Sitake spoke at length regarding what came about after his team’s 22-21 win over the Utes last season at Rice Eccles Stadium during his Monday press conference, with the hopes to changing several things about one year later. Last year’s win vaulted the Cougars to a position to truly control their own destiny, with regards to winning a Big 12 Conference Championship and earn a spot in the college football playoff. But two consecutive close losses to both Kansas and Arizona State in consecutive weeks dashed the team’s championship hopes, all of which Sitake doesn’t want to repeat this time around.

“You have to learn from the past,” Sitake said. “We just have to do some things. Last year was such an emotional game, with everything that went into it.”

Sitake went on to describe last year’s scene which greeted the team when returning back home to Provo at a very late hour. Mobs of fans greeted the buses, and while he was grateful for all of the support, it may have been a bit too much in throwing the team too much off schedule with its preparation for Kansas the following week.

“We couldn’t even get out of our buses for a couple of hours,” Sitake recalled. “So it kind of delayed us getting to bed, and as much we enjoyed the energy, it kind of delayed us getting to sleep and to church the next morning….So maybe our attention to detail and urgency for the next week didn’t go well.”

As many fans can recall, the Cougars lost a nailbiter to the Jayhawks 17-13 before taking a 28-23 loss the Sun Devils the week after.

Sitake and his staff noted all of these things when the schedule game out prior to the season, and began planning the process long before last Saturday’s kickoff versus the Utes.

“I knew that we needed to do things a bit differently,” Sitake said. “We needed to be more deliberate and intentional on what we needed to get done, how we’re going to learn from this game and how we’re going to put it away…I mean, the game’s done. We have to move on…regardless if it’s a victory or a defeat. You have to move on and find ways to get better.”

Iowa State is next on the slate, and the Cougars will have to travel to take on what Sitake regards as a very good team that is coming off a bye week and subsequently will have had two weeks to prepare. But Sitake readily noted the fact that BYU will be able to enjoy a bye week after taking on the Cyclones, which he believes can provide some internal advantages.

“We’re fortunate that we have this game against Iowa State coming up and then we have a bye,” Sitake said. “So we can really look forward to doing everything we can and use all our energy going into this game, knowing that there’s going to be a little bit of rest after…We’ve devised a plan to get ourselves in a better position.”

With what BYU has done so far this season, in procuring a perfect 7-0 record, it’s managed to improve its position to a No. 11 spot in the AP Top 25 poll that was released on Sunday, and a No. 10 ranking in the Coaches Poll. With just five games remaining in the regular season, the opportunity to do something extraordinary is certainly in the cards, although very tough tests lay ahead.

Weekly accolades

In what could probably be renamed the ‘Bear Bachmeier award’, the Big 12 Conference again named Cougar quarterback its freshman of the week for a fifth consecutive time on the heels of his standout performance in BYU’s 24-21 win over Utah.

Joining Bachmeier in receiving weekly Big 12 recognition was Cougar starting free safety Tanner Wall, who contributed a big interception to help seal the victory over Utah.

From BYU media:

Wall, a 6-1, 205-pound senior from Arlington, Virginia, had a season-high 10 tackles, including a career-best seven solo takedowns, in then No. 15-ranked BYU’s win over No. 23 Utah. Wall intercepted Ute quarterback Devin Dampier at the BYU 36-yard line to end a Utah scoring threat with 9:24 remaining in the game and preserve a 17-14 Cougar lead. BYU then marched 64 yards for what would be the game-winning touchdown.

The Cougar defensive captain is a star on and off the field. Wall currently has 29 tackles and a team-high-tying two interceptions through seven games. 

Off the field, he was named to the prestigious 11-member 2025 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team in September. He is currently a finalist for the Wuerffel Trophy and a semifinalist for both the NFF William V. Campbell Trophy and the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award.