Kalani Sitake says No. 22 Cougars won’t let success go to their heads as showdown with Baylor looms

Brigham Young Cougars defensive end Tyler Batty (92) celebrates his interception against Kansas State Wildcats in Provo on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Saturday night’s 38-9 upset of then-No. 13 Kansas State was one of the most significant, and one of the most insane, wins in BYU football history, the Cougars all acknowledged Monday when they met with reporters via Zoom to rehash the historic victory and look ahead to this week’s matchup with Baylor.

But coach Kalani Sitake quickly urged anyone who would listen to move past the euphoria and zero in on the task at hand, which is to avoid the same type of emotional crash that has plagued several other college football teams this season after monumental wins.

“Looking at the landscape of college football, teams have big wins and then it has this everlasting effect even into the next week,” Sitake said. “We have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

The Cougars expect a hungry, angry home team (2-2, 0-1) in Waco, Texas, after Baylor gave up a Hail Mary that forced overtime and then lost by a touchdown to Coach Prime’s Colorado Buffaloes.

The morning kickoff (10 a.m. MDT, 11 a.m. in Waco) also throws an interesting twist into the mix, as BYU’s past struggles in all-daylight games has been well-documented.

“It is a cool environment (at McLane Stadium, capacity 45,140). I really like that stadium a lot,” said Sitake, whose team fell 38-24 to Baylor there in 2021 in a non-conference game. “We will learn from last week, but we gotta stay humble, stay hungry, and that is what our approach is this week. I know a lot of guys on this coaching staff. They will have their team ready. They will be ready to roll. We just need to make sure we are ready to roll, too.”

The Cougars (4-0, 1-0) will be without their top running back, LJ…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/kalani-sitake-says-no-22-030000459.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2024-09-24 03:00:00

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