BYU HC Kalani Sitake gets honest about himself ahead of Utah game

BYU Cougars head coach Kalani Sitake joined The Triple Option this week, the college football show hosted by Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II and Rob Stone, ahead of Saturday's trip to the No. 3 Utah Utes. He brought a 7-1 record and a No. 9 spot in the first College Football Playoff rankings with him, and he still used the appearance to grade himself.

"I need to do a better job as a head coach to make sure that we play at our best. We're 7-1 right now, and I have not done a good enough job where I feel like we've played consistently at our best. And so that's my focus for this team. I think we can do that. I know we've had some injuries that may play into it a little bit, but the standard's the same. And I think the young guys got to grow up. We have to trust more people. We have to trust each other. Be assignment sound at 1/11. Everyone does their part, and then the good things can happen from that. So I'm going to go back to the basics, the fundamentals, the simple things that can get us there because that's what we can control, and that's what I can control as a head coach," Sitake said.

Sitake has been delivering versions of that message since the final seconds of a 27-20 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils on Oct. 31. "I'd like to just get in a position where we don't have to worry about the clock and worry about stuff like that. That's my job. I've got to get these guys ready to roll and get them playing at a higher level," Sitake said after the game, according to KSL's Jaxon Wynder.

What has Kalani Sitake seen from BYU that a 7-1 record hides?

BYU led Arizona State 17-3 at halftime with six sacks against Jake Fette, a backup quarterback making his first career start. The Cougars did not sack him again, and the Sun Devils tied the game at 17 in the third quarter. BYU finished with 47 rushing yards, its lowest total of the season, and converted 3 of 13 third downs. Quarterback Bear Bachmeier carried it 16 times for 15 yards, twice as many attempts as running back Sione Moa.

The week before, the Cougars were No. 2 in the AP poll when they lost 39-31 in double overtime to the UCF Knights. Six days later, UCF lost 41-9 at home to the Baylor Bears. Five of BYU's seven wins have come by 14 points or fewer, including a 28-24 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, so a coach who says his team has not played consistently well has plenty of game film on his side.

"After watching the film, there were quite a bit of missed assignments, guys not doing their part. The running game can't just be all on the running back or even the O line. It takes all 11 guys on the field doing their part. … My job as head coach is to make sure that we're consistently at our best, and I haven't done a good enough job at that, but we'll get there. It's taken longer than I expected. Sometimes you're dealing with different players in there and different injuries and things like that," Sitake said Monday.

Can BYU get back to basics in time for Utah?

Star running back LJ Martin has missed four straight games with an ankle injury and is questionable for Saturday. Cornerback Evan Johnson sprained his left ankle against UCF, missed the Arizona State game and is off this week's depth chart. True freshman Journee Tonga is listed third at running back after gaining 2 yards on two carries against the Sun Devils, which leaves a first-year back close to a bigger role in the week Sitake says the young guys have to grow up.

Kickoff is noon ET on Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium, in the first top-10 matchup in the history of the rivalry. Utah is 8-0, and Sitake described what his team is walking into at the same Monday briefing. "We are going into a tough environment (against) a tough team, and facing a dynamic defense that does a lot of great things. They cause havoc, and they are really sound," Sitake said .