Five Things We Learned From Kalani Sitake’s BYU/Houston Presser
Nov 25, 2024, 3:49 PM
BYU football head coach Kalani Sitake addressed the media to kick off Houston week. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – BYU football hosts the Houston Cougars in the regular season finale on Saturday.
In preparation for the game, BYU kicked off game week with a virtual press conference from head coach Kalani Sitake.
Sitake spent 17 minutes during his weekly Zoom call with the media on Monday to set the stage for Saturday’s All-Cougar matchup against Houston.
The Big 12 is “looking into” filmed halftime speech at Arizona State
An anonymous user uploaded a video to TikTok from outside of BYU’s locker room that was recorded during halftime of last Saturday’s game against Arizona State.
Sitake was asked by a reporter what his “response is to that type of thing.”
#BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said the Big 12 is "looking into" the leaked audio from a halftime locker speech during the Arizona State game. #BYUFootball
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 25, 2024
The ninth-year head coach replied, “The Big 12 is looking into it.”
Sitake continued, “They’re reviewing everything that happened in the game from off and on the field, including when the game happened, the penalties, and all of these different things; the incompletion or completion with Chase Roberts, all of those things. They’re handling all of that and even the recording. So they’re looking into all of that stuff and they’ll deal with it.”
When asked what type of penalties or fallout could result from the Big 12’s investigation into the leaked audio and other aspects of Saturday’s game, Sitake wasn’t sure but added he has trust in the league.
“I didn’t really check into it. I just trust the Big 12 and the leadership from them to look into things. The game’s done. So I’m not sitting here complaining about anything. We’ve just got to move on. But that’s their job to look into stuff and see if everything was done the right way. I’ll let them handle that. I can handle what I can control. Which is getting the team ready to roll.”
Big 12 Championship Game scenarios
After dropping its second consecutive game, BYU football needs help to reach the Big 12 Championship Game in Arlington.
BYU needs a win against Houston, but they also need Arizona to beat ASU or Kansas State to defeat Iowa State.
Big 12 Conference provides an official tiebreaker update heading into the final week of the regular season.
Nine teams are still in contention to reach the Big 12 Championship Game. pic.twitter.com/dMGr45e70K
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 24, 2024
Sitake isn’t worried about the Big 12 Championship Game scenarios.
“Everybody knows a lot of the different scenarios,” Sitake said. “All I care about is focusing on the seniors and trying to find a way to control the stuff that we can control, which is how we play this weekend and how we prepare today, and then we’ll just see what happens afterward. But the goal is to try to go 1-0 this week. That’s got to be our primary goal. Then we deal with the results of how that affects everything else from there on.”
Offensive output in the second half against ASU was “more like what we should do”
One positive after BYU’s loss to Arizona State was that its offense performed at a high level in the second half.
In the second half against the Sun Devils, BYU produced 277 yards of offense and scored three touchdowns.
Sitake was asked, from his film study of the game, what he saw that caused the improved offensive execution.
“I like what we did in the second half and just want to see our team put points on the board and give us a chance. I think what we did in the second half is more like what we should do.”
Honoring the Senior Class
BYU football is expected to honor 20 players on Saturday for Senior Day against Houston.
“These guys are awesome,” Sitake said on the senior class. “I have just been able to see how much they’ve grown literally in their body size, but also mentally and spiritually. They’ve become the men that their parents want them to become, and to be part of that path and transition is a huge honor for me.”
LB Harrison Taggart is doubtful to play
BYU middle linebacker Harrison Taggart suffered an injury during the first quarter of the loss to Arizona State. When asked about the outlook for Taggart to play this week against Houston, Sitake said it’s doubtful.
Kalani Sitake on #BYU LB Harrison Taggart's status heading into the Houston game: "I think Harry will be doubtful. It's sad because he's playing such great football, but it's not season-ending."#BYUFootball
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 25, 2024
“I think ‘Harry’ will be doubtful. It’s sad because he’s playing such great football, but it’s not season-ending,” Sitake said. “So we’re hoping to get him back soon. But I think this week will be a stretch and we’ll have to see how he progresses from today.”
BYU has redshirt freshman Miles Hall as an option to replace Taggart at linebacker. Another option is Sione Moa, who was suited up for the first time last week after suffering an injury against Arizona in October.
No. 19 BYU vs. Houston
Date: Saturday, November 30, 2024
Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. (MST)
TV: ESPN
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM — Extended pregame begins at 6 p.m.)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.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.
