Editor’s note: Last in a series previewing each team in the Big 12 in 2026.
Although the BYU Cougars went 23-4 over the course of the last two college football seasons, head coach Kalani Sitake was never comfortable with his team’s level of play.
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He was never satisfied. He always felt like there was another plateau to reach, even when the Cougars came from behind to down Georgia Tech 25-21 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl last December.
“We did enough to win certain games, but for me … it felt like we could have finished games stronger,” he said at BYU’s football media day and golf outing last week. “I didn’t feel comfortable with all of it, still.”
“The team has owned (the expectations). They’ve owned the preparation in the offseason. I like where they’re at right now. We still have some work to do. … So when you (ask) what keeps me up at night, yeah, my reply is we are not there yet. But I like the progress.”
Sitake expressed those sentiments after being asked what he’s most worried about a few days before BYU opens training camp on Wednesday. What keeps him awake at night as he enters his 11th season at the helm in Provo?
It’s not a specific position group, he said. It is not the backup quarterback situation, should starter Bear Bachmeier go down. It is not the receiver position, as the Cougars go about trying to replace Chase Roberts, Parker Kingston, Carsen Ryan and Cody Hagen with relatively inexperienced guys such as Oregon transfer Kyler Kasper, Tiger Bachmeier, Tei Nacua, freshman Legend Glasker and Jojo Phillips.
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It’s not the loss of defensive coordinator Jay Hill to Michigan, as Sitake has continually expressed confidence in Kelly Poppinga and the scheme already in place.
In a nutshell, Sitake says it is the fear that the 2026 Cougars won’t reach their potential that has dominated his thoughts this month. Certainly, expectations are higher for this team than they have been in the entire Sitake era, which began in 2016.
A case could be made that this is the most-anticipated season in BYU football history — at least since the mid-1980s when LaVell Edwards’ teams won 25 straight games from 1983 to 1985.
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“You can only control what you can control. I am going to be focused on those things,” Sitake said. “I can’t control and be worried about how other teams are going to be playing when they show up. I have to be focused on us being the best we possibly can be, and how we do things to help the team win.”
Although no official Big 12 preseason poll was held this year, most prognosticators are picking BYU to finish first or second in the league in the Cougars’ fourth year in a power conference. A poll conducted by beat writers, one for each of the 16 teams in the conference, picked the Cougars to finish second behind Texas Tech.
“The team has owned (the expectations),” Sitake said. “They’ve owned the preparation in the offseason. I like where they’re at right now. We still have some work to do. … So when you (ask) what keeps me up at night, yeah, my reply is we are not there yet. But I like the progress.”
There don’t appear to be many weaknesses, especially on the defensive side.
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“I think this could be the best defense that I’ve been a part of,” said senior safety Raider Damuni. “We have the talent, but it is going to be up to us to make those plays every Saturday.”
Regarding the high expectations for the defense, Damuni and Sitake both said safety Faletau Satuala will be ready to play against Utah Tech in the opener on Sept. 5 and that other safeties such as Tommy Prassas, Jarinn Kalama and Cannon DeVries are capable backups.
“We’re not drinking the Kool-Aid,” Damuni said. “I think part of the reason why we didn’t get to where we wanted to get the past couple of years is because we got complacent late in the season. We were undefeated. We thought we were on top of the world, and then the next minute a Kansas beats us (in 2024), then Arizona State beats us or Texas Tech beats us twice (in 2025).
“We are just using that as motivation rather than allowing it to let us get bigheaded and complacent,” he continued.
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At linebacker, BYU is simply stacked, especially with the arrival of Cal transfer Cade Uluave, an all-Big 12 preseason pick. Isaiah Glasker and Siale Esera return to give BYU a solid group of run-stoppers who can also drop back and defend against the pass.
“I think our potential is ginormous. It can be super high,” Uluave said. “Like, there’s not even a cap to it. Across the board, we have a lot of good players at every position. We have great corners, great safeties, great linebackers. Our D line is full of dogs.”
Offensively, the attack will be built around Bachmeier, Big 12 preseason offensive player of the year LJ Martin and a pair of tight ends who turned heads in spring camp — USC transfer Walker Lyons and Oregon transfer Roger Saleapaga.
There’s been a little bit of concern about running back depth because Martin is coming off offseason shoulder surgery, but Sitake said last Thursday that sophomore Sione Moa is back to 100% after suffering a devastating compartment syndrome injury last September at East Carolina. He’s also high on freshman running back Devaughn Eka out of Lehi High.
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“We’ve always handled our expectations differently,” Sitake said. “I know that a lot of people are starting to look at and see what the possibilities are for our team. But we’ve had that same approach from the beginning: stay humble, stay hungry, find ways to keep getting better. We still have a long ways to go.
“As much as I am excited about the progress we’ve made, it could go two ways,” Sitake continued. “Either improve, or get worse. So we have to take advantage. We’re on target, but we have to take advantage for the next little bit and if we’re not humble enough and we don’t do all the little details, it’s not going to get done. So we’re good right now, but we still need to be good during fall camp.”
“I know that a lot of people are starting to look at and see what the possibilities are for our team. But we’ve had that same approach from the beginning: stay humble, stay hungry, find ways to keep getting better. We still have a long ways to go.”
BYU’s offensive line was a strength last year, and Sitake expects more of the same this year behind the direction of offensive line coach TJ Woods. Washington transfer Paki Finau joins returning starters or part-time starters Bruce Mitchell, Kyle Sfarcioc, Andrew Gentry and Sonny Makasini and true freshman Bott Mulitalo appears ready to earn playing time quickly.
“We have a good amount of guys that have experience. With that being said, there’s a lot of young talent, too, that we want to see how they play and how they react in certain games,” Sitake said. “I think TJ is a master at getting different looks for guys and getting experience for everybody. So I don’t think there’s ever going to be a time where we’re looking at a completely new O line where none of them has had game-time experience.”
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Linebackers coach Justin Ena takes over for the aforementioned Poppinga running the special teams and will go about trying to replace kicker Will Ferrin and punter Sam Van Der Haar with Matthias Dunn and Fuller Shurtz. Ena expressed confidence in the replacements during spring camp, but until they show competence in real games, there will be some question marks there.
BYU fans cheer and hold up letters for BYU running back LJ Martin (4) during the Big 12 championship game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
2026 BYU Cougars schedule
• 2025 record: 12-2 (8-1 Big 12)
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Sept. 19: at Colorado State
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Oct. 31: vs. Arizona State
