Will Levis was 33 yards shy of making Mark Stoops eat unpeeled banana

As predicted, Will Levis’ banana-eating TikTok was everywhere on the SEC Network’s broadcast of Kentucky vs. ULM. Thankfully, sideline reporter Alyssa Lang gave us a new angle to the weeks-old story. Lang asked Mark Stoops how many passing yards Levis would need for Stoops to eat an unpeeled banana. His answer? Four-hundred. Challenge extended

Levis exited the game at the start of the fourth quarter after throwing his fourth touchdown. He finished 18-26 for 367 yards. Afterward, Stoops joked that it wasn’t a coincidence that Levis came out 33 yards shy of the magic number.

“Doesn’t seem like I have to eat the banana, right?” Stoops said to our own Nick Roush. “That’s why I got him out of there.”

When told about it after the game, Levis didn’t hesitate to give his coach some grief.

“Just had a chance to look at the stat line before I came in here and I had seen that on Twitter,” he said. “I think he was definitely a little scared and he didn’t want to do it. I think one more drive wouldn’t have hurt us but I was so glad that Beau was able to get in there and get some drives…Would have been nice to get those extra 40 yards. Would have been funny.”

Stoops may be chicken, but Lang was not. She set the banana-eating mark at 300 yards, and when Levis surpassed it in the third quarter, went for it.

.@AlyssaLang understood the assignment 😂 🍌@will_levis | @UKFootball pic.twitter.com/582MeKgffy

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 4, 2021

Kudos to Lang for following through and the unique side approach. Way more impressive than Tim Tebow’s attempt on SEC Nation.

Bananas are meant to be peeled and then eaten. #SECNation pic.twitter.com/Dw1Rii0U0C

— Marty Smith (@MartySmithESPN) September 4, 2021