The BYU Cougars went into halftime down 13-7 to the Texas Tech Red Raiders, as the team continues to fight for a potential spot in the College Football Playoff. Head coach Kalani Sitake is pulling all the stops, as he called a fake punt play in the second quarter. However, it failed miserably, and the sports world had plenty to say about it.
About midway through the second quarter, the Cougars attempted a fake punt pass play on fourth and seven. The punter rolled to his right and attempted to make the throw. However, it failed miserably, and the Red Raiders got the ball with favorable field position.
College football fans were quick to criticize the play call, as many believed BYU was better off just punting. Some point out that even if the catch was made, the player still likely would have been short of the first down. Meanwhile, others called the fake punt a dumb play overall.
“And even if he had caught him, the attempt would have been too short,” said one individual.
I saw that fake punt… pic.twitter.com/373voSH4iN
— Meme_Uh_Licious (@Meme_Uh_Licious) December 6, 2025
Another user admitted, “BYU just ran genuinely the worst fake punt I’ve ever seen in my life, holy bad.”
That BYU fake punt pic.twitter.com/IIfWIXiKK1
— —————— (@yeeeeesirski) December 6, 2025
“That BYU fake punt just stunk of desperation,” said one sports fan.
BYU fake punt? pic.twitter.com/k7Oi9SghQt
— KiddMuse (nico fired) (@KiddMuse_) December 6, 2025
This person explained, “Most fake punts aren’t designed to have [the] punter throw to a guy covered by 3 defenders, well behind the line to gain. BYU, it might have worked if not a terrible throw, to a triple-covered guy, 6 yards short. But OK.”
Somehow, the Cougars managed to avoid total disaster, as they prevented Texas Tech from scoring immediately after the failed fake punt play. Instead, the BYU defense held its own and didn’t allow the Red Raiders to score until the closing seconds of the second quarter.
