Five Things We Learned From Kalani Sitake’s BYU/Arizona State Presser

PROVO, Utah — BYU football travels to Tempe, Arizona, for the first time since 1997 to face Big 12 newcomer Arizona State on Saturday afternoon.

In preparation for the game with Big 12 Championship Game implications, BYU kickoff off game week with a virtual press conference from head coach Kalani Sitake.

Sitake spent 18 minutes during his weekly Zoom call with the media on Monday to set the stage for Saturday’s Big 12 clash against Arizona State.

Thoughts on Red Zone offense after Kansas film review

BYU finished the Kansas game with four appearances in the red zone. In those four appearances, BYU scored six points and had zero touchdowns.

After reviewing the film from the 17-13 loss to Kansas, what did Sitake learn that caused the issues in the red zone against the Jayhawks?

“It’s from the poor execution, communicating better and that’s what it comes down to,” Sitake said. “But you also have to give credit to Kansas for making the plays. That’s just part of the game. Everybody would like to be perfect and be 100%.

“You have chances; you have opportunities to make plays. It’s really difficult when you turn the ball over in that situation. In the worst-case scenario, you come up with three points from it, and then it’s a successful drive. It’s really hard when you come away with nothing. That’s the main thing; we cannot come up with zero points in that situation when we’re in there.”

Injury update on Crew Wakley entering BYU/Arizona State week

During the second quarter of the Kansas game, BYU starting safety Crew Wakley left the game and was in the medical tent being looked at by trainers for a shoulder injury.

Wakley remained on this week’s depth chart for this week’s game against the Sun Devils.

Sitake was asked if Wakley’s injury was season-ending.

Faletau Satuala is in at safety for Crew Wakley, who briefly went into the medical tent.#BYU #BYUFootball

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 17, 2024

“No, it’s not season-ending. There’s a chance he could play this weekend,” Sitake said on Wakley. “Obviously, you have to be able to practice. So we’re looking at it the next little bit. It hurt us not having him back in the game. But I thought the guys that came in, Raider Damuni, and others that came in to replace him, did some really good things.”

When Wakley went out in the second quarter, true freshman Faletau Satuala was Wakley’s replacement until Raider Damuni stepped into action.

Wakley has 42 tackles, two interceptions, and one sack this season.

BYU is expecting to get a linebacker back from injury

When asked about the overall health of his team, Sitake used a common line he says when asked about the general health of his squad: “Well, guys are banged up.”

The ninth-year head coach highlighted some performances from players who replaced injured personnel, such as Isaiah Jatta at right tackle, who stepped in for an injured Brayden Keim.

But amidst that commentary, Sitake noted that linebacker Sione Moa (No. 41) is on his way to returning.

“Sione Moa should be back with us, too,” Sitake said.

Moa, a junior inside linebacker, suffered an injury during BYU’s 41-19 win over Arizona.

With Siale Esera banged up as well, the return of Moa gives BYU some depth at the MACK linebacker spot behind Harrison Taggart.

During Saturday’s loss to Kansas, when Taggart needed a break, BYU turned to redshirt freshman Miles Hall from Skyline High School.

Thoughts on Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt

During the 2024 Transfer Portal cycle last December, BYU was connected to the recruitment of QB Sam Leavitt.

The former Michigan State quarterback transferred to Arizona State and has thrived with the Sun Devils this season. He beat out former ASU quarterback Jaden Rashada to become the Sun Devils’ starter.

Leavitt was recruited by BYU and has connections to the program through his family. His father, Jared Leavitt, was a linebacker at BYU during the early 1990s.

Sitake was asked for his thoughts on Leavitt and BYU’s reported transfer portal interest in ASU’s QB1.

“Really good player. He comes from a good family and he’s super athletic. He can run and has an accurate arm. I think he’s got a great-fit football IQ, and he’s so dangerous,” Sitake said on Leavitt. “He’s got a lot of football to play. I think he saw some opportunities over there at ASU. Look at him; he’s thriving in it. He’s going to be a difficult matchup for us, for sure.

“But man, it’s good to see good young men that you know are from amazing families and get what they want. He’s doing some really cool things, and he’s going to be doing really good things for a long time because I think he’s only a freshman right now. Sky’s the limit for him. Hopefully, we don’t see that sky’s the limit performance this weekend.”

High stakes create optimism to bounce back quicker from a loss

In each of BYU’s past three seasons, they have had stretches where they lost consecutive games.

Last season, they closed out the year on a five-game losing streak after starting the year 5-2. The year before that, BYU had a four-game losing streak before closing out the year on a four-game winning streak.

In 2021, when ranked as high as No. 10 in the AP Top 25, BYU dropped consecutive games to Boise State and Baylor.

Does the path to a Big 12 Championship Game get this team dialed in to bounce back quicker from losses than they’ve shown in the past?

“Yeah, I think we kind of explained that to them at the end of the game in the locker room because there’s a little bit of that feeling of when we lost to Coastal Carolina or you lose a game early, and then you’re just out of the mix for a New Year’s Six Bowl and things like that. But now we’re in a conference. We’re still sitting at the top of the conference. But really, all of that stuff doesn’t really matter.

“We just had to explain to them that we’re focused on trying to win the next one. Learn our lessons from this and praise the good things that happened, but the system and the process are still the same. We have to be humble and be hungry and be able to move on to the next one and get ready for Super Bowl 11. Obviously, Super Bowl 10 didn’t go our way. Whether the outcome was in our favor or not, we’ve got to move on to the next one and find ways to get better. You just can’t let the sting of a game or the excitement and energy of a game affect the next week, and that’s what we’ve got to get back to.”

No. 14 BYU vs. No. 21 Arizona State

Date: Saturday, November 23, 2024

Kickoff: 1:30 p.m. (MST)

TV: ESPN

Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM — Extended pregame begins at 11 a.m.)

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.

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