BYU Sports Nation throws shade at Josh Allen, Wyoming
LARAMIE -- I hate to give these people any publicity. I loathe it to my core.
But, it must be done.
BYU Sports Nation, a university run national sports simulcast out of Provo, threw some shade at former Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen Friday after the Buffalo Bills signal caller signed a new 6-year extension worth $258 million.
It seemed like a nice gesture at first. Then we remembered where this tweet was coming from:
Yes, that's Allen tossing an interception across his body in the pouring rain. That pick sealed the deal for the Cougars in the 2016 Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego. BYU hung on to win by the score you see in the lower righthand corner of the screen.
While I'm sure this video still serves as a nightmare for Pokes fans -- just like every loss to that team -- some good actually came from it.
It's true.
Hear me out.
Because of this actual throw, among a few other reasons, Allen decided to turn down a chance at bolting early for the NFL Draft and returned to Laramie for one more season.
Despite losing his top receiver, Tanner Gentry, the program's all-time leading rusher, Brian Hill, his center, Chase Roullier, and his No. 1 tight end, Jacob Hollister, Allen couldn't leave Wyoming on this note.
"That would’ve been tough to leave out there,” Allen told Brandon Foster of the Casper Star Tribune. “Don’t jinx it for this year or next year, though. We’ll definitely try to build upon what we did last year and try to forget the last three games, basically, and build off of that.”
Allen threw for a modest 1,812 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2017 while leading the Pokes to an 8-5 record and a trip to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Allen was actually 7-3 as a starter that fall. He missed the final two games of the regular season with a shoulder injury.
Destined to be a first-round draft pick, Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl said "any and everyone" was trying to get Allen to skip out on the bowl game in Boise.
That didn't happen.
In his last outing in a UW uniform, Allen completed 11 of 19 passes for 154 yards and added three touchdown strikes in a 37-14 rout of Central Michigan. Less than four months later, Buffalo moved up in the draft to select Allen No. 7 overall.
So, while BYU Sports Nation thought they were dropping a zinger, instead they did the Cowboys a favor. Does losing to them suck? You bet. But it's nice to have a silver lining.
By the way, the Cowboys and Cougars will meet next Sept. 24 in Provo.
Any one else looking forward to that one?