Will Darius Lassiter’s big play be the ‘Kyle Morrell moment’ for 2024 Cougars?

When Darius Lassiter scored his improbable game-winning touchdown late Saturday night to beat Oklahoma State 38-35 and keep No. 11 BYU undefeated (7-0), he did it in front of 50 former Cougars who have seen this kind of magic before.
The 1984 national championship team was back in Provo to be recognized as part of BYU’s commemoration of its 100th season of football. Through it all, only the 1984 squad finished undefeated and ranked No. 1.
To pull that off, the Cougars needed a little magic of their own, including Kyle Morrell’s goal-line tackle against Hawaii. At the time, Morrell’s tackle was sensational, but as the season wore on, it grew in significance and today, 40 years later, it stands among the most iconic plays in BYU history.
Trailing 12-10 in the fourth quarter, the Warriors faced a third down with the ball just inches from the goal line. As Hawaii quarterback Raphel Cherry took the snap, Morrell leaped over the line of scrimmage and brought him down before he could reach the end zone.
As a result, Hawaii settled for a field goal to take the lead, but preventing a touchdown had shifted momentum to BYU. Quarterback Robbie Bosco then hit receiver Glen Kozlowski for a 25-yard touchdown with 5:24 to play to win the game 18-13.
“We were all somber and quiet (in the locker room) knowing that we were fortunate to win that game — and we were,” said former BYU running back Kelly Smith. “The play that Kyle made, we were just in awe, and it saved the game. As we kept going, it seemed like every game, there was one or two plays that kept us undefeated.”
BYU’s victory at Hawaii was on Sept. 22. The Cougars still had nine more games to win before they would claim the program’s only national championship. Along the way, they outlasted Wyoming by three, Air Force by five, Utah by 10 and they rallied to beat Michigan 24-17 in the Holiday Bowl.
Morrell’s moment was part of the sauce that turned the season special.
Forty years later, this new group of Cougars are perfect through seven games and Lassiter’s catch on Saturday has all the makings of a “Kyle Morrell moment.” It was big at the time with the potential to become even bigger as BYU takes its show to UCF on Saturday (1:30 p.m. MDT, ESPN) and beyond.
Trailing Oklahoma State 35-31 with 1:13 to play and a pair of timeouts, the Cougars embarked on an eight-play, 75-yard march that was made possible by three “game saving” plays.
First, receiver Chase Roberts reached up and caught an 8-yard pass on fourth-and-7 at the BYU 36. Second, quarterback Jake Retzlaff scrambled for 27 yards to the Cowboys’ 35. Finally, after spiking the ball to stop the clock at 19 seconds, Retzlaff connected with Lassiter for a 35-yard touchdown to win the game 38-35.
Members of the ‘84 team erupted with the rest of the 62,841 fans in stunned joy. Forty years after witnessing the first “Kyle Morrell moment,” they might have seen a second one, minus Morrell. The Bountiful product passed away in 2020, but just as his play will forever be attached to BYU’s championship season, Lassiter’s moment could stick around for a while too.
Special seasons require special plays, and the 2024 Cougars have already seen a slew of them on offense, defense and special teams. Just as with Morrell’s tackle, as grand as it was, the lasting power of Lassiter’s catch will depend on where today’s Cougars go from here.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.