Five Things We Learned From Kalani Sitake’s BYU/Stanford Presser
Sep 1, 2025, 6:19 PM | Updated: Sep 2, 2025, 10:45 am
PROVO, Utah – The 2025 season rolls on for BYU football this week as they host the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday, September 6.
In preparation for the game, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake spoke with the media on Monday in a virtual press conference on Zoom.
Sitake spent 17 minutes during his weekly Zoom call to set the stage for Saturday’s matchup with the Cardinal from the ACC. Stanford will make its first trip to Provo since 2003.
Here are five things we learned from Kalani Sitake’s press conference.
#1 Sitake feels “even better” about BYU’s performance against Portland State after watching the film
It’s hard to get nitpicky after a 69-0 victory. However, coaches tend to find ways to identify areas for improvement.
After the game, Sitake pointed to the five penalties as an area to improve. But on Monday, after some time to break down the film, he liked what he saw from his group.
“I felt really good about the overall performance [against Portland State]. I think you guys heard me say that before. Now, after watching the film, I feel even better. Obviously, there are still some errors out there, but those are very fixable. We’ll get through that.”
#2 BYU fans left an impression on the football team
When Kalani Sitake was hired as BYU’s head football coach in December 2015, he pointed out that he had grown up being a BYU fan.
Sitake often shows his gratitude for BYU fans because, as he puts it, he’s a fan, too.
On Monday, Sitake, during his opening remarks, expressed gratitude to BYU fans for their turnout against Portland State. A total of 64,494 fans showed up to see the Cougars kick off the 2025 season. It was the largest crowd to see a BYU game in Provo since the 2009 matchup against TCU.
Coach Sitake 🤝 BYU fans#GoCougs @Mitch_Harper pic.twitter.com/WeGpKXD0ki
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 1, 2025
“The biggest highlight for me as a head coach and for our program was the fans. We keep talking about it. I keep hearing the players talk about it in the locker room after the game. Even today, you can hear the buzz going around about how amazing our fans were. School is not even in session yet, and the ROC was amazing,” Sitake said.
“Seeing the student section and all of the fans and everybody being supportive– and they were loud, too– so that was really impressive. To have that type of atmosphere, since 2009, so that’s super special.
“I just want to let the fans know how much we love and appreciate them. Man, they have been big time since I remember being part of the fan base when I was a little boy. It’s nice to see them out doing their things and making noise for us.”
#3 Being “overprepared” is the theme entering the Stanford matchup
Stanford dropped its season opener on the road at Hawaii in week zero. The Cardinal lost on a last-second field goal to the Rainbow Warriors, 23-20.
BYU is a sizable favorite over the Cardinal, but Frank Reich’s team remains a mystery, having played only one game and coming off a bye week.
Sitake is expecting some new wrinkles from Stanford this week in Provo.
“It’s one of those moments where I trust Jay Hill, A-Rod, and K-Popp. It’s going to be a little bit of getting overprepared. I think we have to look at everything and try to get them ready for everything.”
BYU experienced new wrinkles against Portland State that caused a few early headaches. Portland State rolled out a new quarterback, who didn’t play in Week Zero, and used some 13- and 14-personnel formations.
“It happened in this game against Portland State. We weren’t expecting some of the formations and some of the personnel sets that Coach Barnum gave us. It took a while for the first series for us to adjust to it, but once the defense adjusted to it, I think everything was going to be fine, and we had that in control. So we kind of expect that a little bit in this [Stanford] game. They’re quality coaches. Those guys know how to get a team ready. There’s good talent on that team.
“We recruited a bunch of those guys, too. So they’re going to be ready to go, and they have a week of rest and preparation for us. So we’ve got to make sure that we’re on top of our game when it comes to getting ready for this one.”
#4 Isaiah Glasker, Jack Kelly are “really primed” within BYU’s defense
BYU’s talented linebacker tandem of Isaiah Glasker and Jack Kelly is off to a strong start in 2025.
Kelly returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown to get the scoring for the season started, then Glasker had 1.5 tackles for loss.
Sitake was asked if they have “leveled up this season.”
“There aren’t a lot of mistakes that they’re making on defense. So they’re really primed right now,” Sitake said of Glasker and Kelly. “They’ve been in this defense for a long time. They have ideas and they communicate to the front how it goes, and they communicate to us on the sideline what they think could really work.”
#5 BYU’s values: “Stay humble, stay hungry”
Is Sitake having to warn his players that things won’t come as easily against a Power Four team like Stanford, compared to the Portland State game?
“No, that’s part of our values, to stay humble, stay hungry. So it was a lot of fun [last week]. They got to enjoy it on Saturday night, go to Church, and be humble. They did that yesterday. Come to school and come to the facility, get humbled even more,” Sitake said. “We’re going to find out and show you what you did wrong, and then we’re going to be really picky about it, because that’s what we want to do.”
BYU vs. Stanford
Date: Saturday, September 6, 2025
Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. (MDT)
TV: ESPN
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com 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.
