Perhaps it was because of injuries sustained by the players who safety Tanner Wall calls “the heart and soul of our defense” — linebackers Isaiah Glasker and Jack Kelly.
Or maybe it was because BYU committed three turnovers and failed to finish a couple of drives with touchdowns instead of field goals in the 38-24 win over lowly West Virginia on Friday night in front of 63,917 at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Then again, it could be the fact that undefeated BYU’s schedule from here on out is considerably more difficult than it has been as the Cougars have built a 5-0 record, attained a No. 23 national ranking and extended their remarkable scoring streak to 31 straight quarters dating back to last season, a program record.
To this observer, there was a palpable sense of uneasiness in the wee hours Saturday morning as the Cougars talked about the two-touchdown victory over a Mountaineers team that was coming off a 48-14 loss on their home field to Utah.
The celebration was considerably more muted than it was a week ago after BYU edged Colorado 24-21 in Boulder.
The exception to that observation was receiver Chase Roberts, BYU’s eternal optimist and primary playmaker, along with running back LJ Martin and emerging all-around threat Parker Kingston.
“We are resilient in every situation that we are in, and that will be seen on the field,” Roberts said after arguably his finest game as a Cougar.
The senior from American Fork made a 47-yard reception on BYU’s opening play from scrimmage to extend his streak of catches in consecutive games to 31. He also caught an 85-yarder in the second quarter, the longest reception of his career, and finished with a career-high 161 yards — the most for a Cougar since Puka Nacua had 168 against Baylor in 2021.
Kingston, who got off to a shaky start this season with a fumbled punt return and some dropped passes, recorded more than 100 receiving yards for the first time in his career, finishing with 111 on four catches.
The redshirt junior from Layton who prepped at Roy High School — the same school as legendary BYU quarterback Jim McMahon — became the first BYU player in the modern era to run for a touchdown, catch a TD pass, throw for a TD, and return a punt for a TD.
He achieved that feat when he ran for a 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter to give the Cougars a quick 7-0 lead after sophomore Therrian “Tre” Alexander’s 47-yard interception return.
“I wasn’t able to practice all of fall camp and started practicing the first game week, so it was hard for me to get my confidence in those first two games,” Kingston said.
“I feel like I’ve built off of ECU and Colorado (performances), and I finally felt like I was back to my normal self again this week.”
It was the first time BYU has had two 100-yard receivers in the same game since Darius Lassiter (103) and Roberts (108) against Arizona State last season.
Roberts’ 85-yard catch-and-run was the longest play for BYU since 1996 when Steve Sarkisian hit Dustin Johnson for an 87-yarder against Rice.
“It felt great, especially to get those deep balls from Bear (Bachmeier),” Roberts said. “It took a couple of games to get there, but we manifested it. It is only going to get better from here, and we’re going to start really throwing the ball.
“Bear’s been awesome, and the offensive line did great, so we came together. We need to limit the dumb mistakes, and we (will be) a great offense.”
No question, BYU has picked up where it left off last year, when it went 11-2 and walloped Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. The Cougars are 5-0 for the fourth time under Sitake, and ninth time in program history.
It is the second time they’ve had back-to-back 5-0 starts. The first time was 2020 and 2021, also under Sitake.
So the coach clearly has it rolling in Provo — just in time for the quality of competition to ratchet up several notches. Sitake said several times after picking up his 77th win in his 120th game at the helm in Provo that there is still plenty of room for improvement.
Certainly, the Cougars will have to play better if they hope to win any of the next seven games, and they know it.
“We shouldn’t make things harder on ourselves, and we gotta play smarter as a football team,” Sitake said. “That’s my job. I gotta get these guys to be more disciplined and have better football IQ.”
There’s plenty of hope, though.
Although they’ve scored in every quarter this season, the Cougars still haven’t played a complete game. Be it red zone struggles, early defensive lapses in the quarterback run game, or turnovers — as was the case against the Mountaineers — Sitake is still searching for a full 60-minute effort from his team.
“Yeah, we’ll get it back. I mean, that’s fine. Not a lot of people are playing a full 60 minutes. I’m asking for the impossible for some parts, but I’m always going to be like that,” he said.
“You’re talking to me about (a win). I’m complaining about winning a game by two scores. I want to get better, so let’s not all get too comfortable and get too too spoiled. … Our kicker missed a field goal, and then our defense is giving up some big yards to backup players, things like that, so we know what the problems are. We’ll fix it, and we’ll get back to work.”
As for the injury situation, BYU clearly missed RB2 Sione Moa on Friday, as RB3 Enoch Nawahine got injured again and didn’t finish the game and RB4 Jovesa Damuni fumbled after a reception. Martin is absolutely indispensable at this point in the season.
Star linebacker Jack Kelly watched the second half with his left arm in a sling and running mate Isaiah Glasker only played in one play in the second half — on the onside kick with just over a minute remaining as part of the “hands” team. Cody Hagen jumped on the onside kick.
Sitake said Glasker wanted to play in the second half, but trainers and doctors advised against it. As for Kelly’s situation, the coach said he “felt good about it, because towards the end of the locker room (celebration) he was actually feeling pretty good. … So we will evaluate tomorrow for (Kelly) and Glasker. Yeah, that’s football. Sometimes guys get banged up, and we’ll see how banged up he is, if he can even go next week or not.”
Cougars on the air
BYU (2-0, 5-0) at Arizona (1-1, 4-1)
• Saturday, 6 p.m. MDT
• At Arizona Stadium
• Tucson, Arizona
• TV: ESPN2
• Radio: 102.7 FM/1160 AM