Four things we learned from Kalani Sitake entering BYU/Utah Tech game
Sep 1, 2026, 3:03 PM
PROVO – The 2026 BYU football season might be the most highly anticipated season in program history.
BYU enters the year ranked No. 14 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll, its highest preseason ranking since 1985, when it was the reigning National Champion.
While there are some marquee games on the schedule, Saturday’s game doesn’t appear to be one of them.
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BYU welcomes Utah Tech to LaVell Edwards Stadium. The Trailblazers lost 54-0 last week to FCS No. 1 Montana State last week.
In preparation for the 2026 lid-lifter, BYU hosted a virtual press conference on Zoom with head coach Kalani Sitake.
Sitake spent 12 minutes with the media during his weekly Zoom call to set the stage for Saturday against the Trailblazers.
Here are four things we learned from Kalani Sitake’s chat with the media.
Response to athletic department reorganization
The first question for the 11th-year head coach was regarding the recent change where he would no longer report to AD Brian Santiago and instead report to BYU Vice President Keith Vorkink.
As he did multiple times during fall camp, Sitake shifted the question to focus on his players and BYU fans.
“My job is to be the head football coach of BYU and take care of these young men and then try to give the fans what they deserve,” Sitake said. “And that’s what I want to be focused on. I’m not going to really worry about that stuff right now. Just focus on the team.”
Speaking of his players, has the outside noise of an athletic department reorganization impacted the football locker room?
“You know, I think the coaches and the players, just in general, they do a very good job at separating kind of off-the-field stuff with on-the-field stuff,” said senior BYU nose tackle Justin Kirkland.
“So while we were in fall camp and preparing for Utah Tech, it was all focused on Utah Tech and what we have in front of us. So that’s kind of really our focus as a team: just preparing for this Saturday, and whatever happens off the field can kind of happen off the field.”
BYU vs. Utah Tech: “Cool little family reunion”
Utah Tech will be making its second trip to Provo to face BYU in program history. The Trailblazers joined the FCS ranks in 2020. This season is their first year in the Big Sky Conference.
Utah Tech has former BYU staffers Jamison Clark and Jake Hiltscher on the staff. On the roster, former BYU receiver Prince Zombo is a wideout to watch for Utah Tech.
“For us, we’re going to see a lot of local kids that we know through recruiting; we have relationships with,” said Sitake. “There are guys on the staff who worked for me. It’s kind of like it’s a cool little family reunion. So it would be good to have fans from St. George come up here and be here in LaVell Edwards Stadium, and for those players to have that experience too.”
Future of Week 1 moving up
The NCAA approved changes to future football calendars. The calendar has been a much-discussed talking point in the sport. Coaches want the season to be wrapped by early January, so it doesn’t carry over into the following semester.
An effort to create more scheduling flexibility is underway.
What was Week 0 this year will now be Week 1 in 2027.
BYU has a future football game against Oregon State lined up for that Week 1 date next season. Does Sitake like kicking the season off earlier?
“I do like that schedule. I think it gives opportunities for two byes throughout the year, and I think it would be best for these guys. You look at the system and playing these games, I mean, it takes its toll on you. So, anytime we can have a break- two of them throughout the season- I think it would benefit the players the most.”
BYU football position group that improved the most in fall camp
“As far as improvement, I thought all of the guys have improved quite a bit. I think a lot of the attention went on the receivers because we lost a lot of the veterans there, but I think a lot of people realize that there’s some talent there. I think everybody’s improved quite a bit.
“Maybe the new ones that you don’t know about are the receivers that probably weren’t household names, and then maybe even the specialists that we had for a couple of years are kind of new. So I would say those are the ones that probably people will be able to recognize and be able to tell if we have a lot of drop off from last year to this year in specialists and in the receiver group.”
No. 14 BYU vs. Utah Tech
Date: Saturday, September 5, 2026
Kickoff: 6 p.m. (MDT)
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSL and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
