Kansas State vs. BYU: Prediction, Preview, Betting Odds
Week 4 of the college football season is here. Kansas State plays BYU, and Heartland College Sports has your game prediction, preview, and betting odds ahead of the matchup.
GAME INFO
Saturday, Sept. 21; 9:30 p.m. (CT); LaVell Edwards Stadium; Provo, Utah
TV: ESPN
Records: Kansas State (3-0), BYU (3-0).
Last Week: Kansas State def. Arizona, 31-7; BYU def. Wyoming, 34-14
Series History: Series tied, 4-4.
Last Meeting:Â BYU 19, Kansas State 15 (1996 Cotton Bowl Game)
Fun Fact:Â Their last meeting featured current Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian at quarterback for the Cougars. For this game, BYU will wear throwbacks to their 1996 team, as the uniforms will feature the white with royal trim, black drop-shadowed versions of the uniforms worn that season.
Kansas State vs. BYU Betting Lines and Odds
Opening Line: Kansas State (-7.5)
Over/Under: 47.5
Key Players
Kansas State
RB D.J. Giddens
Quarterback Avery Johnson gets plenty of attention. So does Kansas State’s new toy, Dylan Edwards. But all Giddens does is continue to produce. This season he’s already producing like an All-Big 12 back, as in three games he has rushed for 324 yards on 49 carries and a touchdown, to go along with seven receptions for 69 yards and another score. Speed, production and experience. Giddens has it all.
DL Brendan Mott
Kansas State is spreading out the tackles and the sacks this season, which is a good thing if you’re trying to keep teams guessing in a game. But Mott is approaching the numbers he put up in 2022, when he had a career-high six sacks. He already has 2.5 sacks to lead the team. While he only has four tackles, seven Wildcats have at least 10 tackles. Mott also has three tackles for loss, tied with Austin Romaine.
BYU
RB LJ Martin
The Cougars are mixing-and-matching quite a bit when it comes to skill players around quarterback Jake Retzlaff. But, with Big 12 play about to start, expect Martin to get more production in the backfield. Last year the true freshman led BYU with 109 carries, 518 yards and four rushing touchdowns. Other backs are going to touch the ball, Hinckley Ropati among them. But Martin is going to be the go-to guy when the yards are truly needed.
DE Tyler Batty
Batty has played more than 40 college football games and in the preseason he was selected an All-Big 12 player. In addition, he entered this season ranked fifth among active power conference players with 101 career quarterback pressures, per Pro Football Focus. He’s a pro at getting to the quarterback and one day he’ll have a role in the NFL. For now, Batty has 11 tackles but doesn’t have that elusive first sack of the season just yet.
KEY STORYLINES
Kansas State
The Wildcats, to many, were favorites to reach the Big 12 title game and, so far, so good. Kansas State did have to work hard to beat Tulane on the road two weeks ago. But, last week against Arizona, the Wildcats just dominated the contest. With the offensive weapons K-State has cultivated, it’s up to the defense to keep pitching the kind of games it did against Arizona. Provo has been of a house of horrors for the program, as they’re 0-3. But, all three of those games were in the dark ages (pre-Bill Snyder). This is a whole new ballgame, since the two programs haven’t met in nearly 30 years.
BYU
The Cougars are off to a solid start. Their victory over SMU on the road — a game where they produced three turnovers — is sneaky impressive. BYU followed that up with a dominant win over Wyoming in Laramie, a place Texas Tech was unable to win a year ago. The Cougars have put in work to get better in the trenches, a player that coach Kalani Sitake acknowledged last year was an area where they had to catch up. It’s working, especially on offense, where BYU is holding the football an average of nearly 35 minutes per game.
PREDICTION: Kansas State 31, BYU 24
The Wildcats don’t get many games at elevation. I covered last year’s BYU-Cincinnati game at Provo and can tell you the Bearcats struggled a bit with it. But, Kansas State is more talented and used to playing tough games on the road. It’ll be a great environment for a true “Big 12 After Dark” game with Kansas State pulling it out late.
