Some say BYU’s Big 12 opener Saturday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium against No. 13 Kansas State is a litmus test for the Cougars, a chance to prove whether they have truly improved in the trenches after being pushed around so much in league play last season.

BYU’s players and coaches don’t shy away from that assessment – they’ve heard the naysayers and critics too – but the pitching from head coach Kalani Sitake and his coordinators this week is more focused on the opportunity they face.

A win over the Wildcats, who also lead 3-0 (8:30 p.m. MDT, ESPN), would rank among the best wins of the last five years, likely catapult BYU into the national rankings and show that Sitake’s claim that the program is on an upward trajectory is well-founded.

“I want us to improve tremendously from Wyoming to this Saturday against Kansas State,” Sitake said Monday. “It’s a tough task, a tough team. But man, it’s going to be a lot of fun and I want our guys to have fun. It’s going to be a great opportunity for us.”

Offensive lineman Connor Pay, who has been trumpeting for nearly a year that BYU needs to get bigger, bigger and more physical on both sides of the ball to better compete in the Big 12, said each game is more of a quiz than a final exam. But he acknowledges that this matchup is a huge step up from what the Cougars experienced in Week 1 and Week 3.

“You have to say that we’ve improved every week. I don’t know if I would rate one game higher than another in terms of overall improvement because SMU’s D-line was a good D-line,” Pay said. “But as we get into conference play, we have to continually evaluate every week to see if we can continue to perform on the court.”

“When we get to the end of the season and can look back on the season as a whole, it will be more of a litmus test of how far we have come versus a single game,” Pay said.

Kansas State is the favorite to score the touchdown, and rightly so. On paper, the Wildcats are more talented, have a better quarterback (sophomore Avery Johnson), can run the ball better, stop the run better, and were projected to be second in the league for good reason.

Kansas State is in the top 25 in rushing yards (16th) and fewest rushing yards allowed (24th). That’s a recipe for success, especially on the road.

“Big game against a seeded opponent. Our first game this season in the Big 12 Conference at LaVell, so it’s a big deal,” said BYU running back Enoch Nawahine, who will likely be RB1 or RB2 on Saturday, rotating with Miles Davis as season-opening starters LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati are questionable due to injuries.

“We’ve been training super hard this week,” Nawahine continued. “We know they’re coming to play, so we’re going to bring the party to them and play physical and have fun.”

While the aforementioned attributes of shrewd coach Chris Klieman’s team favor K-State, all of the intangibles favor the Cougars – except for the injury factor and the fact that the Wildcats had an extra day to prepare after thrashing Arizona 31-7 last Friday.

As has been well documented, BYU plays better at night, generally has success against teams not accustomed to playing at high altitude (4,551 feet), and boasts large crowds.

“LaVell Edwards Stadium for a (late) game is the best it can be in college football. It should be a great atmosphere,” said BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick. “We’re playing against a great opponent. That’s what you live for when you’re in this profession or playing this game as a player. That’s what it’s all about.”

If there’s one weakness Kansas State has that the Cougars could exploit, it’s the Wildcats’ subpar passing performance. Tulane and Arizona averaged more than 300 yards through the air against KSU, which allows 236 passing yards per game, ranking 93rd in the country.

The Wildcats play a 3-3-5 defense but have allowed some long passes, including three of more than 45 yards. Last week, BYU had nine passes of 20 yards or more in a 34-14 win over Wyoming.

“On defense, they’re just so solid and physical. Everybody does their job every game. … They’ve had one of the best defenses in college football for the last three years,” Roderick said. “So we’ve got a big challenge ahead of us. They’re very good.”

Even though KSU is vulnerable when passing, this game has all the makings of a win in the trenches.

Playing the line “is going to be a tough one in any conference game. You saw it last year. We definitely knew we had to improve from last year and that’s going to be tough,” Sitake said. “Kansas State has great personnel on both the O-line and the D-line. … Those guys are tough guys. Man, they show it on film. What a great matchup. I’m excited for our guys to go out there and compete with them. We’ll find out how good we are and how physical we can be against a good team like Kansas State.”

Special teams helped BYU overwhelm Wyoming, thanks to Keelan Marion’s 102-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, but K-State is traditionally phenomenal at kick and punt returns. The Wildcats have returned 62 punts/kickoffs for a touchdown since 2005, the most in the nation during that time.

“This will be a real test for us,” said Sitake.

Maybe not a final exam, but close.