There is a path for Sitake to be a really good head coach.

He needs to can his BFF as DC. Demotion, fine, but the guy can’t run a defense.



Whatever changed on play calling on offense was noticeable. Keep doing that. The 40 yard touchdown run looked like a new wrinkle to exploit a mistake on defense. They were actually running routes deep enough to try for 1st downs.



But the biggest factor... and I’m not joking..: Kalani knows how to coach amazingly well during “I need you to help me save my job” weeks. He motivates his guys really well when his back is against the wall. I think he could be really successful with a chip on his shoulder and be another “they are disrespecting us” kind of coach. Drop the kissing up to Utah and get more like Utah. He needs to find a way to get an edge every week.



He also calls games more aggressively in “I need you to save my job” weeks. Playing not to lose is not this guys strong suit. Embrace it and make it a thing. I won’t crucify him when it goes wrong. The aggressive fired up Sitake is the best Sitake. When they went for it on 4th I said “I like it. The D is playing weak. If they miss getting it I still like it.” Aggressive Sitake is the kind of guy I can stay behind after a loss.



He needs to find a way to keep that intensity all year long. He hasn’t earned an extension but I now think I understand the inconsistency now. I think there is a path to greatness if he can grow. If BYU is going to provide on the job training, they need to give this guy another year to see if he will be able to become a new and better version of “I need you to help me save my job” Kalani every week. “Chip on the shoulder aggressive Sitake” could do that. “They all say you suck but I believe” would work. Something. Every week. All off season he needs that edge too.

I honestly never followed a team like this. Beat two ranked top 25 teams, beat a so-so SEC team at their place and lose to a MAC and AAC teams that they should have beat. I mean, they look schizophrenic, bi-polar--something. Wow.

This win was nice but it should drive all of us insane. How do you beat the teams they have but lose to UCF and Toledo? Go a step further, they beat BSU with a 3rd string QB, they are playing with their 3rd and 4th string running backs and 4 rotation player missing on the online. With 1 player on the line starting for the first time and another making his 2nd career start. And probably the worse 4th quarter defene any of us have ever seen. And yet they somehow beat BSU. That is great, wonderful, and mind numbingly frustrating all at the same time.

I wonder how much of the inconsistency is due to young players playing key roles all over the field. They are still learning the college game yet being relied upon to game in and game out produce results. I think the team is still feeling the effects of the upper classes having some recruiting misses, injury issues, etc. resulting in a general talent gap. Just as one example, can you imagine if Francis Bernard was playing LB for BYU instead of relying on multiple freshmen this year? I think you would see more consistent play making getting done. The team is still growing and will benefit from the experience of the young players in another couple years.

It's what Sitake has always been - inconsistent. Player youth and inexperience is a possibility but I still think its largely coaching.

EM_Puma wrote:

I honestly never followed a team like this. Beat two ranked top 25 teams, beat a so-so SEC team at their place and lose to a MAC and AAC teams that they should have beat. I mean, they look schizophrenic, bi-polar--something. Wow.

This 👆 iis why KS is fun and terrible.

He reminds me of a guy I played with ... when mad or worried he was incredible and would run over people. The rest of the time he was a cupcake. Ricks College picked him up thinking they could tap into the aggressive side of him and have a jewel. He didn't make it.

Is KS too nice so we'll only see things like this sporadically? I don't know.



But, as much as Ive been on the fire KS bandwagon, I have to admit, v this was fun!! If KS can tap into this same vein the rest of the year (including USU and a bowl game) he will have secured a job next year. Do it again next year and he'll secure an extension. Keep doing it and he'll be widely loved by fans. ... But if soft KS shows up, all bets are off. Lose to Liberty, UMass, or ISU and he's done at the end of the season.



I think this is also telling about us fans ... we genuinely like KS as a person and are willing to forgive the past if he'll just stop the weakness and put out a quality product now.



It'll be interesting to see which KS shows up for USU.

Best part of this win:



Beating a #14 team with a bunch of backups in the limelight.



I think BYU is getting better with depth, which has been a struggle historically given the nature of the program (which is one reason why I love them!).

Fido wrote:

I wonder how much of the inconsistency is due to young players playing key roles all over the field. They are still learning the college game yet being relied upon to game in and game out produce results. I think the team is still feeling the effects of the upper classes having some recruiting misses, injury issues, etc. resulting in a general talent gap. Just as one example, can you imagine if Francis Bernard was playing LB for BYU instead of relying on multiple freshmen this year? I think you would see more consistent play making getting done. The team is still growing and will benefit from the experience of the young players in another couple years.

I’m willing to give some benefit of the doubt for losing a player mid-game, but the week after that they had better be ready to play or the coaches aren’t doing their jobs. Playing inexperienced players is part of the college game and every coach has to deal with it. It only holds up as an excuse for a short time after the loss of that player.

Meh.



I'm gonna start carrying a John 3:16 sign to games, but I'll reference Rev 3:16 instead until something changes.

snoscythe wrote:

Meh.



I'm gonna start carrying a John 3:16 sign to games, but I'll reference Rev 3:16 instead until something changes.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Sammich wrote:

I wonder how much of the inconsistency is due to young players playing key roles all over the field. They are still learning the college game yet being relied upon to game in and game out produce results. I think the team is still feeling the effects of the upper classes having some recruiting misses, injury issues, etc. resulting in a general talent gap. Just as one example, can you imagine if Francis Bernard was playing LB for BYU instead of relying on multiple freshmen this year? I think you would see more consistent play making getting done. The team is still growing and will benefit from the experience of the young players in another couple years.

I’m willing to give some benefit of the doubt for losing a player mid-game, but the week after that they had better be ready to play or the coaches aren’t doing their jobs. Playing inexperienced players is part of the college game and every coach has to deal with it. It only holds up as an excuse for a short time after the loss of that player.

What I couldn't accept was having a bye week to get ready for USF and then floundering. That simply pissed me off and made it hard to be in KS's camp.



Honestly, as noted, with this bi-polar team I don't know where Kalani Sitake is with having his contract renewed and apparently neither does Tom Holmoe or he would have pulled the trigger on an extension by now. I thought after beating USC that KS was safe, but losing two games he never should have really changed that impression. Yet again, beating BSU, who we were only 2-7 against and has surely become a regional rival, makes it interesting again.



For me, to lose to USU would be my final straw. You cannot lose to the Dairy Utes 3 years in a row and have my support. I can understand the issue with Puketah to some degree, but my kind spirit doesn't go any further if they don't beat the Aggies. I don't care if they go to a bowl game and stomp some senseless team into the ground at the end of the season. He HAS to beat USU, especially after a bye week.

Gary Crowton tried to say youth and inexperience was why his teams were inconsistent and got roasted for it both by fans and media. I don't buy it and will not allow this excuse, It is obvious that Sitake can get his teams up for teams like USC and a ranked Boise State, if he can't start beating the teams he is supposed to beat, he should be gone. I loved this last weekend and will give credit for the win since the team played really well up until the 4th quarter, but I will only be in favor of him retaining his job if the team starts playing that well in all the rest of the games this season. (win or lose). I'm sick of watching them come out looking dazed and confused against teams they should beat, or against teams they should at least put up a fight against ala Washington.

Not at BYU.

At this point Sitake is a known. His best year was a senior laden team that actually might have performed better without any head coach, the players ran the program. Unfortunately Sitake has not actually taught his players how to lead the program like Bronco did, so we will see these types of performances as long as Sitake is the head coach, he will "trust" his players to perform exceptionally but he has not given them the tools for them to be able to do that. It's unfortunate

If KS is retained I hope he takes all of the coaches to Virgina for a week in the off season to learn how to coach. Maybe stop and visit Andy Reid to learn some more. They could use some professional development.

BYU is inconsistent because Kalani is an emotional roller coaster as a coach.



The ONLY path for him to be a really good coach is to find some emotional consistency. But he's not searching for that because he probably feels doing so would be inconsistent to who he is and not being himself.



So the roller coasters will continue.

The problem is, I don't think you can play with that edge every single week. This is why Utah always does crap like beat ranked UCLA and get shut out by UNLV, or beat ranked Stanford and lose to one of the Arizona schools. You can't stay fueled by emotion for a whole season like that. I also think when that mindset filters down to the players, there's a tendency to try and play hero ball instead of just executing your assignments, and that's how bad things happen. It's most noticeable from a QB trying to do too much and giving up a sack at the wrong time or throwing a pick that could have been avoided. But I think it's a bigger problem on defense. For example, it seemed like Bronco's defense was awesome and sniffing out and blowing up screens. You don't have to be a football genius to do it, you just need discipline to read the situation. Ziggy was awesome at this, and he had no football background at all. Our current defense seems to not have that discipline. I see a lot of over-pursuit, a lot of pass rushes leaving big running lanes for the QB, and we are very rarely sniffing out screens.



If you wanna be a really good head coach, you've got to have that foundation of a good scheme, solid fundamentals, and disciplined execution. Then use emotion to get up for the big moments and big games, sure. If you've got that, it's a great weapon, use it! But you've gotta have the foundation first.

redneckjedi wrote:

The problem is, I don't think you can play with that edge every single week. This is why Utah always does crap like beat ranked UCLA and get shut out by UNLV, or beat ranked Stanford and lose to one of the Arizona schools. You can't stay fueled by emotion for a whole season like that. I also think when that mindset filters down to the players, there's a tendency to try and play hero ball instead of just executing your assignments, and that's how bad things happen. It's most noticeable from a QB trying to do too much and giving up a sack at the wrong time or throwing a pick that could have been avoided. But I think it's a bigger problem on defense. For example, it seemed like Bronco's defense was awesome and sniffing out and blowing up screens. You don't have to be a football genius to do it, you just need discipline to read the situation. Ziggy was awesome at this, and he had no football background at all. Our current defense seems to not have that discipline. I see a lot of over-pursuit, a lot of pass rushes leaving big running lanes for the QB, and we are very rarely sniffing out screens.



If you wanna be a really good head coach, you've got to have that foundation of a good scheme, solid fundamentals, and disciplined execution. Then use emotion to get up for the big moments and big games, sure. If you've got that, it's a great weapon, use it! But you've gotta have the foundation first.

Fair enough. I think part of the the failure against the weak teams is coaches game plans. They seem too vanilla.



If he can find a way to beat the give me teams consistently he will roll. If not, he will need to go.



I am just saying if BYU is going to continue to hire people for on the job training, it’s now to early to walk away from Sitake. There are lots of coaches who can’t win big games. That is an important piece of the puzzle. If they are going for an inexperienced coach again, I’d rather see Sitake go for another season.