From Toaster Trophy To Tough Test: Kalani Sitake Preps BYU For Georgia Tech
Dec 19, 2025, 1:06 PM | Updated: 5:59 pm
ORLANDO, Florida – Kalani Sitake couldn’t help but grin when he saw the Pop-Tarts Bowl trophy—a fully functional toaster. ‘It’s impressive,’ he laughed, ‘because it’s a toaster.’”
“It came out at the right temperature. The problem was with the Pop-Tart, is that it gets so hot that you have to wait for it to cool down,” Sitake continued. “Now we can pull it out, and you can just eat it right away. It’s a perfect temperature for fat guys like me.”
RELATED: BYU Football To Face Georgia Tech At 2025 Pop-Tarts Bowl
Ladies and gentlemen, the first Official Pop-Tarts Toast of Bowl Season (feat. @kalanifsitake & @CoachBrentKeyGT)! pic.twitter.com/HyFnGJwyMG
— Pop-Tarts Bowl (@PopTartsBowl) December 16, 2025
The Cougar head coach joined Hans and Scotty for his exclusive weekly interview on KSL Sports Zone on Wednesday, December 17, to discuss BYU’s upcoming Pop-Tarts Bowl appearance.
Outside of the Pop-Tart pluses, Sitake sees bowl preparation as a building block toward the 2026 season.
“I like that it’s a difficult matchup because it’s going to take the most out of us,” he cautioned. “I think this could really be a positive thing for us to springboard us into the next season, regardless of the result. I think looking at the preparation, the extra practices, the development, we got to see our guys tackle today with our young guys. That was awesome.”
Kalani Sitake praises Georgia Tech ahead of bowl matchup
Georgia Tech opened the 2025 season 8-0, rising to No. 8 in the AP poll. The Yellow Jackets were positioned to challenge for a spot in the CFB Playoff before dropping three of their final four games.
“They’re a top-ten team at one point in the season,” Sitake said. “They lost to NC State and then lost to Pitt. Then, at the end, they lost the last game of the year to Georgia, and that was a one-score game, and 16-9 was the final. So, this is a really good team.”
RELATED: Injury Update On BYU QB Bear Bachmeier Entering Pop-Tarts Bowl
POP-TARTS BOWL — BYU vs Georgia Tech@kalanifsitake @bearb47 @isaiahglasker pic.twitter.com/Va1vMMijVm
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) December 17, 2025
Brent Key leads the Yellow Jackets in his third season as head coach. Former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Chris Weinke is serving as the Assistant Head Coach, co-offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach.
Sitake is confident his group will be prepared to face a Georgia Tech team that runs an offensive style similar to the Cougars’.
“The game is going to be such a cool matchup for us. Looking at where they’re at, and they have an amazing quarterback, so when we see what they do on offense, we’re very similar,” the former fullback said. “They like throwing the ball down the field, and they like running the ball, even with their quarterback… I think they have a tough, physical mindset, so it’s going to be fun.”
2025 Pop-Tarts Bowl
No. 12 BYU vs. No. 22 Georgia Tech
Date: Saturday, December 27, 2025
Venue: Camping World Stadium
Location: Orlando, Florida
Kickoff: 1:30 p.m. MT
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
