That was the message conveyed by BYU Coach Kalani Sitake during Monday’s press conference, along with the players who also addressed reporters.

“We look forward to bouncing back from kind of this bad taste that we have from the last game,” Sitake said as part of his opening statement. “…We’re looking forward to being better than we were last week against TCU.”

The Cougars are still one of three teams in the Big 12 Conference with just a single loss, along with Texas Tech and Cincinnati, and they will have an opportunity to play the Bearcats on November 22, a week after this Saturday’s game against the Horned Frogs. So the Cougar’s destiny is very much in their own hands with Sitake providing an optimistic outlook after reviewing film from last week’s loss and getting to work this week in an effort to get things back on track.

“There were a lot of positives,” Sitake said in response to what he learned about his team’s play after reviewing the film. “We’re a physical team, and (Texas Tech) brought the physicality to us, and I feel like we responded the right way. We just didn’t make enough plays, and I think they took advantage of the opportunities they had.”

Yes, it’s likely BYU will have another go at the Red Raiders should they win its remaining three games of the season, and may even sneak in with another loss, although that prospect is a dicey one. In order to run the table for the rest of the season, BYU would be well-served not to build early deficits to overcome, much like it did in wins over Colorado, Arizona and Iowa State, and certainly versus the Red Raiders, who ultimately proved too formidable of a team to stage a comeback.

“You have to start the game faster, and you have to start right from the beginning,” Sitake said. “…We have to play better and we have to play smarter in situation football…I don’t think you can make up the difference in one play, but we have to find ways to put positive plays together.”

Much of what ailed BYU versus Texas Tech was unforced, at least initially from Parker Kingston’s muffed punt, Sam Vander Haar’s shanked punt to some untimely drops from receivers in key situations.

“We’re very aware of what the deficiencies are,” Sitake said. “We just have to (address) them, and I have to do a better job of making sure we play sound at the beginning, and every play matters, especially when you’re working to stack plays at the beginning of the game…We’ll circle the wagons, get back to work and that’s the remedy…We’re still in a good position, though…We can still control the destiny and that destiny begins this week.”

Defensive front minus two

BYU released its depth chart on Monday with two notable omissions being defensive tackles Anisi Purcell and Justin Kirkland. While injured players often appear on depth charts even when they’re unlikely to play, the exclusion of both Purcell and Kirkland likely means they both won’t be playing any time soon, and perhaps for the rest of the season.

Purcell is a 6-foot-3, 305 transfer from Southern Utah who was used extensively as the Cougar’s third defensive tackle at the start of the season and responded well, recording two sacks and nine tackles through seven games played. Purcell missed BYU’s games versus Arizona and last week’s contest versus Texas Tech due to injury.

Kirkland is a 6-foot-3, 340 pound transfer from Oklahoma State who has played in just four games this season after sitting out most of the preseason practice sessions with injury.

Early look at the Horned Frogs

Sitake gave his initial impressions of TCU during Monday’s press conference, sizing it up as a solid team that the Cougars should definitely be wary of. The Horned Frogs will come to Provo on the heels of a tough 20-17 loss at Iowa State, but with a 6-3 overall record and several facets that could cause some problems come Saturday nigh at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

“It’s not going to be easy,” Sitake said. “I’m glad that we get to be at home Saturday night, but looking at what (TCU) does offensively, defensively and on special teams, they’re tough and they have tons of athleticism all over the place. They’re physical, too, so it’s going to be a battle and we have to take advantage of all the time we have to prep for them.”