Behind Enemy Lines: What No. 22 BYU is Saying about Baylor

One of the things I’ve loved most about covering the Big 12 is the respect and camaraderie that the conference's coaches have for one another. BYU head coach Kalani Sitake joined 365 Sports on Thursday to discuss his relationship with and respect for Baylor head coach Dave Aranda.

“I like talking to Dave because he’s a really good man and a great person. We talk a lot about philosophy and share ideas with each other,” Sitake said. “I really like his friendship and what he represents; I just like the way he treats people, and I enjoy being around him. We’ve been around each other long enough in the coaching profession and that’s why this is such an important game to us because he will have his team ready.”

The Cougars are still preparing for two quarterbacks heading into Waco, despite Sawyer Robertson (RJr.) currently holding the reins to QB1 over Dequan Finn (6Sr.). 

“That is what college football is sometimes, and you have to be ready for the skill set of each quarterback. Most of the quarterbacks at this level can throw the ball, they can run, they’re athletic, big and strong. We are focused on what they can do and not really concerned about who’s going to play quarterback.”

Baylor’s defense has been the anchor of this team all season, and they will need to step up and take charge again against BYU. The Cougars have done an excellent job setting their offense up with great field position to begin their drives, leading quarterback Jake Retzlaff (Jr.) to pass for just under 1,000 yards and 9 touchdowns in the first four games of the season.

“They put points on the board, that’s the higher level. That is what I want. Take care of the football, that’s high-level football. If we give the offense short fields, we can’t back up and get more yards,” Sitake said. “What I do like is when we give them short fields that they capitalize and score points. We are going to focus on scoring points.”

There has been much talk leading into this game about BYU’s struggles on the road during day games. The Cougars are 2-12 in their last 14 FBS day games and have lost 10 straight dating back to a 31-28 loss to UAB in 2021. BYU safety Crew Wakley (So.) was asked about the struggles under the sun earlier this week.

“We're excited. 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 8 p.m.; we're just going to play football. There are all these stats and all this and that, and whether there's correlation, I don't know. I know we played basically the same time last year against Oklahoma, and that game went well for the most part,” Wakley said. “I don't think anybody on the team is worried about what time we're playing, but we're just excited to play ball. There haven’t been any concerns in the locker room or throughout the offices here about what time the game is at. We’re just excited.”

Baylor (2-2, 0-1) and No. 22 BYU (4-0, 1-0) will kickoff at 11 a.m. on FS1 with Alex Faust and Robert Smith on the call. Be sure to tune into the 365 Sports pregame show from 9-10:30 a.m. on YouTube and KWTX, as well as the postgame show with myself and David Smoak on YouTube.