ORLANDO, Florida — Head coach Kalani Sitake and his undefeated BYU football team have made celebrating victories a priority this season, always reminding themselves that wins are hard to come by in college football, especially now that they are in a Power Four conference.
So after the now-No. 9 Cougars waxed UCF 37-24 at FBC Mortgage Stadium , Sitake and his players mostly brushed aside questions about the rivalry game with slumping Utah in a couple of weeks and said the focus this week will be on enjoying all eight of their wins to date and improving their level of play.
"We haven't been a part of this rivalry yet, and we are excited for the next chapter," quarterback Jake Retzlaff said after completing 16 of 24 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns against the Knights. "So it is going to be a fun game. But that is looking pretty far forward right now. … So yeah, we are going to approach that game like any other game, and we know emotions might be high that week."
Added running back LJ Martin , who rushed for more than 100 yards for the second-straight game, picking up 101 on 15 carries: "I have never been part of a rivalry, so it is new to me. For me, it is just another game. Just go out there, try to win, and just give it our best. That's what we try to do every game, so this game shouldn't be any different. We will go out there and try to give our best effort and the outcome is going to be the outcome."
The kickoff time and television broadcast plans for the BYU vs. Utah game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Nov. 9 are expected to be announced Monday, but Matt Sarzyniak of the popular Matt's College Sports Media Blog wrote Sunday that he predicts the rivalry game will kick off at 2 p.m. MT and be televised by FOX.
BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff (12) dives for yardage against the Central Florida defense during a game, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. | Kevin Kolczynski
BYU running back LJ Martin, left, is tackled by Central Florida defense during a game, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. | Kevin Kolczynski
BYU safety Faletau Satuala (10) is swarmed by teammates after interception against Central Florida during a game, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. | Kevin Kolczynski
BYU wide receiver Parker Kingston, left, is tackled by Central Florida defenders during a game, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. | Kevin Kolczynski
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, center, react after play against Central Florida during a game, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. | Kevin Kolczynski
BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff drops back into pocket against Central Florida during a game, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. | Kevin Kolczynski
BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff, Center, is sacked by Central Florida's defense during a game, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. | Kevin Kolczynski
BYU place kicker Will Ferrin, left, takes snap from field goal place holder, Sam Vander Haar, in fake field goal run against Central Florida during a game, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. | Kevin Kolczynski
BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff celebrates after scoring a touchdown against UCF on Oct. 26, 2024 in Orlando. | BYU Photo
Central Florida quarterback Jacurri Brown, left, looks for a receiver while pursued by BYU defensive end Tyler Batty, right, during a game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. | Kevin Kolczynski
Central Florida head coach Gus Malzahn, right, stands next to a referee, left, while a play is reviewed during a game against BYU, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. | Kevin Kolczynski
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake greets fans prior to the Cougars' game against UCF on Oct. 26, 2024 in Orlando. | BYU Photo
Both teams will be coming off bye weeks, but have been headed in opposite directions. Utah (4-4, 1-4) has lost four straight after falling 17-14 at Houston Saturday night, while BYU is 8-0 for the first time since 2020, second time under Sitake, and fifth time in school history.
The Cougars (8-0, 5-0) are having a dream season; Utah's has turned into a nightmare.
But Sitake, Retzlaff and company said it could all change in a week if they lose focus on what got them here.
"We know how good we can be, and I really believe we can play better. Every week, we are getting there and I have encouraged and challenged the leaders to take over the team and keep finding ways we can improve just a little bit," Sitake said. "And if we can put that all together, I think we are going to like the result. Week to week I think I can say we have improved in a lot of different ways."
Saturday's most noticeable improvement came from the defense , which held UCF to 379 yards — the Knights' second-lowest output of the year. They had 273 in a 24-13 loss to Florida.
Part of that stinginess can be attributed to the offense, which controlled the ball and the clock for more than 40 minutes with timely third- and fourth-down conversions and an improved rushing attack; UCF ran just 56 plays, a season-low.
Linebacker Isaiah Glasker said BYU defenders "took it personal" that they struggled to stop the run against Oklahoma State.
Retzlaff said the entire team is "far from satisfied," despite having a perfect record and continuing to prove its critics wrong.
"It is going to be a work week next week. With the bye weeks, (there) are misconceptions that they are off weeks. For us it is a work week," Retzlaff said. "So we are going to get back to work and just keep getting better every week."
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season come out on Nov. 5, but Retzlaff said it is too early to consider where the Cougars might land, even if they don't play before then.
"I have talked about it before: This team is so good at approaching the moment and keeping the main thing the main thing," he said. "You gotta stay focused on the game ahead of you. Coach (Aaron Roderick) says each week is the Super Bowl. We won Super Bowl 8 today, for our season. We gotta prepare for Super Bowl 9, which is a good Utah team."
Retzlaff said although he hasn't played in the rivalry game, he has already been schooled on its significance to both schools.
"It is one of those games where you throw records, throw rankings out the window. It is going to be a dogfight. We know that," he said.
BYU enters the contest against arguably the best defense it will have faced all season having scored 34 points for six straight games, the first time it has done that since 1996. The Cougars lead the Big 12 in scoring in conference games , averaging 37.8 points per game.
"I like the consistency we are seeing from the offense — we were able to run for a lot of yards again. So it keeps us balanced and it keeps teams guessing," Sitake said. "I like the position that we are in with the offense. And I like that the defense is making plays."
Freshman Faletau Satuala became the 11th Cougar to get an interception, joining Harrison Taggart, Glasker, Crew Wakley, Tyler Batty , Jakob Robinson , Blake Mangelson, Tanner Wall, Tommy Prassas, Marque Collins and Evan Johnson . Robinson, Glasker and Wall have two apiece.
Nov. 9 will mark the first BYU-Utah meeting since 2021, a 26-17 BYU win in Provo that snapped Utah's nine-game winning streak in the series. Responding to an out-of-state reporter's question about the rivalry, Sitake said he expects Utah to bring its best in two weeks, despite its recent struggles.
"Yeah, the game is important regardless of the record on both sides. This is a unique rivalry. We kinda need each other. You know my background with that place. I have a lot of respect and admiration for the University of Utah, and how they run their program, and their fans. There are a lot of really good people on that side. There are a lot of really good people on our side," Sitake said.
"So I think it is a good moment for us. It is nice to have them back in (the same) conference again so we can play more consistently. It is going to be a lot of fun. Obviously we have some time to work on getting ready for that game.
I think it is important for us to appreciate this game and celebrate it and have fun with this and then we will get to work on them."
