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BYU junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff throws a pass during the game against Southern Illinois at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU head coach Kalani Sitake watches his team during the game against Southern Illinois at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.

Marci Harris, Special to the Herald

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BYU senior defensive lineman John Nelson tries to knock a pass down during the game against Southern Illinois at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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A comfortable win by a Power-5 conference team over an FCS opponent is not a given, but it isn’t surprising either.

Given the nature of the matchup, there are only a few meaningful takeaways from games like that, particularly in the first game of the year. The bigger tests are still to come.

That’s the sense BYU head coach Kalani Sitake conveyed as he talked about his Cougars moving on from the 41-13 win over Southern Illinois.

“After watching the film and evaluating our performance, I see that that there’s a lot of things we can improve on,” Sitake said. “We can play better and cleaner but I’m proud of the way our guys played overall.”

The first week, however, can be a good opportunity to evaluate some of the little things.

“Everyone looks at their tendencies and self-scouts,” Sitake said. “We have good people who work for us and we give them these assignments to know what our tendencies are. It’s about understanding your identity and what you want to accomplish. Now we are going to adjust and prepare for our next opponent.”

Two new elements for 2024 increased the use of technologies during games, including having one in-helmet communication connection on the field for each play and having tablets on the sideline.

BYU junior quarterback

“It’s great,” Retzlaff said. “I love it. It makes things easier for me to hear it just in the headset right before the play. I can tell the offensive line quicker and they get their calls off quicker. The play clock was not much of a factor at all in the game on Saturday. That’s the benefit of it on my part.”

Sitake said that there are limits, since only one player on the field can communicate with the coaches that way.

“It’s different than the NFL because there is only one helmet that has it,” Sitake said. “There is not a lot of huddling going on in college football, so you still have to use signals. It’s good, but I don’t know if they are going to adjust it to allow more on the field to do away with signal stealing and things like that.”

According to Sitake and the players, having the tablets had more of an immediate impact across the board.

“From my point of view, the tablets were the biggest difference-maker from last season,” BYU sophomore safety Talan Alfrey said. “We were able to re-watch the play if you had a question on what routes were run or what the offensive line’s run-pass block looked like or where your drop was in relation to where it should’ve been. It was nice to have that instant feedback. We watch film all the time so being able to do that in-game was great. I’m super grateful for that technology.”

Sitake said that technology changed the perspective for the athletes during the contest itself.

“Before you would have to get the communication from upstairs and what they saw seeing all 22 players,” Sitake said. “Now they can see that from the field. That’s awesome to have that technology and that both teams can do that.”

Retzlaff added that having that perspective not only makes a difference while the game is in progress but during the post-game evaluation process.

“I think our team has done a really good job of adapting to the new way we are handling technology,” Retzlaff said. “It is nice to talk to the coaches about it off the field. It makes Sunday film study actually a little different now because you have watched the game already. You watched on the sidelines, so you can get through it kind of quicker and move on and get to the next team a little quicker.”

In addition to the positives BYU saw from the technology, the Cougars also had some positives on the health front.

The best news is that defensive coordinator Jay Hill is recovering nicely after last week’s heart-attack scare and Sitake said he is back to his normal role.

“Jay is doing great,” Sitake said. “We are working and getting ready for SMU.”

BYU also got through Saturday’s contest relatively healthy, according to Sitake.

“We had no season-ending injuries, so that’s good,” Sitake said. “We have some guys that are banged up. It was a physical game. Right now, everybody looks like they’re on target to play in this game this weekend. Right now, we’re anticipating everyone making the trip.”