During its four-game losing streak, the BYU football team found all kinds of painful ways to lose.

Against Boise State, the Cougars won the game by finding a way to get the ball to extraordinary wide receiver Puka Nacua and let him make a play.

BYU fans and media are calling Nacua’s juggling, toe-tapping, Bronco-beating, fourth-down stunner in the end zone on Saturday in a 31-28 victory one of the best catches in Cougar history.

Heck, it might not even be in Nacua’s personal Top 5.

Anybody who saw Nacua star at Orem High knows that highlight reel snags are his specialty. One of his most prized skills is amazing flexibility as a receiver. The positions he can contort himself into making a catch would be the envy of circus midway barkers everywhere.

“Come see Puka Nacua, the incredible, flexible wonderkind who can bend his body into just about any shape, catch the football and come out smiling!”

It’s mystifying to me that Nacua doesn’t break bones or suffer a concussion on some of his more high-degree-of-difficulty catches.

On Saturday, Nacua fought off what appeared to be an obvious pass interference by Boise State’s Caleb Biggers — take a look at photos that show Nacua’s jersey being pulled away from his shoulder pad by Biggers. Nacua turned his body around, tipped the ball to himself and tapped his toe inside the boundary while nearly parallel to the ground.

The official standing a few feet away hesitated but signaled ‘touchdown.’

I’m shocked the guy in stripes didn’t burst into applause.

So, yeah, it was a really good catch.

Statistics prove that back-shoulder fades and jump balls in the end zone are high degree of difficulty plays normally only executed properly by NFL quarterbacks and/or elite receivers. After the game, BYU quarterback Jaren Hall said he had another option on the play to throw to tight end Ethan Erickson but wisely decided to go to Nacua.

“Every look looks good to (number) 12,” Hall said.

Nacua contributes so much more to the Cougars than just his amazing ability. Every team needs an eternal optimist who believes every day is a good day and comes to work with a smile on his face.

There’s a “C” for captain on Nacua’s jersey for a reason.

Of course, Nacua’s big play capped off a gutty performance by the rest of his teammates. The defense got six stops against Boise State, including a fourth-down gem to seal the game in the final minute. The offense put up 532 yards and 31 points against the Broncos, who were ranked No. 2 in the country in total defense. A new star emerged in sophomore running back Hinckley Ropati, who housed a screen pass in the fourth quarter and is as sturdy as a cruiser tank. Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick seemed to rediscover his magic as a play caller.

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said he wasn’t as concerned about the outcome as much as his team improving, but I guarantee it would have been a very long and unhappy two weeks at the coaches offices in the Student Athlete Building if the Cougars hadn’t pulled this one out.

It was a good news Saturday all around as Liberty, which pounded BYU 41-14 two weeks ago, went into Fayetteville and upset Arkansas 21-19. In addition, Notre Dame (a 28-20 winner vs. the Cougars in Las Vegas), knocked off No. 4 Clemson 35-14.

I guess the Flames and Irish are pretty good after all.

At 5-5, BYU has an FCS team (Utah Tech) on Nov. 19 for Senior Day and then a road trip to Stanford on Nov. 26 to complete the season. A 7-5 record is possible, a bowl game is almost a certainty and there is a chance to reclaim a little momentum heading into the Big 12 next season.

Mostly because BYU decided to throw the ball to its best player when everything was on the line.

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