BYU football: Kalani Sitake has built a team whose sum is greater than its parts in 2024

Aside from quarterback Jake Retzlaff and a few players with extraordinary special teams achievements, guys such as returners Parker Kingston and Keelan Marion and kicker Will Ferrin, not a lot of BYU Cougars are among the national statistical leaders in college football.
That’s sort of a surprise, given BYU’s 6-0 record and the way the Cougars — No. 13 in both major polls now — have been dominating opponents.
It is also a testament to the quality depth that Kalani Sitake has built in Provo, and his emphasis on playing “complementary football” and being good in all three phases of the game. Midway through the 2024 season, BYU is truly greater than the sum of its parts.
Picked to finish 13th in the Big 12, the Cougars sit at the top of the league standings with Iowa State, which is also 3-0 in league play, 6-0 overall. Texas Tech (5-1, 3-0) is also unbeaten in conference play. But at this point, there might not be a surefire all-Big 12 player on the team, particularly on offense.
Defensive end Tyler Batty and cornerback Jakob Robinson might be the Cougars’ best bets for individual postseason honors, at this juncture.
“It feels amazing (to be undefeated),” Robinson said after the Cougars walloped Arizona 41-19 on Saturday afternoon at LaVell Edwards Stadium. “We have worked really hard this offseason, our whole team. Everyone has gotten closer. I think we have dealt with (last season’s adversity) really well.”
If a team MVP were to be named, theoretically, halfway through the regular season, it would probably have to be Retzlaff, who is 6-0 as a starter after going 0-4 last year when he took over for an injured Kedon Slovis.
The junior college transfer, and only starting Jewish quarterback in the Football Bowl Subdivision, is 13th in the country in passing touchdowns, with 14. He’s 25th in yards per completion and 25th in points responsible for per game. Retzlaff was the subject of a lot of attention in the days leading up to Yom Kippur last week, getting featured by the likes of ESPN, CBS Sports and the Associated Press.
But it didn’t affect his preparation, he said, or his play on the field. Retzlaff was 18 of 32 for 218 yards and two touchdowns, and didn’t throw a pass that came even close to being intercepted.
“All that stuff is gravy, man. The No. 1 thing is taking care of business on the field, no matter what. Yeah, doing the national attention is definitely something, but at the same time you gotta keep the main thing the main thing,” Retzlaff said in the first of several lengthy soliloquies in the postgame news conference.
“I don’t think any group of people I have been around has been better at that than this football team. We are so good at going from joking around, having fun, to executing football plays. I don’t think there is a better place to be for that.”
Retzlaff said that Thursday’s practice, which was supposed to be light and didn’t include pads and hitting, “was the most intense day of practice. And that just goes to show the professionalism with these guys. And just how great they are at taking care of business on the field.”
“We all have that mindset. The national attention is great. The interviews are great. All the pub is awesome, and it is so great for the BYU image, making BYU even bigger than it is,” he continued. “So we love it. But we are also so good at making the main thing the main thing.”
Other Cougars in the top 25 of selected national categories include Ferrin, Marion and Kingston, who recorded a receiving and passing touchdown in the same game for the second time in his career, having also accomplished the feat last year in the win at Arkansas.
The former Roy High quarterback said his 33-yard touchdown pass to running back LJ Martin was the “exact same play” they used against Arkansas last year, but declined to divulge its name.
“So I already had that built in confidence that we would score and it would be open. But I didn’t see LJ at all. I just figured where he would be. So I threw it,” Kingston said. “Then I see the (defensive back) coming over and I thought I had thrown a pick, and I go, ‘you gotta be kidding me.’ But it just went right over his hand and LJ made a great grab. He said he couldn’t even see it. It was just sitting in the sun.”
Martin’s return from a three-game absence due to a lower leg injury was immediately felt, as BYU’s best running back picked up 49 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and also caught three passes for 46 yards and a score.
Running back is one of those positions where BYU’s depth has shined through; Retzlaff leads the Cougars in rushing attempts (40) and yards (184), thanks in part to the fact that RBs coach Harvey Unga has had to use six ball-carriers, due to injury. Hinckley Ropati has 30 carries, while Enoch Nawahine and Martin have 29, Sione I Moa has 21 and Miles Davis 16.
Sitake said it was good to get Martin back.
“Even when the guys don’t block (perfectly), he still finds ways. He and Hinckley do a good job at that. I think all the backs do at creating runs and making people miss,” Sitake said. “It is good to have the whole running back corps back to play for us.”
Let’s not forget about special teams; if not for the work of punter Sam Vander Haar, kicker Ferrin, punt returner Kingston and kickoff returner Marion, the Cougars probably would not be undefeated.
Ferrin is 15th in the country in field goals per game and 25th in total points scored. Kingston is ninth in punt return average yards per attempt, thanks to his 90-yarder against Kansas State. Marion is 17th in kickoff return average, thanks to his 102-yarder against Wyoming.
Amazingly, Retzlaff’s 14 touchdown passes have gone to nine different players, which is the most in the country. According to BYU sports information, Miami, LSU and North Texas are tied for second in that category, with eight apiece.
The success has the Cougars setting their sights higher than just getting bowl eligible, which they are with six wins.
“We are only (ranked) 14 in the country. We are better than that. We got a really good football club here,” Retzlaff said after the win Saturday. “I am excited for what we are going to do the rest of the season. … It is awesome to be able to say we got bowl eligible. Great. But we just want to get better, and better, and better each week. We have the right mindset for it. So I am excited to see what happens as the season goes on.”
Asked what kind of statement the Cougars made in Game 6, Robinson said the sky is the limit for this group.
“I mean, we are bowl eligible, but that is not really what I have been thinking of. I just want to get to the national championship for us,” he said. “So that is definitely my thought.”
Sitake said it doesn’t mean anything if the Cougars don’t handle business this Friday at home against Oklahoma State (3-3, 0-3), which had a bye last weekend and will surely be more rested than the Cougars. Kickoff is at 8:30 p.m. MDT Friday and the Big 12 clash will be televised by ESPN.
Oklahoma State (3-3, 0-3) at No. 13 BYU (6-0, 3-0)
• Friday, 8:30 p.m. MDT
• At LaVell Edwards Stadium
• Provo, Utah
• TV: ESPN
• Radio: 102.7 FM/1160 AM