K-State Wildcats vs. BYU Cougars: Football game time, TV, odds and a score prediction

The Kansas State football team is about to face a new kind of challenge.

K-State will hit the road for an away game against BYU on Saturday. These teams haven’t played since 1997 and the Wildcats haven’t visited LaVell Edwards Stadium since 1977.

One more thing: This game won’t start until after young K-State fans have likely gone to bed. The Wildcats and Cougars will likely still be on the field early Sunday morning.

It should be a good game, though. Both K-State and BYU are undefeated and looking to start fast in Big 12 play.

Here’s everything you need to know about the game ...

No. 14 Kansas State at BYU

Kickoff: 9:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah

TV/Stream: ESPN

Radio: KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City, KFH (1240 AM and 97.5 FM) in Wichita

The line: Kansas State by 6.5 with an O/U of 48.5.

K-State game prediction

Everything about this game screams “upset alert.”

Kansas State is off to a 3-0 start and ranked inside the top 15. Experts and casual observers alike are beginning to take notice of the Wildcats, especially after they blasted Arizona 31-7 last week.

That’s all well and good. Maybe even too good. The Wildcats are currently riding a wave of positive momentum. But it’s worth remembering that they have struggled to handle success at times under head coach Chris Klieman.

Last season, K-State entered a pair of important road games as favorites early in the season and lost both of them to Missouri and Oklahoma State. It didn’t matter how good the Wildcats looked in previous weeks, they came up empty when many had high expectations for them.

Life as a road favorite has not been kind to the Wildcats lately. Klieman’s team has gone 1-4 against the spread as a favorite in its past five road games, with the aforementioned two losses standing out. The Wildcats also failed to cover against Tulane two weeks ago.

Odds are this road trip to BYU will be close.

This spread is under a touchdown, which means K-State has a chance to both win and cover even if this game goes down to the wire. But this is a tricky spot for K-State. The Wildcats are coming off an emotional win over Arizona and Oklahoma State is next on the schedule.

Meanwhile, BYU will be highly motivated to validate its 3-0 start with a win against K-State in its Big 12 home opener. Fans may rush the field if the Cougars come out on top.

Add in the fact that this game will be played late at night, and at altitude, and the home team clearly has some advantages.

Still, I think K-State will find a way to leave Provo with a victory.

The Cougars have been exceptional on defense this season, allowing just 236.3 yards per game. Impressively, they didn’t allow a touchdown pass in any of their first three games. But they haven’t faced an opponent like K-State yet.

No offense to Southern Illinois, SMU and Wyoming, but Avery Johnson and DJ Giddens will provide a step up in competition for BYU.

Jake Retzlaff could be the wild card in this game. The BYU quarterback has thrown for 841 yards and rushed for 113 yards this season, but he has also thrown three interceptions. The Cougars like to take risks and go for it a bunch on fourth down. How those plays unfold may determine this game’s outcome.

I trust K-State to come up with a big play when it needs one. The Wildcats won at Tulane with a pair of defensive turnovers in the fourth quarter. They pulled ahead of Arizona thanks to an interception from their defense and a touchdown on special teams from Dylan Edwards.

If the Wildcats can pull off another play like that they will survive a nerve-wracking trip to BYU.

Kansas State 24, BYU 23

Last week’s prediction: K-State 38, Arizona 24

Actual score: K-State 31, Arizona 7

Season record: 3-0

Season record ATS: 0-3

Season record O/U: 1-2