Football fans will remember 2019 as the year for big-guy touchdowns. The trend continued on Friday in the Pinstripe Bowl in remarkable fashion with Michigan State Spartans defensive tackle Mike Panasiuk’s remarkable pick-six that came on an insane deflection.
The moment came early in the game at Yankee Stadium with Wake Forest’s offense looking to make something happen on third down. Quarterback Jamie Newman’s pass was deflected, then bounced off one of Panasiuk’s teammates and into the senior’s hands.
The 300-pound defensive tackle had just enough speed to get to the corner and hustle into the end zone for the 16-yard pick-six score to give Michigan State an early lead.
It’s only fitting that in a year with so many big-guy touchdowns at the professional and collegiate levels, football fans got to see at least one more before the new year arrives.