How BYU arrived at 8-0 — and where can it go from here?

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake reacts as a play unfolds during a game against the Arizona Wildcats held at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. | Isaac Hale

Two-thirds of the way through the regular season, the BYU football team is 8-0 for the fifth time in program history, ranked No. 9 in the country and rolling into the rivalry game with Utah next week as one of only eight unbeaten squads in the country.

Head coach Kalani Sitake’s reaction Monday to the start that has surprised everyone except the Cougars themselves: “We still haven’t done much.”

It might seem that way if the Cougars don’t win at Rice-Eccles Stadium, where they haven’t won since 2006, on Nov. 9. There will be plenty of time to analyze and preview that showdown (8:15 p.m. MST, ESPN) next week, and what could happen to BYU’s chances to make the Big 12 conference championship game, and College Football Playoff, if it stumbles in Salt Lake City.

Meanwhile, the break from a game this week seems like a good time to look back on how the Cougars, who are 5-0 in the Big 12 and atop that Power Four league’s standings, got to where they are at the end of October, and look ahead to what they have to do to keep winning.

First, though, Sitake says the Cougars can’t afford to get ahead of themselves — which has been a constant theme since that upset win over SMU in Dallas in early September signaled they might just be legit, pretty much.

“I have a good staff and coaches that will make sure that these guys are focused on what it is. We are focused on every week. We don’t even know what happens after this week. We work on this week, and we know our opponent is Utah after the bye. So we can get a jumpstart on it. But we need to improve and get better as a team. We gotta stay humble, stay hungry. All that stuff matters. And…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/byu-arrived-8-0-where-030000630.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2024-10-31 03:00:00

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