The BYU Cougars had, by any reasonable standard, a good season in 2025. During Kalani Sitake’s 10th season, the Cougars finished with a 12-2 overall record and a No. 11 ranking in the AP Poll. They made it to the Big 12 championship game, where they fell 34-7. Despite the heavy loss, the season has to be considered a positive one for the team.
But this isn’t enough in the future, says Kalani Sitake, and their next step should be to be more like their conference rivals, the Red Raiders, in the coming seasons. Speaking with On3 this Friday, he said:
“The goal is for us to try to take that next step and be like them (Texas Tech), where you can kind of impose your will a little bit.”
The Red Raiders were indeed the nemesis of the BYU Cougars in 2025, handing them the only two defeats of the season (7-29 and 7-34). Had it not been for those defeats, the Cougars would likely have made their first appearance in the College Football Playoff.
Kalani Sitake on how he has kept the BYU Cougars competitive despite the NIL competition
During the interview with On 3, Kalani Sitake was also asked how he has managed to keep the Cougars competitive in an era of the transfer portal and NIL deals. It’s safe to say that BYU doesn’t have the resources others have mobilized in this new era of college football.
Yet, he refuses to make excuses and believes he is still able to attract the right talent to BYU:
“It can attract the right people, and I just need to put them in a position where they can have success.”
He also explained that boiling down recruitment and hiring cycles to who can pay the most is just not something he’s into
“If the only answer to things is money, then that’s kinda boring.”
It has definitely worked for him so far. The question is, can it work moving forward?
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