During Kalani Sitake’s tenure as a head coach, he’s sought consistency. Has he achieved it since leaving Tampa Bay with a head-scratching loss to South Florida?
The 5-0 run says yes.
The wins over No. 14 Boise State and Utah State in Logan make a case for it.
The way BYU won games with five different quarterback changes and a myriad new starters on the offensive line, backfield, secondary, linebacker corps and defensive line during the streak indicates something very positive happening.
The blowout second-quarter offensive explosion over lowly UMass signals it may be so. The 42-point quarter has never happened with a BYU offense — ever — even against punching bag WAC teams of old. And it could have been 45 if not for a missed field goal at the end of the half.
But the meltdown his scout team showed in the second half in Amherst, Massachusetts, gave signs there is still work to be done. Intensity and momentum are a real thing and, if not tended to, can go to weed quickly.
That’s what Sitake faces this Thanksgiving week heading into the regular-season finale at San Diego State. His squad and staff have celebrated a winning season, a bowl invitation, a contract extension, a big blowout win at UMass. The warm and fuzzy glow is everywhere.
And that’s the issue his team has to fight heading to Navy town.
This is a team that has to compete with a chip weighing heavy on its shoulders. You saw that against USC and Tennessee. It was evident when players got injured and QBs were replaced and everyone was on notice against Boise State and Utah State.
A team comprised of former missionaries and expert ministering companions who have so much going for them off the field, including marriage and children, can get lost in a Thanksgiving love fest. The stark reality is, against Toledo, South Florida and now San Diego State, the Cougars face teams where football isn’t just a No. 1 priority, it is kind of life or death.
Warm fuzzies will meet anger and personal animus come Saturday.
It is not out of the realm of possibility that a San Diego State team that lost to Hawaii in Honolulu and had its Mountain West title hopes dashed, will come at BYU with a vengeance; that a nonthreatening SDSU offense somehow finds supermen blocking for runners who turn into O.J. Simpson and a defense that sacks Zach Wilson half a dozen times.
BYU opened the week a slight favorite over San Diego State because of the 5-0 winning streak and the return of Wilson. SDSU scored just 11 points against a Hawaii defense that is allowing 32 points a game, 98th in the country in scoring defense.
“Everyone talks about how college football is crazy; just look at the Pac-12 right now,” Wilson told reporters earlier this week.
Wilson gets it.
Does the rest of the pack get it?
“People lose to teams they shouldn’t lose to all the time. That’s the crazy part about this team: even though we’ve had some bad losses, look at the good wins we’ve had. We’ve been able to capitalize on those.”
You have to hand it to Wilson. He had two months of the season taken from him by injury. He watched as his backups played at a high level with Baylor Romney registering a 159 efficiency rating and Jaren Hall a 151.
In his comeback game, Wilson had a 127 rating in a win over struggling Idaho State and recognized that wasn’t good enough. In a quarter and a half against UMass, his rating was 274.
Although the competition was not as tough as he faced in September, he understands his performance still had to improve.
“We knew that this half of the season was one that we’d really have to dial up and get rid of those bad mistakes,” Wilson said. “We’re really focusing on consistency as a team, and how we can be a consistently good team.”
There will be no better venue to prove this than in San Diego this Saturday against a dangerous Aztec team made more hungry on Senior Day for Rocky Long’s players.