PROVO, Utah (AP) — BYU’s defense forced three turnovers, Jake Retzlaff threw for 149 yards and two touchdowns and Parker Kingston had a highlight reel 90-yard punt return touchdown in a 38-9 victory over No. 13 Kansas State on Saturday night.
Sione Moa added a career-high 76 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The Cougars (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) snapped a five-game losing streak to Big 12 opponents in emphatic fashion.
“A lot of people were surprised by this. They didn’t really think we could do this,” Moa said. “This is not a surprise to us. We know the work we put in to get to this point.”
Avery Johnson piled up 204 yards of total offense for the Wildcats but also threw a pair of interceptions. DJ Giddens rushed for 93 yards on 19 carries as Kansas State (3-1, 0-1) dropped to 0-4 all-time in Provo despite totaling 224 rushing yards. The Wildcats did not score a touchdown in a game for the first time since 2020.
“We just shot ourselves in the foot too many times and we got to score touchdowns,” Johnson said. “You got to take care of the football on the road if you want to win games.”
BYU scored a pair of touchdowns 39 seconds apart before halftime after forcing turnovers on back-to-back Kansas State drives.
Jack Kelly stripped the ball from Giddens on a third-down run and Tommy Prassas took the fumble 30 yards to the house, giving the Cougars their first lead, 10-6. Tyler Batty intercepted Johnson two plays later at the Wildcats 29. His takeaway set up a 23-yard touchdown catch by Chase Roberts that gave BYU a 17-6 lead going into halftime.
“You got to make them earn it all and eventually we were able to crack the code a little bit and get some turnovers and create some momentum and then you saw the result,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said.
Johnson tossed his second interception to Harrison Taggart on Kansas State’s opening drive of the second half. Taggart’s pick and a subsequent 24-yard sprint by Moa set up a 3-yard TD catch by Darius Lassiter and extended BYU’s lead to 24-6.
After the defense forced a three-and-out, Kingston nearly fumbled the ensuing punt but managed to scoop up the ball, cut over to the opposite sideline and race 90 yards for a touchdown. His score put BYU up 31-6 less than five minutes into the third quarter.
“It was stunning to see that,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. “We got embarrassed and that hasn’t happened here since the Covid year.”
A 22-yard touchdown run by Moa early in the fourth capped the night for the Cougars.
Takeaways
Kansas State: The Wildcats gashed BYU with long runs on their first two drives, totaling 117 rushing yards and averaging 6.9 yards per carry, but only came away with a pair of field goals before the wheels fell off on offense.
BYU: Forcing turnovers on three straight Kansas State drives helped the Cougars turn a close game into a blowout early in the second half. BYU scored 31 unanswered points in a 6 1/2-minute span bridging the second and third quarters.
No Touchdowns Allowed
BYU has not allowed a touchdown in both games it has played against fellow Power Four schools thus far. The Cougars held SMU to five field goals in an 18-15 win over the Mustangs in week two and then limited Kansas State to three field goals on three trips to the red zone on Saturday.
“We already know what we’re capable of,” linebacker Isaiah Glasker said. “It’s really just showing other people what we can do.”
Breakout Game
Moa was buried on the running back depth chart to start the season but injuries to LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati led to the freshman making his first career start. He had just 17 yards on six carries before finishing with 76 yards as BYU’s lead back.
“I was pretty surprised I got a lot of these reps,” Moa said.
Poll Implications
A lopsided loss to BYU could send Kansas State tumbling out of the AP Top 25 on Sunday. BYU could also work its way into the rankings.
Up Next
Kansas State hosts Oklahoma State on Saturday.
BYU is at Baylor on Saturday.
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John Coon, The Associated Press