BYU forces 3 turnovers, gets 90-yard punt return TD in 38-9 rout of No. 13 Kansas State

PROVO, Utah (AP) — BYU’s protection compelled three turnovers, Jake Retzlaff threw for 149 yards and two touchdowns and Parker Kingston had a spotlight reel 90-yard punt return landing in a 38-9 victory over No. 13 Kansas State on Saturday night time.

Sione Moa added a career-high 76 yards and a landing on the bottom. The Cougars (4-0, 1-0 Huge 12) snapped a five-game shedding streak to Huge 12 opponents in emphatic style.

“Lots of people have been shocked by this. They didn’t actually assume we may do that,” Moa stated. “This isn’t a shock to us. We all know the work we put in to get up to now.”

Avery Johnson piled up 204 yards of whole offense for the Wildcats but in addition 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 regardless of totaling 224 speeding yards. The Wildcats didn’t rating a landing in a sport for the primary time since 2020.

“We simply shot ourselves within the foot too many occasions and we acquired to attain touchdowns,” Johnson stated. “You bought to maintain the soccer on the street if you wish to win video games.”

BYU scored a pair of touchdowns 39 seconds aside earlier than 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 home, giving the Cougars their first lead, 10-6. Tyler Batty intercepted Johnson two performs later on the Wildcats 29. His takeaway arrange a 23-yard landing catch by Chase Roberts that gave BYU a 17-6 lead going into halftime.

“You bought to make them earn all of it and ultimately we have been capable of crack the code a little bit bit and get some turnovers and create some momentum and then you definately noticed the end result,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake stated.

Johnson tossed his second interception to Harrison Taggart on Kansas State’s opening drive of the second half. Taggart’s choose and a subsequent 24-yard dash by Moa arrange a 3-yard TD catch by Darius Lassiter and prolonged BYU’s result in 24-6.

After the protection compelled a three-and-out, Kingston almost fumbled the following punt however managed to scoop up the ball, minimize over to the alternative sideline and race 90 yards for a landing. His rating put BYU up 31-6 lower than 5 minutes into the third quarter.

“It was beautiful to see that,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman stated. “We acquired embarrassed and that hasn’t occurred right here for the reason that Covid yr.”

A 22-yard landing run by Moa early within the fourth capped the night time for the Cougars.

Takeaways

Kansas State: The Wildcats gashed BYU with lengthy runs on their first two drives, totaling 117 speeding yards and averaging 6.9 yards per carry, however solely got here away with a pair of area targets earlier than the wheels fell off on offense.

BYU: Forcing turnovers on three straight Kansas State drives helped the Cougars flip an in depth sport right into a blowout early within the second half. BYU scored 31 unanswered factors in a 6 1/2-minute span bridging the second and third quarters.

No Touchdowns Allowed

BYU has not allowed a landing in each video games it has performed in opposition to fellow Energy 4 colleges up to now. The Cougars held SMU to 5 area targets in an 18-15 win over the Mustangs in week two after which restricted Kansas State to 3 area targets on three journeys to the purple zone on Saturday.

“We already know what we’re able to,” linebacker Isaiah Glasker stated. “It’s actually simply displaying different individuals what we are able to do.”

Breakout Recreation

Moa was buried on the working again depth chart to start out the season however accidents to LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati led to the freshman making his first profession begin. He had simply 17 yards on six carries earlier than ending with 76 yards as BYU’s lead again.

“I used to be fairly shocked I acquired numerous these reps,” Moa stated.

Ballot Implications

A lopsided loss to BYU may ship Kansas State tumbling out of the AP High 25 on Sunday. BYU may additionally work its means into the rankings.

Up Subsequent

Kansas State hosts Oklahoma State on Saturday.

BYU is at Baylor on Saturday.

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