It was by far the most sobering moment of Saturday night’s 24-16 win for the BYU football team over Arizona in the Vegas Kickoff Classic.

When attempting to make a tackle, Cougar defensive back Keenan Ellis got caught at a bad angle and was on the turf as trainers and medical personnel worked to stabilize him in the event it was a serious neck or spinal injury.

After 15-20 minutes of work, Ellis was eventually carted off the field and taken to the hospital.

“It was scary,” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said Saturday night after the game. “In those moments you just hope for the best. We weren’t seeing a lot of improvement right away but we were relieved when he started to come to. He was moving his arms and his legs. He kept wanting to get up. Give a lot of credit to our athletic training staff. They did a good job controlling him.”

That’s one of those moments that puts everything in perspective and can be tough to refocus.

“No one likes to see that,” Sitake said. “It was hard for us but also for Arizona. That’s the scary part of the game. There is so much time, a lapse in the game, and we both had to get back after it.”

Cougar defensive lineman Tyler Batty said during the BYU press conference on Monday that the risk of serious injury is a reality all college football players understand — but that doesn’t make it easy.

“We’re all really close on this team, and so it was scary,” Batty said. “It’s football; it’s a violent game, and you really never know what’s going to happen.”

The word came late Saturday that the tests had come back negative and then on Sunday that he was moving around with no pain in his neck or back.

“Keenan is doing pretty good right now,” Sitake said on Monday. “We go into the concussion protocol. We did everything we could and ran the test, but it seems he’s going to be good. It’s highly unlikely he’ll play this Saturday but we’re just glad to get him back and get him healthy. We’ll work on getting him back to full speed but football is not what we’re worried about with him right now.”

Batty said that was the best news the team could’ve hoped for.

“We’re just really, really happy that he’s recovering, that he’s doing well and that it wasn’t more serious,” Batty said.

In addition to Ellis’s injury, Cougar wide receiver Gunner Romney also got hurt and left the game against the Wildcats.

“Gunner didn’t come back into the game,” Sitake said. “The good news is that he’s not out for the year. It’s day-to-day with him. We’ll see how it goes. It’s been tough on him. He’s doubtful for this Saturday’s game but you never know what could happen in the next four to five days. We’ll see what happens.”

He added that although there were other bumps and bruises, the current expectation is that no other players will be unable to participate in the game against rival Utah in Provo on Sept. 11.

“I’m looking forward to the game and I know the players are, too,” Sitake said. “We didn’t get the game last year, so we’re excited. Our guys know there is a lot of work to be done the next few days so we can perform at our best against Utah.”

Heading back to Vegas

BYU fans packed Allegiant Stadium for the game against the Wildcats, with the announced attendance of 54,541 making the largest crowd to ever watch a college sporting event in the state of Nevada.

That number will likely fall in 2022, since reports leaked out over the weekend that the Cougars will face Notre Dame in Las Vegas next season.

While the date has yet to be officially announced, it appears likely the game will take place on either Oct. 8 or Oct. 29, since both teams have open dates on those days.

Season Openers

BYU moves to 5-1 in season openers under head coach Kalani Sitake, with three wins over Arizona in that span. Sitake picked up his first win as a head coach in 2016 against the Wildcats in an 18-16 victory and another win in 2018 with a 28-23 win in Tucson. The Cougars even up the all-time series with Arizona at 12-12-1. BYU has won the last three matchups against the Wildcats.

Extra points

BYU lost the coin toss to start the game, with Arizona deferring to the second half. The Cougars got the ball to start the game but were forced to punt … The captains for the game were offensive lineman James Empey, linebackers Payton Wilgar and Keenan Pili and quarterback Jaren Hall … The team flags were carried out by wide receiver Puka Nacua, quarterback Sol-Jay Maiva-Peters and defensive back Mitchell Price … The alumni flags were carried by Matt Bushman (TE, 2017-2020), Tevita Ofahengaue (TE, 1997-2000), Nick Greer (Built Bar CEO, BYU alum) and Rudy Ruettiger (Notre Dame, 1974-75) … the outdoor temperature at game time at Allegiant Stadium was 97 degrees, while it was 73 degrees inside the stadium.

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