Kansas State’s Big 12 season opener couldn’t have gone worse Saturday night in Provo, Utah. Brigham Young capitalized on a series of Wildcat errors to win 38-9 at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Here’s how the 14th-ranked Wildcats (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) performed against an inspired BYU team (4-0, 1-0).

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Kansas State Football Report vs BYU

Attack: Mistakes, mistakes too many to overcome

K-State moved the ball effectively for much of the night, but penalties forced them to settle for field goals in the red zone three times. And then there were Avery Johnson’s two interceptions and DJ Giddens’ fumble that led to three BYU touchdowns.

Figure: F

Defense: Wildcats never had a chance

The Wildcat defense was on their heels all night, largely due to mistakes on offense. K-State didn’t give up a single touchdown drive longer than 38 yards and held BYU to a respectable 241 total yards, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

Figure: B

Special Teams: Punt return touchdown is deadly

Turnovers weren’t the only thing that doomed K-State. A 90-yard punt return by Parker Kingston, after he had also botched the kick, effectively put the game away early in the third quarter, 31-6.

Figure: D

Coaching: The Wildcats’ inability to deal with adversity was telling

The three turnovers and a punt return that led to four BYU touchdowns were bad enough, but just as bad was that K-State just couldn’t stop the bleeding. And then there were the Wildcats’ three long scoring drives where red zone penalties forced them to settle for short field goals.

Figure: F

Overall rating: F

Arne Green lives in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett Network. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter via @arnegreen.

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This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football report card, numbers against BYU