healthy boundaries for once. The people claiming that BYU has a consistent history of playing dirty are complete morons. I've watched lots and lots of college football over the past half century, and if there's any school that's put up with far, far more abuse than is reasonable to endure, it's BYU. The wussies at other schools are just upset that they might not be able to get away with it anymore.
I for one would not be upset in the least if other schools looked at BYU's football team and thought "Don't mess with those guys. You'll get the oatmeal kicked out of you." As has been said by a great man, "It's not 1830, and there aren't just six of us anymore."
When it comes right down to it, I don't even view the punch as a cheap shot. It was most certainly retaliation, and rather mild retaliation at that. A cheap shot would be something like an unprovoked attack on somebody who wasn't even participating. Or coming from behind and putting a helmet into a guy who had recovered a fumble and clearly had it secured, on the ground. The kid from Boise State is lucky that all he got was a little punch in the thigh. Do something comparable to that out in the real world, and you go home in a bag.