AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — BYU freshman Blake Morgan was not scheduled to travel to Saturday's game at Air Force.

But freshman Daniel Sorensen injured his ankle in Thursday's practice, then, on Friday after practice, assistant coach Barry Lamb asked Morgan if he would like to make the trip to Colorado Springs.

"I got to come along," Morgan said.

Good thing for the Cougars, too. With BYU nursing a 17-14 lead early in the third quarter, Morgan forced Air Force's Reggie Rembert to fumble on a kickoff return, and Cougar Spencer Hadley recovered the ball.

It turned out to be a game-changing play in BYU's 38-24 victory over the Falcons.

"It was huge. That's exactly what special teams are for, to create big plays," said linebacker David Nixon. "I was telling him earlier, 'Somebody's gotta make a play.' He flew down there and did what he was supposed to do. It got the momentum back in our hands."

The Cougars scored three plays later to seize a 24-14 lead.

Morgan, who hails from Greeley, Colo., had a friend from his hometown in attendance at Falcon Stadium. His family was attending his brother's high school playoff game.

"I'll call them later and tell them about it," Morgan said. "It's fun to be out here. It's fun to make an impact anyway that you can. It was my turn to make an impact on special teams. I was lucky enough to be the guy that (Rembert) cut right into. I knew I hit him, then I saw everybody jump on the ball. It was a pretty cool feeling. It was a big play. Anytime we can get the offense the ball that close to the end zone, they're going to take advantage of that. To be a part of that is special."

PITTA'S STATUS: Tight end Dennis Pitta enjoyed an impressive outing against the Falcons, catching nine passes for 113 yards. However, he suffered a strained MCL in his knee.

"I got my knee banged up a little bit," Pitta said. "I'll do some rehab this week, and it should be good to go (for next week's game at Utah)."

The injury occurred on a big third-and-8 play at the BYU 11 late in the fourth quarter. His 12-yard catch gave the Cougars a first down and led to a touchdown by Austin Collie that put the contest out of reach.

BYU's other tight end, Andrew George, had five catches for 62 yards.

"It was another big day for (the tight ends) against Air Force" Pitta said. "They leave the middle of the field open for us, and we were able to take advantage of that. It was a great team win and a hard-fought battle. Luckily, we were able to contribute as much as we did today."