Top Performers from BYU’s Dominant Win Over No. 13 Kansas State

BYU has been looking for a marquee win since joining the Big 12 in 2023. The Cougars got what they were looking for on Saturday night with a dominant 38-9 win over no. 13 Kansas State. BYU made a statement with the win, showing the rest of the league how dangerous they can be with a dominant defense. Here were the top individual performers from BYU’s win over the Wildcats.

Frankly, every starter on defense could be on this list. For the purpose of this article, we’ve narrowed it down to four defenders that impacted the game the most.

Jack Kelly was everywhere in this game. Kelly had 4 total tackles including a team-high 2 tackles for loss. He had 1 sack, 1 quarterback hit, and he was the defender that forced the fumble late in the first half.

Kelly has lived up to the preseason hype in every sense.

Parker Kingston put the exclamation point on BYU’s win with a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown. Kingston bobbled the initial punt, scooped it up under duress and outran the entire KSU punt team for the score. That play ended the Wildcats’ hopes of a comeback.

Harrison Taggart has turned into a dominant force for the BYU defense. Taggart led the Cougars with 10 total tackles and he had an interception in the second half that set up a BYU touchdown. Taggart is a budding superstar under Jay Hill’s guidance.

What a performance from the true freshman. Sione Moa originally committed to Navy out of high school before flipping to BYU after his mission. The former 5A MVP out of Timpview was excellent, especially in the second half.

He led the Cougars with 76 yards on 15 carries, including this 21-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Moa got better and better as the game progressed.

Tyler Batty had his first career interception against Kansas State. Batty dropped into coverage and intercepted an attempted screen pass. That interception was a critical part of a BYU run that flipped the game on its head.

Jake Retzlaff wasn’t perfect against Kansas State, there were a few throws he would like to have back. He did, however, protect the football. That was the most important thing that BYU’s offense did against Kansas State.

He was also opportunistic. Retzlaff took advantage of the short fields provided by the BYU defense. Retzlaff finished the game 15/21 for 149 yards and 2 touchdowns. Capitalizing on those turnovers was the difference in the game. Kansas State kicked field goals. BYU scored touchdowns.

Even though he wasn’t putting up gaudy numbers, his performance against Kansas State was a step in the right direction.

True freshman Tommy Prassas had the scoop-and-score late in the first half. Prassas did a great job of maintaining his balance and keeping his feet, allowing him to return the fumble for a touchdown.

Imagine an alternate scenario where Prassas stumbles and doesn’t score. That could have potentially changed the trajectory of the entire game.

That touchdown opened the floodgates on a 28-0 BYU run.