BYU Seeks Big 12 Breakthrough Against No. 13 Kansas State
Sep 20, 2024, 3:48 PM
PROVO, Utah – How much more improved is this 3-0 BYU team compared to last year’s group with the same record to open the season?
If you weren’t impressed with BYU’s perfect start in non-conference play, you don’t have to wait long to get an answer to that question as BYU opens Big 12 play against No. 13 Kansas State on Saturday night.
“I feel good about the team. If you guys think they haven’t made any progress from last year to now, then that’s your opinion. But I think we’ll show it,” said BYU head coach Kalani Sitake earlier this week. “I think people can realize that we’re a different team than last year’s team and we’ll keep working on it. We are sitting at 3-0, and there are some really good things we’re doing.”
Big 12 Opener: BYU vs. Kansas State
BYU enters the Big 12 lid-lifter with Kansas State boasting Top-40 ranks nationally in total offense (38th, 440.3), total defense (13th, 236.3), passing offense (29th, 289.3), rush defense (40th, 105.7), and scoring defense (36th, 14.0).
Those numbers are signs of an improved team from last year’s squad that finished 5-7 overall and the only wins in Big 12 play were against last-place Cincinnati and Texas Tech with a third-string quarterback.
If BYU were able to take down the Wildcats, it would be the Cougars’ biggest win since joining the Big 12 last year.
How they stack up against Kansas State will be an excellent barometer for Kalani Sitake’s group.
“These guys are really good; tough kids, and man, they show it on film. What a great matchup,” Sitake said on Kansas State. “I’m looking forward to our guys getting out and competing with them. That’s the fun part about this game is that we’ll find out how good we are and then how physical we can be against a great team like Kansas State.”
The Wildcats are preparing for their first game in Provo since 1977. Like BYU, K-State enters the game with a perfect 3-0 mark and boasts one of the nation’s top rushing attacks.
Kansas State is 16th nationally, averaging 244.3 yards on the ground, led by running back DJ Giddens, Colorado transfer Dylan Edwards, and dual-threat star Avery Johnson at QB.
Quarterback showdown
Johnson has earned a comparison from BYU coaches to defending NFL MVP Lamar Jackson. He’s by far the best dual-threat quarterback BYU’s improved defense will have faced to this point of the season.
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The sophomore star has passed for 490 yards and completed 64.2% of his attempts. He has also rushed for 187 yards and averaged 6.7 yards per carry.
BYU is led at quarterback by Jake Retzlaff, who is gearing up for his eighth start as a Cougar. The redshirt junior had turnover issues two weeks ago against SMU, but last week in a blowout at Wyoming, he didn’t fumble the ball and only had one interception in a shot to the end zone.
Retzlaff has passed for 841 yards, exceeding the passing yards total he had last year in four starts (648), and has rushed for 113 yards.
Support for Jake Retzlaff from BYU WRs
Despite some criticisms from fans, Retzlaff has earned high praise from opposing coaches.
K-State head coach Chris Klieman's last visit to #BYU was in 2008 when he was an assistant coach at Northern Iowa.
His memories of Provo:
"I remember how loud it was and I remember how gorgeous the setting was. I know football is really important at BYU."#BYUFootball
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) September 16, 2024
“I think the quarterback is a really talented guy,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said on Retzlaff. “He’ll be one of the better dual-threat guys we’ve faced thus far. This guy is going to scramble, throw it, scramble, and run. Then you’re going to see some designed runs for him too. So that’s probably the biggest adjustment for us is we’ve got to be able to try to slow him down. It’s going to be difficult because he’s a terrific football player.”
Retzlaff’s 841 passing yards put him 20th nationally, entering week four action.
BYU’s receivers, a strength of the Cougar offense, have expressed their support for Retzlaff despite some outside criticisms, including senior Darius Lassiter. Lassiter expressed support for Retzlaff on X after the win over Wyoming.
He told KSL Sports why he felt the need to share that.
“A lot of people give the quarterback a hard time. It’s not an easy job to be a quarterback here at this school because of all the great quarterbacks that have come through here. The standard is high for quarterback,” Lassiter said to KSL Sports. “He’s on the team just like all of us. It’s just as much his fault as it is my fault [when things go wrong]. So I just felt like it was my job to go out there to clear the air and the rumors saying that me and Jake kind of had a beef, but that wasn’t a thing.”
Lassiter and BYU’s leading receiver, Chase Roberts, are expected to play significant roles in a game in which the Cougars’ running back unit is in question.
BYU RB situation entering Kansas State matchup
Leading rushers LJ Martin and Hinckley Folau Ropati are questionable entering the “Big 12 After Dark” matchup of undefeated teams.
If Martin and Ropati aren’t available, BYU will have Miles Davis, Sione I. Moa, Pokaiaua Haunga, and likely the return of Enoch Nawahine, who has battled a shoulder injury he suffered in fall camp.
#BYU football injury report heading into the Big 12 opener against No. 13 Kansas State.#BYUFootball #GoCougs https://t.co/pTJT75lqF9
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 20, 2024
To amplify the importance of BYU’s wide receivers, Kansas State is 93rd nationally in passing yards allowed, giving up 236 yards per game through the air.
BYU will need a complete effort to pull off the upset.
Night game at LES
The good news for BYU is that they haven’t lost a home game in the month of September since 2018. And everyone knows that BYU at night, has the potential to spring some upsets.
“I think it’s our fans. Lavell [Edwards Stadium] just gets rocking,” said BYU defensive end Tyler Batty. “As soon as the sun goes down, LaVell is a dangerous place to be. I think a lot of that just comes down to the home atmosphere. We’ve got a great gameday experience and we have great fans. Playing at home is definitely a home field advantage.”
BYU vs. No. 13 Kansas State
Date: Saturday, September 21
Kickoff: 8:30 p.m. (MT)
TV: ESPN
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
