This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
San Diego • The game hung in the air and in the balance.
And Kai Nacua grabbed it, securing his place as one of BYU's best defensive backs ever, and saving his team's victory.
The Cougars had built a 24-7 lead against Wyoming on Wednesday night at Qualcomm Stadium in the Poinsettia Bowl. And looked to be sailing toward a rugged-but-easy win. That's when the Cowboys came alive, scoring two consecutive touchdowns, when they earlier could rarely sustain any sort of offensive consistency.
Come barreling back, they did.
And on one final possession, Wyoming had a chance to take its first lead, the only lead that mattered.
Starting at the 1:44 mark of the fourth quarter, near midfield, Cowboys quarterback Josh Allen completed a pass to running back Brian Hill for 19 yards to the BYU 32-yard line. It was Allen's 31st throw of the night, totaling 207 yards and two touchdowns. And then …
And then.
He chucked a ball that Nacua snagged and returned for 20 yards.
Game over. BYU won, 24-21.
The senior defensive back had saved the day, closing his college career on a huge high.
"We were hoping one of these guys would make a play," BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said. "Kai's done that. I was happy he could do that on his final play. … I was happy he made that play. He made plays all night."
It was a bit of redemption, a far cry from two years back when Nacua had an infamous moment at the Miami Beach Bowl when, after a loss to Memphis, Nacua was caught up in a brawl in full view of cameras that beamed Nacua's involvement around the country.
Coaches and teammates said that's not who he is, and, since then, he's stayed clean and played great. What happened Wednesday night, then, is the lasting impression of Nacua as a player, a player who made his biggest play — a more memorable play — on his last play of his BYU career.