A case could be made that BYU and Stanford both had byes last weekend, as the Cardinal really was idle on Saturday, while the Cougars barely broke a sweat in demolishing Portland State 69-0 at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
None of BYU’s first-teamers played in the second half, with the exception of a few on special teams.
However, BYU coach Kalani Sitake said Monday in his weekly press briefing that the advantage in terms of preparation ahead of this Saturday’s nonconference contest in Provo pitting Power Four opponents clearly goes to Stanford. The 0-1 Cardinal will have had two weeks to prepare for BYU (1-0) by the time the 8:15 p.m. MDT kickoff rolls around on Saturday.
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Stanford lost 23-20 to Hawaii in Week Zero in the debut of interim coach Frank Reich. So BYU will have that film to watch, and not much else.
Stanford, meanwhile, will have more than just last Saturday’s film to analyze and pore over because all of BYU’s coordinators from last year are back and presumably running the same schemes and plays.
“So they have a lot of film to look at and have been prepping for while,” Sitake said. “While we were getting ready for our first game, they prepping for us. … We know that they are going to come ready to roll.”
Despite it being Labor Day on Monday, the Cougars got right back to work. There’s no such thing as a holiday in college football, Sitake noted.
Although BYU is a solid 18-point favorite, Sitake spent a good portion of Monday’s news conference extolling the virtues of Stanford’s program, Reich’s experience, and how much talent the Cardinal has. BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier and receiver Tiger Bachmeier participated in Stanford’s spring camp, and Tiger was a big part of the team in 2024.
“Those guys know how to how to get a team ready, and then there’s good talent on that team,” Sitake said. “We respect them. We recruited a bunch of those guys, too. … We have to make sure that we’re on top of our game when it comes to getting ready for this one.”
After Saturday’s game, BYU will be in a similar situation as Stanford was in and will have a bye Sept. 13 before traveling across the country to East Carolina for a Sept. 20 encounter with the Pirates. Sitake said coaches have been planning for the odd schedule since January.
“I think we’re in a really good spot,” he said. “… For what we saw, the ones in the first half, and then the reserves the second half, all the work in the prep that went into this physically worked out. So let’s just trust it again this week, and then we’ll get to next week and worry about that later.”
Sitake said a review of the Portland State film confirmed his post-game observations that there were a couple things to nit-pick about, but not much.
“We feel really good about the overall performance,” he said.
Some minor changes to the BYU depth chart
No major injuries occurred Saturday, but there were a few tweaks to the depth chart.
Safety-turned-running back Preston Rex is now listed on the depth chart as the RB4, replacing Enoch Nawahine. A senior transfer from Utah State, Nawahine got dinged up in preseason training camp and was not on the game-day roster against Portland State.
Roderick said on his Coordinators’ Corner show Monday that Rex will probably get some carries against the Cardinal.
At receiver, Snow College transfer Reggie Frischknecht and redshirt freshman Tei Nacua are still on the depth chart, although neither played against the Vikings. Sitake said Monday that several guys are still recovering from minor injuries sustained in camp, and that probably includes these two backup receivers.
At tight end, Noah Moeaki was a surprise on the depth chart when it was released for the first time last week, and he delivered a touchdown catch, the first of his career, to give BYU a 21-0 lead.
At offensive line, there’s no Weylin Lapuaho on the depth chart this week. The senior is recovering from a minor, undisclosed injury and is probably being held out until Big 12 play begins. Sonny Makasini and Austin Leausa were the starting guards in Week 1, with Southern Utah transfer Kyle Sfarcioc seeing a lot of time.
Defensively, there were a few minor changes:
• Returned missionary Hunter Clegg, who signed with Utah out of high school, is the new backup at OE behind redshirt senior Logan Lutui.
• Oklahoma State transfer Justin Kirkland could see his first action of the season against Stanford, as he’s now listed as the backup to Keanu Tanuvasa at nose tackle. At defensive tackle, John Taumoepeau had a nice game, although defensive stats were hard to come by. The player known as “JT” to his teammates and coaches was credited for blocking the PSU field goal, although technically the low kick hit his facemask.
• There were no changes to the depth chart at safety or linebacker; Redshirt sophomore Siale Esera and redshirt senior Choe Bryant-Strother, a transfer from UCLA, are still listed as the co-starters at the Mack (middle linebacker) spot, although Esera got the start Saturday vs. PSU.
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