BYU defeats No. 13 Kansas State in a dominant win

PROVO, Utah — BYU’s defense forced three turnovers, Jake Retzlaff threw passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns and Parker Kingston scored a spectacular 90-yard punt return touchdown in a 38-9 win over No. 13 Kansas State on Saturday night.

Sione Moa had a career-high 76 yards and a rushing score as the Cougars (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) ended a five-game losing streak against Big 12 opponents in impressive fashion.

“A lot of people were surprised by this. They didn’t really think we could do it,” Moa said. “It’s no surprise to us. We know how much work we’ve put in to get to this point.”

Avery Johnson totaled 204 yards on offense for the Wildcats, but also threw two interceptions. DJ Giddens rushed for 93 yards on 19 carries as Kansas State (3-1, 0-1) slipped to 0-4 in Provo despite 224 rushing yards. The Wildcats failed to score a touchdown in a game for the first time since 2020.

“We just shot ourselves in the foot too many times and needed to score touchdowns,” Johnson said. “You have to take good care of the football on the road if you want to win games.”

BYU scored two touchdowns 39 seconds apart before halftime after forcing turnovers on two consecutive Kansas State drives.

Jack Kelly picked up the ball from Giddens on third down and Tommy Prassas returned the fumble 30 yards to give the Cougars their first lead at 10-6. Tyler Batty intercepted Johnson’s pass two plays later at the Wildcats’ 29-yard line. His takeaway set up a 23-yard touchdown catch by Chase Roberts that gave BYU a 17-6 halftime lead.

“You have to make them earn everything, and at some point we managed to crack the code a little bit, get some turnovers and build some momentum, and then you saw the result,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said.

Johnson threw his second interception to Harrison Taggart on Kansas State’s opening drive of the second half. Taggart’s interception and a subsequent 24-yard sprint by Moa set up a 3-yard touchdown catch by Darius Lassiter, increasing BYU’s lead to 24-6.

After the defense forced a three-and-out, Kingston nearly fumbled the ensuing punt, but he managed to pick up the ball, run to the opposite sideline and sprint 90 yards for a touchdown. His score put BYU ahead 31-6 less than five minutes into the third quarter.

“It was breathtaking to see,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. “We embarrassed ourselves and that hasn’t happened here since the Covid year.”

A 22-yard touchdown run by Moa early in the fourth quarter capped the evening for the Cougars.