Just how good is this 3-0 BYU team? We’re about to find out

Big 12 depth and physicality took its toll on BYU during its inaugural season in the league.
This time around the Cougars took a few steps forward to remedy that challenge. Saturday night’s Big 12 opener at home will be a perfect barometer for the program to measure exactly what’s transpired the past year.
No. 13 Kansas State comes to Provo with a bully label.
Talk about getting after it in the trenches: KSU is reputed to be the poster child for knocking opponents around.
This has led to KSU’s offense fielding an impressive running attack led by running backs DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards. They’re teamed up with a dangerous dual-threat quarterback in shifty, elusive and very quick Avery Johnson.
KSU is averaging a whopping 7.3 yards per rush. That’s good enough for them to be ranked No. 5 in the country and 28% of those rushing plays go for more than 10 yards. As a team, KSU ranks second only to UCF in rushing yards per game.
Last year, this kind of ground game proved to be unstoppable by BYU’s defense.
This year, the Cougars believe they are far more capable and suited to slow such a ground attack.
You can sell that pretty good, except opposing quarterbacks have churned up some dust on BYU defenders, led by SMU’s Kevin Jennings in a loss to the Cougars.
KSU’s Johnson is better than Jennings. He’s a magician. BYU will have to be far better at lassoing Johnson than they were against Jennings and even so, Johnson still might get loose for dangerous chunk yards because of the threat posed by Giddens and Edwards.
It’s tough to judge in September just how good teams are. BYU beat Southern Illinois at home and SMU and Wyoming on the road.
KSU opened up at home against UT Martin and rushed for 283 yards. Was that a stat-padding game like BYU numbers over SIU and Wyoming?
Maybe.
But then KSU slapped Arizona around in Manhattan last week, outrushing the Wildcats 235 yards to 56.
However, there is a caveat.
Arizona was considered one of the top four Big 12 teams in preseason, primarily because of a nine-game win streak dating back to last season before losing to KSU. But now folks admit Arizona might not be as good as preseason prognosticators had them pegged back in the summer, especially on defense.
Arizona was a top-30 rush defense a year ago. Now they’re above 100, and it had to replace nine defensive linemen from last year’s impressive team.
Even if Arizona’s rush defense is seemingly and statistically leaky, KSU’s rush defense really is very good and must have BYU’s full attention.
For this reason, BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill might dial down his pressure on Johnson, or at least choose his blitz packages to confuse him, while making sure his gap assignments are solid. KSU is very good at misdirection and cutbacks.
“They’ve got our full attention and focus,” Hill told reporters this week.
“They’re well-coached and good on all three phases of the game. Offensively, their quarterback is a very, very good athlete, their offensive line does a great job and he has targets to throw to.”
Johnson said he believes he’s getting better with experience. Just a sophomore, Johnson said he has seen the comfort level increase for him from the first week to second and third.
“I’m starting to see things out there and know where to go with the ball. Now, it’s a matter of cleaning up my feet and being able to make the right decisions. Definitely things have slowed down for me,” Johnson told reporters.
KSU got a gritty road win at Tulane on Sept. 7, using a 60-yard fumble return for a TD in the fourth quarter to win 34-27.
BYU has to hope it can have a similarly close game late in the fourth with KSU on this unique trip to the Rockies.
A key for the Cougars will be containing Johnson, Giddens and Edwards on first and second downs, forcing Johnson into a passing situation on third and long.
Easier said than done.
But this will be a fun matchup in this Big 12 opener in Provo. This aspect of the game — KSU’s rush attack versus BYU’s front seven — is a big storyline in a late-night affair: ESPN’s Big 12 After Dark.