Celebrate like 1996: Defense keeps BYU undefeated with win over No. 13 Kansas State

PROVO – After starting as more than a touchdown underdog in its Big 12 opener at home, BYU made sure Kansas State maintained its winless record at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Jake Retzlaff threw for 149 yards and two touchdowns, Sione I. Moa added 76 yards and a touchdown on the ground and the Cougars handed the 13th-ranked Wildcats their first loss of the season, 38-9, in front of a sold-out crowd of 64,201 fans.

But the genius behind the first victory over Kansas State since the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day 1997 was defensive coordinator Jay Hill and the Mad Hatter defense.

The Cougars (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) held the Wildcats to 363 yards of offense and pressured quarterback Avery Johnson with five tackles for loss, five quarterback hurries and two interceptions, turning a defensive battle into something of a crushing defeat.

Harrison Taggart and Tyler Batty each intercepted the rising sophomore signal-caller, who was playing his first power conference away game of his college career, and Jack Kelly added a sack and a forced fumble in addition to his four tackles.

Johnson completed 15 of 28 passes for 130 yards and two interceptions, and DJ Giddens ran for 93 yards on 19 attempts for Kansas State (3-1, 0-1 Big 12), which had more yards on offense than the Cougars.

After scoring a total of three field goals in the first two quarters, BYU made its first big play – on defense.

Shortly after Will Ferrin had reduced the Cougars' lead to 6-3 with a 31-yard field goal, Kelly Giddens forced a fumble out of his hands.

Tommy Prassas emerged from a group of white shirts and carried the loose ball 30 yards for his first career touchdown, giving the Cougars a 10-6 lead with 1:08 before halftime.

Two plays later, Batty recorded the first interception of his career and Retzlaff found Chase Roberts for a 23-yard touchdown with 29 seconds left in the first half, giving him a 17-6 lead at halftime.

BYU only managed 135 yards of offense in the first half, 125 of which came from Retzlaff's arm. But the Cougars shone defensively with a sack, four quarterback hurries and Taggart's eight tackles, which limited the Wildcats to 167 yards of offense.

Taggart opened the second half with an interception and Retzlaff again capitalized on the loss with a two-play, 27-yard drive and a 3-yard touchdown to Darius Lassiter.

In just over three minutes of play, BYU turned a 6-3 deficit into a 24-6 lead over the No. 13 team in the country.

And that was not all.

Parker Kingston extended his scoring run to 31-0 with a 90-yard touchdown after a punt return at 10:45 of the third quarter.

The former Roy High quarterback converted the Cougars' first punt return for a touchdown since JD Falslev against Middle Tennessee in 2013, moments before taking a Beefy 5-Layer Burrito out of the game on the sideline.

But BYU kept Kansas State out of the end zone all night, despite Chris Tennant making three field goals, including a 28-yard strike with 5:14 left in the third quarter.

Moa followed with a 21-yard touchdown run, the first of his career, with 12:02 left in the fourth quarter. The former Timpview star outran two would-be tacklers on the Cougars' first drive of the final quarter before charging into the corner of the end zone and extending the hosts' lead to 38-9 on Ferrin's extra point.

This story will be updated.