South Dakota State Jackrabbits senior punter Max Pelham botched a punt deep in his own end of the field, leading to an easy touchdown for the opposing Montana State Bobcats during Saturday night's matchup between top-ranked FCS teams.
It happened with 6:44 remaining in the fourth quarter as number 2 SDSU held a 17-10 lead over number 3 Montana St. SDSU was punting with 4th and 10 from their own 14-yard line. Pelham caught the snap, but found two defenders in his face very quickly. He was able to run around them towards the sideline to avoid the blocked punt, but when Pelham tried to punt the ball, he whiffed and fell to the ground. That left the ball up for grabs on the 10-yard line, and Montana State defensive end Seth Brock picked it up and ran it in for the easy TD.
TROUBLE WITH THE PUNT‼️@MSUBobcats_FB ties it up pic.twitter.com/Sup5NhiVsD
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) September 7, 2025
Here is a close-up of Pelham's failed punt attempt:
Struck out swinging 👀 https://t.co/ymqw45K5Hd pic.twitter.com/RPdNaASltp
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) September 7, 2025
We have not seen many whiffed punts over the years, although we have seen plenty of muffed punts leading to TDs. We understand how Pelham was trying to salvage a bad situation, but it clearly backfired in the worst possible way. Sometimes you just have to minimize the loss as best you can and move on.
Although Pelham's bungled punt cost the Jackrabbits the lead, it did not cost them the game, as South Dakota State pulled out a 30-24 win in double overtime.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports).
