As Orem head football coach Gabe Sewell prepared to watch Saturday’s showdown at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, he had one thought:

“I’m praying for an injury-free game,” Sewell said.

Few individuals in the stands had as many direct personal connections on the field as Sewell did, since his son (Oregon sophomore linebacker Noah Sewell) plays for the Ducks while five former Tigers who he coached (wide receiver Puka Nacua, offensive lineman Kingsley Suamataia, defensive lineman Joshua Singh and defensive backs Ethan Slade and Jakob Robinson) are on the BYU roster.

“It will be a wonderfully humbling experience to witness six former Tigers play today,” Gabe Sewell said before the game.

Nacua was unable to participate as he continues to recover from an ankle injury but Slade, Suamataia and Robinson for the Cougars got on the field in the 41-20 Duck win. Robinson tied for second in BYU tackles (seven) while Noah Sewell had two tackles for Oregon.

Standing outside the Duck locker room after the contest waiting for his son, Gabe Sewell said it was a great experience for him.

“It’s great to watch all of those kids play at this level,” Gabe Sewell said. “It’s every kid’s dream. Although I was sitting on the Oregon side, I was hoping everyone would come out healthy, do the best they possibly could and then let the dominos fall where they may. After the game, I was happy to get together with them, take pictures and give them a hug. It’s a humbling experience to see these young men grow through high school and then at this level as well. I’m sure their families are blessed and grateful for the experiences they are having.”

Gabe Sewell likely has one of the clearest perspectives on the impact of football on the lives of athletes at all levels.

He sees young players prepare for high school, compete at the high school level and then — like the group that played on Saturday — move on to play college football. He also has two sons who are currently on NFL rosters as Penei Sewell is an offensive lineman for the Detroit Lions and Nephi Sewell is a linebacker for the New Orleans Saints.

“I don’t know too many people who maybe have the same perspective as I do because of what I’m doing now and what my kids have done and are doing at the highest level,” Gabe Sewell said. “But I tell them that it’s still the game you played since you were seven and eight years old. I know it’s a business and I know there’s a lot more nuances to it all, but it’s still fundamentally the same game.”

He said he has told his sons in pro football to always remember that enjoying the game is important.

“As soon as you stop having fun, as soon as it feels like a chore or you aren’t loving it anymore, then it’s time to move on. It’s very interesting to see the differences between the levels different expectations but the work ethic has to be the same, the amount of work that’s done.”

He said he sees young athletes aspiring to be college or pro players and tells them that while it is the dream, to get to that point requires paying a hefty price.

“Many of them don’t even really understand what their life entails,” Gabe Sewell said. “They watch college games on Saturdays and they know that these guys are somewhat public figures and have the fame. With NIL, now a little fortune comes with it — but they don’t see the alarm clock on at 5 a.m. to get the training.”

He talked about the rigors of training, schoolwork, recovery, practice and meetings that take place every day, the grind that many who don’t play college football never see.

“If they saw how hard the grind is, I believe many of them would up their game in high school in terms of the work they put in now,” Gabe Sewell said.

He hopes to see his Orem football team put things together down the stretch and compete for a 5A title but he also is optimistic about the future for both Noah Sewell and Oregon, as well as for BYU.

“The game probably wasn’t as close as I thought it would be,: Gabe Sewell said. “I didn’t know who would win. But I don’t think that BYU expected or even wanted to play like this. But they’ve got a great coaching staff. They’ve been there before and they know what adjustments to make. They’ll make them.”

As for the Ducks, he said that his son’s team wants to put the bad loss at Georgia behind them.

“I think they will be judged on that for the rest of the year but this was a real test,” Gabe Sewell said. “It’s something they will build on moving forward. Regardless of what BYU did today, that’s a great team. Oregon was able to do what it did, so hats off to them. They will continue to grind to get the right trajectory.”

Poll tumbling

The disappointing showing in Eugene resulted in an expected fall in the rankings for BYU.

The Cougars dropped to No. 23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and to No. 19 in the Associated Press Poll, both of which were released on Sunday.

Special tribute

BYU had a special flag and honor carried onto the field by Suamataia, who transferred to BYU after playing for Oregon.

Before the game, Suamataia ran onto the field with a flag and flowers to honor former Duck tight end Spencer Webb, who died earlier this year. He presented those to his former teammates and placed the flowers on the sideline.

Extra points

For the third straight game, BYU lost the coin toss. Oregon deferred to the second half, giving the Cougars the ball first. BYU turned the ball over on downs on the first possession of the game, while the Ducks scored a touchdown on the first possession of the second half … Carrying the BYU alumni flags at the start of the game were Mitch Mathews (WR, 2009, 12-15), Marcus Mathews (TE/WR, 2010-13) and Carlos Nuno (TE, 1997-99). The team flags were carried by kicker Jake Oldroyd (USA) and punter Ryan Rehkow (State of Utah) … the announced attendance at the game was 54,463.

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