Let’s say it all lyrically the way it is here, the way it is … Allgeier.
That makes no sense, but neither does the way the running back played on Friday night. He was a freaking rhyme, a one-man poem.
He was without peer, ran like a deer, scampered without fear, had an extra gear, he was far and near, a pain in Utah State’s rear, caused the Aggies to shed a tear, was player of the year, hand him a bee … oh, we’ll stop there.
Tyler Allgeier.
The dude has not only played better, been better, had a better effect on his team — BYU — than any of his teammates, he’s been better than any college player on any college team in Utah this season.
It’s not even close. He’s been incredible.
An MVP running back at a school where the spotlight always falls on the other guy, the quarterback. Or, in the Cougars’ case this time around, the quarterbacks. All three of them.
Shift that spotlight for good now because … well, shift happens.
It should happen because Allgeier was a football maestro against USU at Maverik Stadium, not just helping the Cougars beat the Aggies on Utah State’s sold-out home field, rather beating the Aggies by himself, 34-20.
That’ s right, he beat … the … Aggies … singlehandedly.
He ran through them, off them, over them, around them, churning … no, exploding for 218 yards, scoring three touchdowns, powering through the left side of his offensive line again and again and again, averaging 9.9 yards per carry. Sure, he had blocking, sure, the defense stepped up, grinding USU’s own normally potent ground game down to a mere 22 yards, sure, there were others on the field.
Only one was king.
In the aftermath, even Utah State’s players crossed the field to bend the knee, or at least to give Allgeier a respectful hug.
Nearby, Kalani Sitake looked into a camera and said of his main man: “He’s a stud. I love that kid.”
He should.
Everybody saw Allgeier make the play of the year a few weeks ago, a play that will live famously in BYU history, when he fought off a block and ran down an Arizona State defender from behind after that defender picked off a pass and needed to be stopped. Not only was he stopped, but the thunder-god hammered the ball loose so BYU could retain possession — and win that game.
Now Allgeier is putting his team on his shoulders and carrying it to a 5-0 start and all kinds of promise, causing BYU fans to stretch their imaginations with great elasticity regarding how high the Cougars can climb this season.
Against the Aggies, BYU felt fortunate to just climb out of Logan with any sort of win.
Quarterback Jaren Hall couldn’t play, again, instead standing on the sideline with a baseball cap on backward. Baylor Romney, who had performed so well against USF last week in Hall’s absence, was fantastic in the first half, completing 15 of 19 passes for 187 yards and a TD throw, but then bounced his head off the turf after delivering a pass at the end of the first half.
BYU had a 24-13 lead at the break, but when freshman QB Jacob Conover took the field at the start of the third quarter, and proceeded to jack the ball all over the yard, making bad decisions and missing open targets, you had to wonder, would the Cougars’ margin hold up?
Even as Conover settled in a bit, it was clear, talented as he is, that the kid was not going to be the difference-maker in this game.
That designation went to … You-Know-Who.
The rock got handed to Allgeier 22 times, whenever crucial yards were needed, sometimes banging for tough gains, sometimes breaking free, running to daylight. His longest burst went for 67 yards, down the left sideline, falling just short of the end zone. No matter, he scored two plays later, extending BYU’s lead, putting the Aggies away.
The Allgeier story really is remarkable. A walk-on who played linebacker initially, showing fine potential in that role, but elevating his importance in the Cougars program last season, gaining over a thousand yards toting the ball, and winding up the country’s eighth most proficient running back, playing no small role in BYU’s 11-1 season. As usual, the quarterback — Zach Wilson — got the glory, but Allgeier was the heart, soul, guts, the force of that team.
It’s no different this season.
His total for rushing yards to date stands at 564. His touchdowns sit at seven. His effect on the offense, on the defense, too, registers at infinity.
Sitake said it all. He’s a stud. Everybody loves Tyler Allgeier.
When fullback/tight end Masen Wake was asked recently about the celebrity status he felt as being a big man on campus on an undefeated BYU team, his response, in so many words, was, “No, I’m not Tyler Allgeier.”
No, only Tyler Allgeier is Tyler Allgeier.
He isn’t the most scintillating runner in college football. He doesn’t have all the moves. He won’t spin defenders into dust devils, or juke and jive them left and right. He’s not the reincarnation of Barry Sanders. But what he is, is a reliable, rocksteady back who can carry the Cougars to victory when that carrying is called for.
Here, here. Hear, hear. He’s Tyler Allgeier.
He may not be classic poetry in motion, he’s more a rough-and-tumble sonnet, if there is such a thing, or a brutish haiku, he’s metrification that will punch you in the teeth, leave cleat marks all over your face, and win rugged football games.
And for BYU, that’s a blessed verse, one that’s more than enough.
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