Byron Pringle has more than just a good name. He has a great game, something a national audience became aware of on Saturday afternoon. The Kansas State Wildcats wide receiver was all over the field, catching touchdown pass after touchdown pass against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. He even returned a kickoff for a touchdown, marking four scores on the day. Ultimately, it was his contributions that helped Kansas State pull a massive road upset and clinch bowl eligibility for the Wildcats.
Pringle pops off
The most remarkable thing about Pringle's day is that he didn't make a dent in the stat sheet outside of his touchdowns.
He only caught four passes, but three of them went for touchdowns, an incredible rate of success. He also only returned three kickoffs, one of which went for an 89-yard score. Oklahoma State's star receiver James Washington was supposed to be the center of the show, but Kansas State's 24-year old junior - who celebrated his birthday on Friday - stole it.
His first touchdown catch came a minute and a half into the second quarter when he hauled in a 47-yard pass to put the Wildcats up 14-10. Following an Oklahoma State field goal, Pringle made his most impressive play of the game, recording his kickoff return for a touchdown. Two passing touchdowns - combing for 106 yards - gave Kansas State an insurmountable lead in the third quarter.
Prior to Saturday afternoon, Pringle had just three touchdown grabs on the entire season, one of which came during a Week 1 win over FCS Central Arkansas. Last year, he had just four on the season. Needless to say, Kansas State couldn't have been more thrilled by Pringle's performance in Stillwater.
Kansas State pulls the upset
Entering Saturday, Kansas State was a massive underdog on the road against the No. 13 team in the country. In fact, Oklahoma State hadn't lost to an unranked opponent in 12 games and the Wildcats hadn't won at Oklahoma State in nearly two decades. Pringle changed their fortunes not once, but four times.
While it's easy to credit Pringle for the 45-40 win, props need to go to two others units. First, the defense, which picked off star quarterback Mason Rudolph twice and limited Washington's dynamic nature for most of the game. Additionally, somebody needed to get the ball to the star receiver - freshman quarterback Skylar Thompson arguably had the best start of his young and extremely promising career in Kansas State before leaving with an injury.
