Crazy BYU Football Punt Return Among Questions Answered Against No. 13 Kansas State
Sep 22, 2024, 12:32 AM | Updated: Sep 23, 2024, 4:24 pm
PROVO, Utah – The BYU Cougars football team rode an avalanche of momentum in the third quarter against No. 13 Kansas State to blowout the Wildcats 38-9.
Let’s answer some questions from an electric night at Lavell Edwards Stadium.
Who was the MVP for BYU Football?
The entire defense is deserving of praise. They kept BYU alive in the first quarter by holding Kansas State to field goals and then changed the game with timely turnovers.
However, I can’t name one individual defensive player MVP. Several defenders made timely plays. It was a group effort.
It’s safe to say this is one of the best defenses in the Big 12.
I thought the contributions from freshman running back Sione Moa were worthy of naming him MVP, although it feels wrong to single out any one player in the win.
I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!! Cougar Nation, the environment and energy was unreal!! Thanks for making it a true competitive advantage and bringing it. On to the next! #Go Cougs 🤙🏽
— Fesi Sitake (@fsitake) September 22, 2024
BYU needed to run the football to have success against Kansas State and Moa led the team with 76 yards on 15 carries.
The Cougars finished with 3.4 yards per carry as a team.
Moa put the exclamation point on the game with a 21-yard touchdown run early in the 4th quarter.
What was the most impactful play of the game?
Mel Kiper Jr is one of the most respected voices when it comes to NFL draft evaluations. He recently praised the play of BYU linebacker Jack Kelly.
After his performance against Kansas State, I wouldn’t be surprised if his stock is rising faster than Nvidia.
Kansas State outplayed BYU for the majority of the first half until running back DJ Giddens made a costly mistake.
BUY ALL THE JACK KELLY #NFL draft stock while you can! Dude is having a game. #BYU #BYUFootball #Big12
— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) September 22, 2024
The Wildcat running back had only fumbled one other time in his career before Jack Kelly stripped the ball loose with one minute left in the first half.
True freshman safety Tommy Prassas scooped up the loose ball, kept his balance, and scored a touchdown in front of the ROC.
It was a momentum-changing play that brought Lavell Edwards Stadium back to life.
What was the most interesting stat from the game?
Kansas State turned the ball over three times in 2 minutes and 19 seconds of actual gameplay.
The Wildcats committed their first turnover with 1:17 left in the first half on the Giddens fumble.
Fifteen seconds later Wildcat quarterback Avery Johnson threw an interception to BYU captain Tyler Batty.
BYU scored a touchdown 28 seconds later on a touchdown pass from Retzlaff to Chase Roberts.
The Wildcats got the ball to start the third quarter and Johnson threw his second interception to Harrison Taggart after only one minute of game play.
#BYU has scored 21 points in the last 3:07 of game action against Kansas State.#BYUFootball
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) September 22, 2024
BYU scored 21 points off those turnovers. It was absolute madness.
When was the game won by BYU Football?
Parker Kingston is one of the fastest players on the team. He displayed his elite speed on a wild punt return touchdown in the third quarter.
The sophomore receiver appeared to have muffed a punt return midway through the third quarter.
What could have been a game-changing play for Kansas State turned into the most improbable punt return touchdown you’ll ever see.
Kingston scooped up the loose ball inside his five-yard line. He ran from the Wildcat sideline to the BYU sideline before turning upfield with a wall of white blockers.
PLAY OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE FROM BYU'S PARKER KINGSTON 😮 pic.twitter.com/VqvaJPR6ef
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 22, 2024
He easily ran over 140 yards in total distance before he scored a touchdown. Kingston was lucky he crossed the goal line before he celebrated as the play was nearly a fumble, which would have given the ball back to Kansas State.
As he was sprinting down the sideline, it became clear. This night belonged to the BYU Cougars.
You can hear Matt Baiamonte every Saturday on KSL Newsradio for Cougar Sports Saturday from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. or Monday nights on Cougar Nation from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. You can also find him on Twitter @baiamontematt here.
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