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BYU players prepare to take the field before the Big 12 game against Baylor at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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Baylor head coach Dave Aranda, left, and BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, right, greet each other after an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Waco, Texas.

Jerry Larson, AP Photo

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BYU football players celebrate with fans after a 38-9 victory against No. 13 Kansas State at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU players celebrate with freshman defensive back Tommy Prassas after he returned a fumble for a touchdown during the Big 12 game against Kansas State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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The BYU offensive line prepares to run a play during the non-conference game against Wyoming in Laramie on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024.

Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo

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Before the college football season began, many outsiders predicted that BYU would end up with just three or four total wins. They attributed that to things like the late-season collapse in 2023, the lack of a big high-profile transfer class and a tough schedule.

But, according to Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake, no one inside the BYU program was worried about that.

Now with a perfect 5-0 record and some national attention, he said the Cougars just need to stay focused on themselves.

“We need to remember that not a lot of people believed in them from the beginning,” Sitake said. “I’m not really worried about proving doubters wrong. We knew from before the preseason that we had a special team. These guys are finding ways to get better and I like coaching them. It’s about proving ourselves right, so that’s what our focus is going to be on.”

How do they do that?

By following the same formula that worked to this point.

“This whole team needs to stay humble and stay hungry,” Sitake said. “That’s going to be our key. We got to enjoy the win and now it’s time to get back to criticizing our guys, figuring out what they did wrong and fixing it. We also praise them for the things they did well, but there are great opportunities for us to learn and get better.”

There is no opportunity to do that on the field this week as BYU has the week off, but Sitake made it clear that he still has high expectations for team-wide achievement.

“With this bye week, we’re still going to work really hard,” Sitake said. “I know some guys will get healed up because we are not playing a game, but this is an opportunity to get back to work and get better. We will practice just like we do in a regular week, with the only difference being that we won’t play a game. We will also get an early start on preparing for our opponent.”

The health of the BYU squad was a concern after a number of players got banged up during the 34-28 win at Baylor last week, but Sitake said it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been.

“Fortunately none of the injuries were season-ending, so that’s good news,” Sitake said. “Some of them will take some time. Connor Pay is highly doubtful for the upcoming game but I liked how the guys filled in.”

He said that he trusts offensive line coach TJ Woods to get that position right during the next two weeks to be ready for the game against the Wildcats.

“We’ll see what we can do with the group,” Sitake said. “When we had our offensive line from the beginning of the season, not a lot of people saw that we used Sonny Makasini and Austin Leausa and Bruce Mitchell. We have capable players, so what matters is who is going to give us our best five and who is going to be snapping the ball.”

Sitake said BYU anticipates getting running backs LJ Martin, Hinckley Ropati and Sione I. Moa healthy before the Cougars take the field again.

“We should be at full strength at running back by the time we get to the Arizona game,” Sitake said.

He also expects sophomore linebacker Harrison Taggart to be back, which should bolster the defense.

That’s been a unit that has been significantly better at being disruptive in the backfield than it was in 2023, with 10 sacks and 27 tackles for a loss just five games in.

“I think it is a combination of a bunch of factors (that have led to that disruption),” Sitake said. “We have a great coaching staff and I think having a lot of veterans helps out too. In Year 2 of the system they are understanding it now. I think (defensive coordinator Jay Hill) and the rest of the defensive staff have a lot of things that are available for them.”

Sitake said that the defensive call on the Crew Wakley interception against Baylor was one that was suggested to Hill by cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford who “understands the entire defense.”

He also sees guys like Wakley and others stepping up to make plays when they get the chance.

“This defense is all about doing their 1/11th, then when your moment comes and there are opportunities they seize it,” Sitake said.

That exemplifies the mentality and success he wants to see from everyone on the team, and the bye week is about getting closer to that.

“I like the way the team has moved from Week 1 to Week 5,” Sitake said. “I think we have improved every week. I’d like to see us play our best ball when we take on Arizona after the bye week. We want to make sure we can consistently be at our best in all three phases.”