Brigham Young University sophomore wide receiver Parker Kingston turned a botched punt return into a 90-yard touchdown during Saturday's 38-9 upset victory over Big 12 Conference rival Kansas State.
It happened at the 11:10 mark of the third quarter with BYU holding a 24-6 lead. Kansas State was forced to punt with 4th and 2 on their own 33-yard line. Kansas State punter Simon McClannan punted it to the BYU 23-yard line. Kingston ran to his right to field the ball, but the ball slipped through his hands and bounced towards the end zone. Kingston was forced to scoop it up at the 10-yard line and managed to elude the grasp of two Kansas State defenders right behind him. Kingston then ran towards the middle of the field and backtracked to the 2-yard line as he managed to avoid being tackled by a few more Wildcat tacklers.
With the majority of the Kansas State punt coverage team behind him, Kingston was able to turn the corner and move up the field with a wall of blockers with him. The last Kansas State defender with a chance to stop him dove and missed near midfield, leaving Kingston a clear path to the end zone for an exhilirating touchdown.
You are not going to see a better punt return for a TD than this one from BYU pic.twitter.com/yLLOyoJ5XH
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) September 22, 2024
Kudos to Kingston for staying with the play and never giving up on it. Punt return touchdowns can be the most exciting plays in college football, even when things do not go according to plan, like in this case. Gotta love it.
As for Kansas State, who was undefeated and ranked 13th in the country heading into Saturday's game, it looks like they have some work to do to turn things around.
[@cjzero]
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
