Two days after suffering one of the most devastating losses in his 11 years as BYU football coach, Kalani Sitake maintained his wry sense of humor Monday during his weekly press briefing as the heartbroken Cougars emerged from their 28-20 loss to Utah and began preparing for Baylor.
When asked whether he was for or against expanding the College Football Playoff to 24 teams next year, Sitake joked, “Yeah, I wish there were 24 teams this year.”
The Cougars (4-2, 7-2) are certainly not out of the CFP race this year, nor in contention to play in the final Big 12 championship game on Dec. 4, but Sitake’s response illustrates the precarious position BYU finds itself in after narrowly falling short in the first BYU-Utah rivalry game between top 10 teams.
“Going back to last weekend, like I mentioned after the game, it was a really cool experience,” Sitake said Monday. “Of course we didn’t get the win, but I’m really proud of the way the guys played. We can build on what we saw on film and I can’t wait to see how the team responds after this game.”
Two years ago, after a 22-21 win over Utah at Rice-Eccles, the Cougars lost their next two games — 17-13 to unranked Kansas and 28-23 to No. 21 Arizona State. Last year, they continued their momentum after a 24-21 win over No. 23 Utah in Provo and beat Iowa State 41-27 in Ames.
Unranked Baylor (4-2, 6-3) arrives at LaVell Edwards Stadium for a 1:30 p.m. MST matchup on Fox Saturday as one of the hottest teams in the country, Sitake said. A loss at BYU would completely derail the Cougars’ playoff hopes.
“We can’t let the Utah loss linger this week, but what we can do is use it as motivation to get better,” Sitake said. “We appreciate all the fans and everyone who supports us. We know we can play better, and it’s my job to get these guys playing at a higher level.”
Earlier Monday, ESPN and the CFP announced that they had reached an agreement to expand the playoffs to 24 teams, a move that was not unexpected but nonetheless controversial. Sitake called it a “good decision” even though it will mean the end of the Big 12 championship game. The Cougars traveled to Arlington, Texas, last year, losing 34-7 to Texas Tech.
“I think there’s a lot of interest in it, even though a lot of people are opposed to it,” Sitake said. “Most of the coaches (were for it). The people who are against it aren’t in the business. They don’t coach or talk to teams. For the most part, most of the coaches I’ve talked to like the idea.”
Sitake said it made sense to expand because “the numbers are now a little closer to what other sports are doing as well.”
Not that the coach has completely given up access to the CFP this year.
Before the loss at No. 3 Utah, BYU was No. 9 in the initial CFP rankings released last week. A new set of rankings will be announced Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. MST on ESPN, and it will be interesting to see how the committee handles BYU after the No. 3 team lost by one score on the field.
How low will the Cougars go? Notre Dame, Tennessee and perhaps Texas Tech, despite the Red Raiders passing West Virginia in Lubbock, could overtake BYU.
On the brighter side, several teams near BYU lost badly last week, including No. 6 Kentucky, No. 10 Ole Miss, No. 12 Ohio State and No. 14 LSU. Our best guess is that BYU lands at #12.
Sitake’s position is consistent with that of the Big 12. Commissioner Brett Yormark issued a statement Monday afternoon saying the conference was on board with an expanded playoff.
“The Big 12 has always advocated for greater access to the College Football Playoff, and a 24-team format provides more opportunities for programs to compete for a national championship,” Yormark said. “The 24-team format will also provide meaningful playoff experiences for universities, teams, student-athletes and fans. »
Sitake updates BYU injury situation
Sitake said many players were tired and suffered various bumps and bruises against the Utes, but only reserve tight end Will Zundel suffered an injury that will likely keep him out of Saturday’s game against Baylor. He said running back LJ Martin “will be more available” this week than last week, when he had seven carries in his first game since suffering a sprained ankle against TCU.
Neither running back Preston Rex nor tight end Roger Saleapaga played against Utah. Sitake said they “hope” Saleapaga can play this week but Rex “should be good to go.”
He said cornerback Evan Johnson “will also be closer to playing this week.”
Linebacker Isaiah Glasker and cornerback Tre Alexander “should be fine” after briefly leaving the Utah game, Sitake said.
“We’re getting close to the end of the season, so you see a lot of guys on the field on both sides of the ball. That happens all over college football. I don’t think there are a lot of guys playing at 100 percent,” Sitake said. “We’ll probably have to dig deep to keep guys fresh.
“Guys are banged up, and you can see it. They’re wearing braces and all these things on their bodies, and they’re taped up, and they’re dealing with different things physically. … But this is college football. We’re no different than anyone else.”
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