“It was great,” Lassiter said after the game. “It was a great atmosphere and it was great being back in Lawrence. I just wish we were able to pull out the W. First and foremost, I’m always going worry about the win before any individual stats. But it was great just seeing my brother out there and going against each other and then having the family out there.”

The Lassiter family sported special-order jerseys that were half Kansas blue with the No. 8 representing Jayhawk defensive back Kwinton Lassiter and half BYU white with the No. 5 for Darius Lassiter.

“I knew that were going to have shirts with us, but I didn’t know they would have jerseys (like that),” Darius Lassiter said. “It was actually nice to see them. I’ve got to get me one of those.”

Other family had “Battle of the Brothers” t-shirts that looked sharp as well.

Courtesy BYU Photo

Darius Lassiter also had a big game on the field for BYU, catching eight passes on 11 targets for 84 yards with half of the yardage coming after the catch.

He also got in the end zone, catching a 7-yard scoring pass from Cougar senior quarterback Kedon Slovis for BYU’s first points.

While the Cougar wide receiver was pleased to have that moment, he wasn’t surprised.

“I kind of expect myself to score but just to be able to do it at Kansas felt good, just having the family history here,” Darius Lassiter said. “But there wasn’t really anything to it. I expect to score every time I touch the ball. That’s my mindset.”

He also said that the Cougars knew they didn’t perform offensively like they are capable of performing and he didn’t hesitate to face his own mistake.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

“We had a lot of missed assignments, a lot of turnovers,” Darius Lassiter said. “I was a part of that myself, losing a fumble Luckily we were able to get it back, but we’ve got to clean those things up if we want to win. We kind of spotted them 14 points. If you take those 14 points away, it’s kind of a different ballgame.”

The importance of Big 12 Game No. 1

It could be easy to get carried way with looking for the “firsts” for BYU as the Cougars opened up league play in their new conference with the game at Kansas.

In that regard, everything was a first: the first Big 12 game coin toss, the first Big 12 game kickoff, the first Big 12 game touchdown, etc.

But former BYU offensive lineman Austin Hoyt, who was on the Cougar roster in 2012 and 2015-18 during the heart of independence, said he felt like Saturday’s game was a big step forward.

“We played a bunch of big programs when I was playing but getting into the Big 12 and knowing they will be playing great opponents in the future is super-exciting,” Hoyt said before the contest. “I’m excited to be here for the first Big 12 game.”

Courtesy BYU Photo

He also feels like BYU’s independent schedule helped get the Cougar program ready for Power Five competition.

“I think all the big games that we won over the years were preparing us for this entrance into the conference,” Hoyt said. “I think the players today have been prepared for these moments. I always looked forward to the games where we played the same opponent multiple times, like Boise State and Utah. I think that’s a cool part of being in the Big 12 is being able to look forward to those year-to-year rivalries.”

Hoyt is currently in South Carolina getting a master’s degree but was invited to carry one of the alumni flags onto the field.

Third down successes and failures

In the first half, BYU prevented Kansas from converting on any of its three third down attempts. Unfortunately in the second half, the Jayhawks improved dramatically, going 4-for-5.

The 50% conversions Kansas had was significantly better than the 38% average conversion the Cougars had allowed entering the game (BYU was No. 3 nationally).

Courtesy BYU Photo

The Cougars were 6-of-14 on third down in the game.

Getting points in the zone

BYU was 5 of 5 in the red zone against the Jayhawks, including three touchdowns.

The Cougars entered the game tied with 18 other teams for being perfect with scoring in the red zone.

BYU is now 15 of 15 on the season with 12 touchdowns and 3 field goals.

Extra points

BYU won the toss and deferred to the second half, giving the Cougars a 3-1 record in coin tosses this year. BYU stopped Kansas on fourth down on its first drive in the first quarter but had a tipped-ball interception returned for a TD by the Jayhawks to start the third quarter … the Cougar alumni flags were carried by Isaac Aiona, Nate Meikle, Austin Hoyt and Jeddy Tuiloma. Defensive lineman Bodie Schoonover carried the USA flag, while defensive lineman Atunais Mahe carried the Sione Veikoso 72 flag and quarterback Jake Retzlaff carried the Big 12 flag … the announced attendance at the game at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium was 47,233 (a sellout).