BYU's Kalani Sitake squares off against ex-neighbor Brent Brennan and Arizona this weekend
· Yahoo Sports
BYU football opens Big 12 play on Saturday with Arizona heading to Provo. This will be an early test for Kalani Sitake's team, who rattled off a 63-7 win over Utah Tech last weekend.
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The Wildcats took care of business in their season opener as well, rolling 35-7 over Northern Arizona late in the desert on Saturday night. Arizona coach Brent Brennan was pleased by how his team fought into the end. And just days later, his focus was finding a way to keep up with No. 14 BYU.
"We’ve turned our attention to an excellent BYU team," Brennan said on Monday. "It’s been one of the best teams in the conference for the last few years. They have outstanding players in lots of different positions. They’re very well coached, and so this is a big-time football game. This is going to be a great football game. We get to go on the road, we get to play in front of a tough environment. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Brennan's team will be tasked with trying to contain the two-headed monster of Bear Bachmeier and LJ Martin. Both are excellent playmakers on the ground and love to rack up yards after contact.
“When you play these guys, you know it’s going to be a physical game," Brennan said about the Cougars rushing attack. (Martin) is a total stud. He’s powerful, he can finish runs, he’s hard to bring down. We have got to get the population of football. One guy’s not going to get him down, and so you got to get him on the ground. And he’s a really, really impressive player.”
Martin came into this season chasing his second 1,000-yard season as a frontrunner for the Doak Walker Award. He could end up being college football's best running back this year. As for Bachmeier, he'll be more of a factor against Arizona. Brennan and his staff might try to dial up pressure to make the sophomore QB uncomfortable. But he's not going to stay in the pocket often. This could be one of Bachmeier's best games of his young BYU career.
The Cougars have home field advantage with this early Big 12 game being at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Arizona didn't play well during their last trip to Provo in 2024. Brennan doesn't want history being repeated two years later.
"We turned the ball over too many times," Brennan said. "They have a great crowd, and that part of it, I respect. You know that going in there, and I think that’s one of those things that, if you let that be an excuse, it will be. We’re there to go and play good football. We’re there to go and attack this opportunity that’s in front of us, playing a top 15 team on the road, and we can’t wait to do it.”
One aspect of this matchup between BYU and Arizona features the backstory between Kalani Sitake and Brennan. The two coaches spent time together at Oregon State before splitting off in their separate ways. Brennan has the utmost respect for Sitake and what he represents to the sport and as a former neighbor from their days in Corvallis.
“Kalani’s one of my favorite people in this profession, a lot of respect for him," Brennan said. "He moved into our neighborhood. So they lived five houses away, and our kids ran around the neighborhood together. This was so fun. All of our kids are grown up now. It was a really, really fun time, just spending time with him and his family."
BYU comes into Saturday's matchup favored over Arizona. Kickoff from LES will be at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
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