Treat EVERY Game as the Most Important
What I am about to write may contradict my last point a bit, but it doesn’t have to. In 2021, BYU lost to Boise State and UAB by what I would call a lack of caring. No matter how much a coach or player may preach it, you can not convince me that the Cougars were as hyped up to play UAB as they were to play Utah or Arizona State.
One of Kalani Sitake’s gifts as a coach and mentor is his emotion. Most of the time, this is of course very beneficial to his players and staff as it gets the team ready to go before big games. I’ve also seen however, that when he doesn’t have that emotion, it also wears off on the team. Sitake needs to find a way to get the team hyped up to play East Carolina and Dixie State the same way that he does for Notre Dame and Baylor.
If he can do that, the Cougars probably won’t be dropping games to teams like Northern Illinois, UAB, UMass and a struggling Boise State.
Now to acknowledge my last point about playing younger players, BYU needs to put out their best roster for the first few games, or at least until the Cougars drop a game or two. Of course I’m never hoping for a BYU loss, this is just a realistic take.
If somehow that never happens, then make 2022 the special year. However, in all likelihood there will be a loss either to Baylor or Oregon early in the year and that is when younger players should get more playing time.
That shouldn’t effect the energy however that the coaching staff needs to bring. Every game is huge and should be treated that way.