No longer under the radar

Kalani Sitake and his staff have worked the “no respect” angle most of the summer to perfection, but will preparing with a “chip on the shoulder” work for the No. 14 Cougars, undefeated at 5-0 and perched atop Big 12 standings?
BYU hosts Arizona on Saturday in what will be one of the biggest games in years. Drawing national attention, being mentioned as a possible CFP team, this is new territory for this team and it will need to “stay humble and work hard” in order to deal with it.
Fox Sports is sending it’s “A Team” to the broadcast booth for BYU-Arizona, including play-by-play voice Gus Johnson, analyst Joel Klatt and sideline reporter Jenny Taft. Fox will also bring its “Big Noon Kickoff Show” to Provo for an 8 a.m. college preview day, and set up for the 2 p.m. national broadcast in Provo.
There are a lot of components that have worked for BYU this fall. QB Jake Retzlaff has buckled down and worked to become consistent; the defense has been good enough to allow him to be a playmaker, even with his starting running back LJ Martin out. Greater depth has proven key in keeping players fresh and injured players replaced with decent backups. But nobody is taking them lightly anymore. The Cougars will get Arizona’s best shot as a team that’s fighting for Big 12 relevance after being picked to finish near the top.
Hall of Famer Steve Young explained some of BYU’s current dynamic perfectly in this piece on the “Y’s Guys” podcast on Monday. You can access the entire interview here.
Question of the week: No. 14 BYU has experienced a meteoric rise of sorts in the polls and Big 12 standings heading into Saturday’s game with Arizona. Put into perspective how big this game is for the Cougar at this stage of the season and break down some key factors with predictions.
Jay Drew: Back when the season started, I broke BYU’s schedule up into three parts: the first five games, the middle three games, and then the final four games, with the middle three games sandwiched between byes. It appeared back then that the middle three games would be critical to BYU’s season, and determine whether the Cougars made a bowl game.
BYU proved me wrong, winning the first five, but that doesn’t mean Game 6 is any less important. In fact, one could argue that it is the biggest game of the year, because of where the Cougars have put themselves. They’ve earned a national ranking and even some national attention. The spotlight is as bright as it has been on BYU since the 2021 season, when it also started 5-0.
For that reason, Saturday’s showdown with 3-2 Arizona is huge. Can the Cougars capitalize?
I think they will. Sure, playing without starting center Connor Pay (fracture in his left foot) will be tough. Receiver Kody Epps is also out. But the return of BYU’s best running back, LJ Martin, will be big, and this team has the confidence needed to pull it off, especially at home.
Prediction: BYU 27, Arizona 21
Dick Harmon: To say BYU surprised the experts is like saying Captain James Cook discovered a few reef. By every metric, these Cougars have stunned the Big 12, national and local pundits. I had them with six wins and a bowl game and they are on the verge of reaching that Saturday if they beat Arizona.
The Big 12 media had BYU 13th and they’re 2-0 in the Big 12. They had Texas Tech ninth and they’re 3-0. Iowa State was picked sixth and they are 2-0. BYU does not play either of those leaders this year and that is a nice twist.
By climbing to No. 14 in one month of play, the Cougars are on the verge of challenging for the league conference title game in Arlington and a berth in the CFP. But they must take care of business against Arizona this weekend. With Fox Sports hosting their football kickoff that day in Provo, a lot of eyes will be on the Cougars. Can they handle it?
Arizona beat Utah in SLC and has plenty of talent on both offense and defense. BYU has shown the ability of punching opponents and disrupting what they want to do defensively while scoring quick and often to get leads and hold on. Because Arizona lost to Texas Tech last week, BYU will need to bring it early and test their mettle. I think the return of LJ Martin and Sione Moa in the backfield will prove huge. Jay Hill will need to continue to surprise opponents and keep Noah Fifita off balance.
Prediction: BYU 24, Arizona 21
Here are the NCAA statistical categories that BYU is ranked in the top 25:
Comments from Deseret News readers:
BYU seemed content to let Sawyer Robertson try to throw his way to victory, and he almost did. That approach certainly won’t work against Fifita and Arizona. I expect Jay Hill will show Fifita some different looks to try to make him uncomfortable. Even then, he and McMillan will make some plays.
Arizona certainly has weapons, but the last two weeks have given BYU film on how to limit their offense. The Cougars will need their own offense to show up and play well if they hope to keep this thing going on Saturday.
With Big Noon coming to Provo, Homecoming week, and a solid Big 12 matchup, this is going to be a fun game! Go Cougs!
— cheezit
Arizona QB Fafita played well against TTech but was under a lot of pressure (2 sacks, 2 int) from the TTech defense. BYU defense has to apply same pressure and more to force turnovers and get an early lead like they did at Baylor. If BYU’s offense can get Martin and Ropati back, a more balanced running game can happen … Retzlaff has provided the running game spark so far with over 150 yards rushing, but this exposes him too much to injury and they need to get the real running unit back in the mix. I think BYU wins this game by 1 TD but that assumes they have less turnovers than Arizona.
— Jimrayoden