pass for a touchdown against Houston

Football is the ultimate copycat sport, especially when it comes to gadget plays. Normally, these plays trickle up, meaning they start at the high school or pop warner level before reaching college and the pros. 

The opposite is true for this slick, underhand shovel pass from BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, who has to start gaining some serious Heisman hype after his performance against Houston on Friday night. The junior completed 25 of 35 passes for 400 yards and four touchdowns, good enough for a 205.1 passer rating. And yet, his throw of the night traveled about three yards in the air:  

At one point in the second half, Houston lead 26-14, only for BYU to score 29 unanswered to win 43-26 and improve to 5-0 on the year. This play, stolen right out of the Kansas City Chiefs playbook, proved to be the dagger.  

No, the Chiefs and Mahomes aren't the first to run a shovel pass, but prior to that Monday night win over Baltimore, it felt like that was the first underhand shovel fans had seen. Of course, one Aaron Rodgers stan was quick to point out that was not the case: 

Like we said, it's a copycat sport. But we're pretty certain in saying that the BYU coaching staff likely put this in after seeing Andy Reid and Mahomes do it with great success on MNF. Sorry, Packers fans. Mahomes himself took notice: 

Good day to be Zach Wilson. Seriously, somebody start a Heisman campaign for this dude. He's 107-for-136 on the year with 1,641 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and just one pick, and he's also got six rushing touchdowns. Wilson 4 Heisman.