Kalani Sitake spoke very deliberately at his weekly press conference when asked about what’s ahead in this weekend.
“Game week,” he smiled. “We’re excited. Had a good weekend and a great victory against a well-motivated Arizona team… and now our focus is on to our next opponent, which is our rival. This is rivalry week, homecoming. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
He’s well aware of what this matchup means to the state, and to himself.
“Obviously there are a lot of connections between BYU and Utah,” Sitake said. “That’ll be another fun part of it. But that’s no different than what you see in a household here in the state, people cheering for their team. That’s what makes the rivalry so much fun.”
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Sitake, who grew up a BYU fan long before becoming its head coach, understands both sides of the passion that drives this series.
“Before I became the head coach, I was always a BYU fan from the beginning, even cheering on the players like Kyle Whittingham when he played for the Y,” he said. “That’s always going to be in me. I just try to make sure that doesn’t show as much as my responsibilities and my demeanor need to be as a head coach.”
Still, Sitake knows emotion can cut both ways. After a double-overtime win that included costly turnovers, he stressed the importance of learning without losing intensity.
“Experience is a teacher,” he said. “Turning the ball over…those things can be the best education that you can have. I want our guys to play aggressive. Mistakes happen — it’s how you respond to them that gets you where you’re at.”
When asked about the defensive chess match with Kyle Whittingham and Morgan Scalley, Sitake smiled again.
“There’s a lot of similarities,” he said. “We all kind of grew up in the same tree. It’s just a matter of seeing what our differences will be and if that actually becomes a competitive advantage for each one of us. That’s what makes it a lot of fun, man. It’s going to be a great game.”
And, perhaps most tellingly, Sitake added:
“It just makes sense that we’re in the same conference and we should do this every year.”
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