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The opener is upon Cougar Town on Saturday when the Cougars host FCS Portland State, which lost to FCS-ranked Tarleton State 42-0 last Saturday. Just how much can we learn from this game where Kalani Sitake’s team is heavily favored by more than 42 points?
Well, that’s just it. You don’t learn very much in these games because they are usually over quickly and second- and third-team players are shuffled on the field early. On Saturday you can expect BYU to be up about 28-0 by halftime and a shutout is likely.
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What BYU needs in this game boils down to two things.
First, come out healthy with no injuries.
Second, maintain focus and work on executing excellence from start to finish. Head coach Kalani Sitake has to emphasize to his players to do their jobs, avoid mistakes and play at a high level.
“We need to perform our best, regardless of who our opponent is,” he told the media Monday.
Cougar Insider predictions
Question of the week: Heading into Game 1 against Portland State, who do you predict will be the biggest surprise for BYU come Saturday, a player folks will be talking about over the weekend?
Jay Drew: Scanning the BYU depth chart that was released Monday, it occurred to me that there are a half-dozen or so candidates to be the biggest surprise for the Cougars in Saturday’s opener against Portland State. Since BYU should be able to name the final score, expect to see a lot of backups get significant playing time.
One player to watch, if the media viewing portion of preseason training camp practices were any indication, is backup tight end Keayen Nead. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound transfer from New Mexico and Weber State made several eye-popping plays in camp and has outstanding speed and size for a tight end.
Sure, Utah transfer Carsen Ryan got all the tight end attention in camp, and deservedly so. But Nead also looked good, and was singled out several times by offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick as a surprise of camp. Nead is the nephew of former BYU tight end Spencer Nead. He is listed as the co-backup at tight end with veteran Ethan Erickson, who just can’t seem to get healthy for an entire season after making a splash as a freshman returned missionary, and redshirt freshman Noah Moeaki.
Keayen Nead’s father played tight end for Idaho in 2003. Don’t be surprised if he makes a few catches against PSU and solidifies himself as TE2 in Roderick’s offense.
Prediction: BYU 48, Portland State 14
Dick Harmon: There will be some players who will leave some buzz after the season opener, albeit against a tremendous underdog in Portland State. I think Carsen Ryan will open some eyes as will the freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier, middle linebacker Siale Esera and defensive end Ephraim Asiata.
My pick for surprise of the week is receiver Cody Hagen. I think Chase Roberts, Parker Kingston and JoJo Phillips will start and get some reps, but then will be replaced early by Hagen and incoming freshman Reggie Frischknecht. I think both of these guys will make plays, but Cougar fans will come away impressed with just how fast and effective Hagen is on the field.
He has sprinter speed and great size. He is a deep threat and can get open across the middle as well as on quick ins and deep outs. Look for Hagen to get a great look and deliver come Saturday.
Prediction: BYU 44, Portland State 0
Cougar tales
Here are some of our camp stories from this past week:
In other notes, BYU’s women’s soccer knocked off ranked UCLA in a home match and here are the details.
From the Archives
From the X-verse
https://x.com/BrockHarris2026/status/1959796336896995748
Extra points
Fanalysts
Comments from Deseret News readers:
Chad is as great a person you’ll ever meet. He’ll never speak negatively about anybody. But I do think he should call it as it is. Jake quit on his team. He made a mistake, violation of team or school rules and instead of sticking with his team, doing all he can to support, coach them up, etc. he bailed. He did what he thought was best for him, debatable, and I’m not holding that against him. Gotta do what you gotta do, I’m just saying he quit on his guys and left the team in a bind. I don’t see what is so admirable about that.
— visitante
BYU will be exercising their right to “Bear’s arms” this season and I’m excited to see what he can do. BYU fans need to chill their expectations a bit. Last season we won several close games that could have gone either way. This season, like last, we will lose a game that we should have won and we will win a game we should have lost.
The Big 12 is a good conference and there are no easy games. We have to bring our A game every week to have a winning season, especially with an inexperienced QB.
— BYUSnowboarder
Up next
- Aug. 29 | noon | women’s volleyball | FDU
- Aug. 29 | 7 p.m. | women’s volleyball | Central Michigan
- Aug. 29 | 7 p.m. | women’s soccer | Auburn
- Aug. 30 | 4 p.m. | women’s volleyball | High Point
- Aug. 30 | 6 p.m. | football | Portland State
