Keegan Brewer’s Fake Fair Catch Touchdown for North Texas vs Arkansas

David King

A fake fair catch turned into one of the wildest touchdowns in college football. Keegan Brewer of North Texas fooled Arkansas in 2018 by acting as if the play was over, then taking off with the ball for a 90-yard score and a shocking win.  The clip explains the fair catch rule in American football, where a returner can signal that he will not advance the ball. Brewer never actually made that signal; instead, he used calm body language to convince the defense the play was dead. Arkansas hesitated, Brewer slipped past them, and the result became a rare and unforgettable trick play.  This is a short sports story about deception, awareness, and one of the oldest gambles in football strategy. It also recalls the famous 1989 Florida State example, showing how unusual and risky this move really is.  Ideal for fans of college football highlights, sports history, trick plays, football strategy, and unbelievable true sports stories. Search this for fair catch touchdown, North Texas football, Arkansas football, Keegan Brewer, and classic football trick play moments.

Transcript

00:00He caught the ball and as the defenders closed in on him, he just stood there. The defenders

00:05were confused for a moment, but they didn't tackle him. Instead, they just left him alone

00:09and walked towards the sideline. Convinced the play was over and completely unaware,

00:13they'd just fallen for one of the oldest tricks in the book. Because in American football,

00:18when a ball is punted downfield, the returner can catch it and run it back, risking being

00:23tackled for the potential of gaining some yards, or they can wave their hand above their head

00:28before catching it, signalling a fair catch, which tells the referee and their opponents that

00:33they'll be catching the ball and ending the play right where they caught the punt. It's a rule

00:37designed to stop unnecessary tackles and potential injuries in instances where a team just wants to

00:43lock in possession rather than attempt to push further up the field. Which is why the Arkansas

00:47players were quite confused when North Texas' Keegan Brewer suddenly took off running. But despite

00:53what they thought, Keegan never actually made a fair catch signal. He simply acted like the play was

00:59already over, using his relaxed body language to bluff the Arkansas defense. It's a trick that dates all

01:05the way back to at least 1989, when Terrell Buckley did it while playing for Florida State and earned

01:11himself a 69-yard touchdown. But it's also a trick that's very rarely seen, because of how completely

01:18batshit insane it is. Because if the defenders hadn't fallen for it, they would have almost certainly

01:23bowled Keegan over and turned his limp body into chicken noodle soup. However, this time, at least,

01:30it worked. Keegan tucked the ball under his arm, took off up the sideline, scored a 90-yard touchdown,

01:35and North Texas won the game.

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