K-State football travels to Provo, Utah for a game against BYU on Saturday night. Both teams open conference play with 3-0 records in the non-conference portion of their schedules. BYU beat Southern Illinois, SMU, and Wyoming, and K-State beat UT Martin, Tulane, and Arizona. This game is intriguing for a lot of reasons. Will the altitude affect K-State’s players? Will the late evening start be an advantage for BYU? Is BYU for real or is their undefeated record schedule-driven?

We will find out the answers to those questions on Saturday night. We do have a little bit of information to digest from both teams through three games that may help show what we should expect in the game. Here are the offensive and defensive statistics of both teams so far this season:

BYU’s offense vs. K-State’s defense

BYU total offense: Number 39 in the country, averaging 440 yards per game.
Rush offense: Number 77 in the country, averaging 151 yards per game.
Passing offense: Number 30 in the country, averaging 289 yards per game.

K-State total defense: Number 64 in the country, giving up 316 yards per game on average.
Rush defense: Number 24 in the country, giving up 80 yards per game on average.
Pass defense: Number 93 in the country, giving up 236 yards per game on average.

BYU senior quarterback Jeff Retzlaff has been fantastic so far, averaging 280 yards passing per game and rushing for 113 yards. He had 62 yards rushing last week against Wyoming on six attempts. Both the attempts and yards led the team. BYU’s pass offense has been very efficient, ranking number 30 in the country, while K-State’s pass defense has not been efficient at times, currently ranking number 93. On the other hand, K-State’s rush defense has been good. Containing BYU’s passing game will be a key to winning this game.

K-State’s offense vs. BYU’s defense

K-State total offense: Number 62 in the country, averaging 412 yards per game.
Rush offense: Number 16 in the country, averaging 244 yards per game.
Pass offense: Number 113 in the country, averaging 168 yards per game.

BYU total defense: Number 14 overall, giving up 236 yards per game on average.
Rush defense: Number 41 overall, giving up 106 yards per game on average.
Pass defense: Number 19 overall, giving up 131 yards per game on average.

K-State’s pass offense is their worst statistical category thus far this season, but I think that will come around. Their rush offense has been their strength, while BYU’s rush defense has just been average. I expect K-State will run the ball effectively against BYU, controlling the clock and the game. As long as K-State’s secondary can keep BYU somewhat in check, K-State should be able to do what is needed to win the game. I think it will be close through the third quarter and K-State may pull away in the fourth. I don’t have much to go on, but I think K-State wins something like 31 to 17. Better have your coffee pot brewing some coffee to make it through that 9:30 central time kickoff on Saturday!