Sitake, BYU embrace early bye week as 9-game stretch awaits

PROVO — After opening the season 3-0 for the fourth straight year, No. 9 BYU will use its early bye week to get healthy, develop its depth and prepare for a nine-game stretch that begins Oct. 3 at TCU.

"For the first three games, I feel good about where we're at," head coach Kalani Sitake said.

An early bye week is not ideal, but Sitake and the Cougars are embracing it as they plan on utilizing the extra week of preparation for development and preparation for a road matchup against Big 12 opponent TCU.

"This week will be a work week, and so we'll have to get some things done," Sitake said. "It's the only bye week we have. We'll go nine in a row after this, and so we already knew that, had a plan for all of it to happen, and so we'll execute the plan starting today and then we'll go throughout the whole week. The only difference is we won't be playing a game, so this will be another work week for us, and I'm excited to see our team get better this week and then be ready to play against TCU."

BYU will have some extra time to get some players back who missed Saturday's game, including tight end Roger Saleapaga and offensive lineman Kyle Sfarcioc.

The Cougars opened the 2026 season with wins over Utah Tech, Arizona, and Colorado State, earning an important early conference victory over the Wildcats.

In games against the Trailblazers and Rams, BYU was able to put the game out of reach early and got the ability to rotate in backups for some valuable reps and game experience.

Those blowouts and an early bye week play into a strategy that Sitake is hoping to use to his advantage for player development.

"We're making it a competitive advantage for us, and so that's the whole point of getting more guys reps early in the games that we had control over and getting, especially this last one against Colorado State and in the Utah Tech game, getting those guys valuable reps," Sitake said.

Position groups have already been tested due to injuries; and with a lot of season left, it's important to see what the team's depth looks in the event that injuries do pile up. The safeties and running back rooms have already seen players go down to injury and have responded well to extra playing time.

"It didn't go error-free, but those are valuable reps that if we do need to get to a depth, like we have seen with some of our position groups already, that if we do need to get to our depth eventually in the next nine weeks, that we'll be ready to roll, and the guys, it won't be their first time getting on the field and playing those type of situations."

That approach was evident again Saturday, when freshmen running backs Journee Tonga and Devaughn Eka received extended opportunities with BYU holding a sizable lead. Tonga rushed for 91 yards on 10 carries, while Eka totaled 28 yards on four touches.

"They're still trying to learn the game and trying to learn the playbook, and that's coming," Sitake said. "You can see a little bit more that they're understanding the game a little bit more and understand the concepts. The offense is pretty difficult for our guys to learn, and I think throughout the next few weeks, especially this week, we'll start to see them learn the playbook a little bit more."

Kennan Pula also saw some action at safety in Fort Collins, where the Lone Peak product recorded four tackles and a pass deflection. The Cougars are still evaluating the depth at the position following starting safety Raider Damuni's injury.

With the bye week coming earlier than usual, Sitake and his staff have planned for it with their approach to their first three games and how they've prepared each week.

"We're prepping ourselves to go 13 weeks straight. That's what we did from the very beginning, no matter where the bye falls, and then we adjusted the schedule and our workload according to wherever the bye falls in. Regardless, we plan on practicing, and being ready 13 times."

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