Sitake: No. 13 BYU won’t rely on ‘revenge factor’ vs. struggling Oklahoma State Friday in Provo

The tables have been turned a little bit on the No. 13-ranked BYU Cougars this week.
BYU (6-0, 3-0) was able to enjoy a bye week, and an extra week of preparation, before beating Arizona 41-19 last Saturday afternoon at LaVell Edwards Stadium, and that was apparent on the field as the Cougars seemed to know what the Wildcats were going to do before several plays that BYU dominated.
This week, Oklahoma State (3-3, 0-3) will have that advantage, because the Cowboys were idle last weekend. Throw in the fact that it is already a short week of preparation for BYU, with the game scheduled for Friday night (8:15 p.m., ESPN) and the advantage could be even more pronounced.
Suffice it to say, BYU coach Kalani Sitake isn’t overly concerned about it. He never is, really.
However, Sitake did mention it several times in his weekly press briefing Monday, while also adding that this isn’t a “revenge factor” game for the Cougars just because they lost 40-34 in double overtime to the Pokes last year in Stillwater, Oklahoma, a loss that kept BYU out of a bowl game and a win that propelled OSU into the Big 12 championship game.
“We are looking forward to this matchup and being a little bit more familiar with their roster and their depth chart and coaching and style and scheme (from playing them last November),” Sitake said. “They have the same knowledge with us. They are coming off a bye week, so we know what that is like and how that can be an advantage.”
On the flip side, OSU might be a tad rusty, and quite angry. The Cowboys’ last game, on Oct. 5, was a 38-14 loss at home to West Virginia. And last weekend wasn’t kind to longtime OSU coach Mike Gundy, who had to conduct his own weekly press briefing virtually, and without video, because of an unfortunate meeting with some livestock on his ranch.
“Well, I had a little run-in with my cattle over the weekend,” Gundy said. “I guess they’ve been watching us play, and I got head-butted.”
Gundy said he has a “bad eye” that people wouldn’t want to see, either in person (as is the usual custom for his Monday news conferences) or via Zoom.
“It’s full of blood, and I get dizzy,” he explained. “So it is not easy to be upright and be in a normal function. But other than that, I am doing great.”
The same can’t be said of the Pokes, who have lost three straight, setbacks to Utah 22-19 on Sept. 21 and Kansas State 42-20 on Sept. 28, in addition to the loss to the Mountaineers.
BYU is experiencing the opposite — a magical season that has seen the Cougars rise to No. 13 in the polls and to the top of the Big 12 standings, with Iowa State and Texas Tech. But Sitake spent a lot of time in his opening statement Monday praising Gundy and his program.
“We are playing against a really good team that played in the championship game last year,” Sitake said. “They have a great head coach, Mike Gundy. … He has seen it all in terms of (different) types of seasons and responding to adversity. We know we are going to get their best shot.”
BYU led 24-6 at halftime in the driving rain at Boone Pickens Stadium in 2023, but All-American running back Ollie Gordon got going in the second half and ran for three touchdowns in the final 30 minutes, and two more in overtime.
It was one of the most devastating losses in Sitake’s eight-year tenure at BYU.
“Yeah, it was tough, man. … That was a sour taste and a sore spot for us, so this is a chance for us to try to make things right,” Sitake said. “Not really worried about the revenge factor as much as I just want our guys to play really good, clean football, and play at our best, focusing on what we can do. And if we can do that, I feel really good about our chances, especially being at home.”
While BYU’s quarterback situation is as solid as could be — junior Jake Retzlaff has emerged as one of the best QBs in the Big 12 — OSU’s is in flux.
Super senior Alan Bowman has started in all six games, but has been benched several times already for ineffectiveness and replaced by sophomore Garret Rangel, who had a good game in relief against WVU, completing 4 of 5 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt freshman Zane Flores is also a possibility, but Gundy was noncommittal Monday.
“I told the staff we needed to make a decision by Thursday,” Gundy said.
Sitake said the Cougars will be ready for any of the three QBs and that the Pokes will roll out a capable quarterback.
“You don’t just luck into playing for the conference championship,” he said of OSU. “… assignment-sound football, focus on the fundamentals, the simple things that we can fix, I think that will put us in better position for success regardless of who the quarterback is,” Sitake said. “That is their expertise. They know how to get their quarterbacks ready. We are looking forward to seeing their best guy. We might see one, we might see three. We just have to be ready to do our part on defense.”
Of greater concern for BYU is Gordon, who rushed 34 times for 166 yards against them last year. Gordon rushed for 126 yards in the opener against South Dakota State, but hasn’t surpassed 76 yards in a game since then.
“Dangerous player. It is hard to keep a guy that is that talented down. And so eventually he is going to find ways to poke holes in your defense. We gotta be assignment-sound and make it difficult for him, and that offense,” Sitake said. “He’s a great player, a next-level player. You can see he is an NFL guy. It is a tough challenge. We see it on film. And we saw it on film last year. He is the same guy with the same talent. He has got tremendous speed and athleticism. So this is a tough matchup. We just gotta be on top of it and make it difficult for him.”
BYU right tackle Brayden Keim said that preparation time favors OSU, but playing the Cowboys last year gave the Cougars a sense of how good they can be.
“Yeah, I remember that game. That is a stout D line. They are big, strong guys. I just remember we started off really well as an offense, being able to move the ball and score points,” Keim said. “That is something we gotta focus on this year, not falling into what we did last year, just keeping the foot on the gas the whole game and not letting them come back and make it close.”
Safety Tanner Wall said the Cougars will be ready, despite the quick turnaround.
“Everyone is bought in to doing that. Our preparation in these next four days, including Friday, in the way we prepare the day of the game, needs to be better than their preparation,” Wall said. “I am confident that we will do that. I know that our coaches are confident that we will do that. And we trust them. So I feel that as we go out and execute that game plan the way that we are expected to, that we will come out with a win.”