Reaction: BYU Football vs Nebraska

Bittersweet.

One of the most amazing wins on the shoulders of one of the most amazing plays in BYU history.

Taysom Hill--quarterback, captain, lost for the season.

You know those unforgettable moments I was talking about? This was one of them. At Nebraska's vaunted Memorial Stadium. The team, down by 1. A backup, freshman quarterback. One second on the clock. 42 yards to the end zone. The ball in the air forever, uncertain. Receivers and defenders going up for it, and Mitch Matthews coming down with it.

Touchdown.

Touchdown.

Touchdown.

Game over, 33-28.

But it was an earlier touchdown that has dramatically altered BYU's season. Early in the second quarter, Taysom Hill saw an opening, and like he so often does, takes it in for a score. No one even touched him. 

And yet, there was something wrong.

Somehow in that run, perhaps when he planted it for that initial burst of speed, Hill had broken his foot. A particular kind of break called a lisfranc fracture that occurs in the midfoot where the five bones that make up the arch reside. In most cases, depending on the severity, it takes a full six weeks before you can put any weight on it. After that, you can begin to put partial weight on it for a period of several more weeks. It is, undoubtedly, a season ending injury.

Hill ran on it for more than two quarters. He missed a total of three plays to get it wrapped tight, and went out and threw another touchdown, and took off on a 37 yard run, and tackled a defender to save a touchdown after he threw an interception.

That he was in sever pain was almost imperceptible. But as Bronco Mendenhall put it, "This victory doesn't happen without him, from a leadership perspective, and from an ability perspective in how he played today....He allowed us to stay within striking distance."

Now BYU's Heisman hopeful is sidelined for the season, perhaps a career. After the dust had settled on Saturday's wonderful, heartbreaking game, BYUtv's Spencer Linton's tweet said it far better than I:

Also, Thank you Taysom. Thank u @T_Hill4 for the thrills, unforgettable plays, leadership, resilience, & courage. WARRIOR! HERO! #BYU #BYUSN

And the games go on. Boise State comes to visit next week. It would be too much to expect Tanner Mangum, three months off his Chilean mission, to immediately prove indomitable, despite his high school accolades. Likely he has his fair share of growing pains. All freshman do. It cannot, should not be expected for him to simply take up where Taysom left off.

But there is one thing that he and every member of the team can do to "stand behind Taysom, make sure that he's at the heart of everything we're doing." There is something that a hero going on before can inspire in a team far more than aspirations of championships and victory alone.

#DoitforTaysom