PROVO — After opening their Big 12 season opener as more than a touchdown underdog, BYU kept Kansas State’s record of no wins at LaVell Edwards Stadium intact.

Jake Retzlaff threw for 149 yards and two touchdowns, Sione I. Moa added 76 yards and a score on the ground, and the Cougars handed the 13th-ranked Wildcats their first loss of the season, 38-9, before a capacity crowd of 64,201 fans.

But the genius of the first win over Kansas State since the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day 1997 was defensive coordinator Jay Hill and the Mad Hatters’ defense.

The Cougars (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) limited the Wildcats to 363 yards of offense, harassing quarterback Avery Johnson with five tackles for loss, five quarterback hurries and a pair of interceptions that turned a defensive slog into something resembling a victory.

Harrison Taggart and Tyler Batty both had interceptions as the rising sophomore quarterback played his first power conference road game of his college career, and Jack Kelly added a sack and a forced fumble to go along with his four tackles.

Johnson completed 15 of 28 passes for 130 yards and two interceptions, and DJ Giddens ran for 93 yards on 19 carries for Kansas State (3-1, 0-1 Big 12), which surpassed the Cougars’ 285 yards on offense.

After scoring a total of three field goals in the first two quarters, BYU made its first big play, and it came on defense.

Moments after Will Ferrin cut the Cougars’ lead to 6-3 with a 31-yard field goal, Kelly forced a fumble out of Giddens’ hands.

Tommy Prassas emerged from a huddle of players in white and returned the loose ball 30 yards for his first career touchdown, giving the Cougars a 10-6 lead with 1:08 left until halftime.

Two plays later, Batty threw his first career interception and Retzlaff found Chase Roberts for a 23-yard touchdown with 29 seconds left in the first half to lead 17-6 at halftime.

BYU managed just 135 yards of offense in the first half, including 125 yards off the arm of Retzlaff. But defensively, the Cougars feasted on a sack, four quarterback hurries and Taggart’s eight tackles to limit the Wildcats to 167 yards of offense.

Taggart opened the second half with an interception and Retzlaff again took advantage of the turnover with a two-play, 27-yard drive and a 3-yard touchdown to Darius Lassiter.

In just over three minutes of playing time, BYU went from a 6-3 deficit to a 24-6 lead over the nation’s 13th-ranked team.

And that wasn’t all.

Parker Kingston extended the score to 31-0 with a 90-yard touchdown on a punt return with 10:45 left in the third quarter.

The former Roy High quarterback converted the Cougars’ first punt return for a touchdown since J.D. Falslev against Middle Tennessee in 2013, moments before tossing a Beefy 5-layer Burrito down the sideline.

But BYU kept Kansas State out of the end zone all night, despite Chris Tennant making three field goals, including one of 28 yards with 5:14 left in the third quarter.

Moa topped things off with a 21-yard touchdown run, the first of his career, with 12:02 left in the fourth quarter. The former Timpview standout shrugged off a pair of wannabe tacklers on the Cougars’ opening drive of the final period before sprinting to the corner of the end zone to extend the hosts’ lead to 38-9 on Ferrin’s extra point.

This story is being updated.