The Kansas State football team’s opening game in the Big 12 could not have gone much worse on Saturday night in Provo, Utah, as Brigham Young took advantage of a series of errors by the Wildcats to earn a 38-9 victory at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

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

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Kansas State football team report card against BYU

Attack: Ball losses and mistakes too many to cope with

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

Degree: F

Defense: Wildcats never had a chance

The Wildcat defense was on the back foot for most of the night, largely due to mistakes by the offense. K-State didn’t allow a touchdown drive longer than 38 yards and held BYU to a respectable 241 yards, but that wasn’t nearly enough.

Degree: B

Special teams: Punt return touchdown is a killer

Turnovers weren’t the only thing that bothered K-State. A 90-yard punt return by Parker Kingston after he botched the kick put the game virtually out of reach at 31-6 early in the third quarter.

Degree: D

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

The three turnovers and the 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 drives that forced them to settle for short field goals due to red zone penalties.

Degree: F

Overall grade: 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 at @arnegreen.

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This article originally appeared in the Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football report card, grades against BYU