Continued improvement, bowl eligibility become BYU’s goals as schedule softens even more in November

Brigham Young Cougars running back Lopini Katoa (4) is hit by Liberty Flames safety Isaac Steele (13) as BYU and Liberty play an NCAA football game in Provo, Utah on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019. BYU won 31-24. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Cougars (5-4) take a three-game winning streak into Saturday’s home finale at LaVell Edwards Stadium against Idaho State, a lower-division team limping to the end of the season with a 3-7 record

PROVO — After discussing some of the more bizarre happenings and play calls in the 31-24 win over Liberty that he called “entertaining,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said Saturday night in response to a question about the Cougars’ schedule softening in November as a college football independent that the Chicago Bears could show up this week and his team would still play hard and with purpose.

Unfortunately, that particular NFL team will be tied up with the Los Angeles Rams, so the black-and-orange clad Idaho State Bengals, a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) team on a four-game losing streak with a 3-7 record, will have to do.

“These guys are competitors,” Sitake said after the Cougars improved to 5-4 and won their third straight game for the first time since the 2017 season. “It doesn’t matter who they face.”

A win on Senior Day (1 p.m., BYUtv) in the home finale at LaVell Edwards Stadium will make BYU bowl eligible for the third time in Sitake’s four-year tenure and 14th time in 15 years, so perhaps that will provide motivation.

The contest — BYU is 13-0 against FCS opponents — should also provide a breather for a team that has played the 27th most-difficult schedule in the country, according to Jeff Sagarin’s ratings in USA Today. Prior to Liberty’s visit, the Cougars had played the 12th-most difficult schedule, but the Flames (6-4) proved to be a much tougher out than almost anyone expected.

“Liberty was a good team, no doubt about it,” said BYU safety Austin Lee. “Credit to them for succeeding and fighting to the finish.”

The same praise can’t be heaped upon the Cougars’ next two opponents; ISU is winless away from Pocatello, Idaho, and the Cougars’ 11th opponent, UMass, is 1-9 and ranked by ESPN as the worst team in the FBS (130th). So BYU’s SOS will tumble while its confidence should soar, provided the Cougars don’t look ahead to San Diego State on Nov. 30.

Getting bowl eligible after their 2-4 start and three-straight losses will mean a lot, Lee said.

“It is really big for the program, and big for us,” Lee said. “It is an extra game that we get to play. We can’t take football for granted because some day it is going to come to an end.”

The best thing about the win over Liberty, Sitake and several players said, was that the Cougars won despite not playing their best and discovered more areas where they can improve.

“There are obviously some things that we can get better at,” Sitake said. “I can’t say we made a lot of mistakes, because (Liberty) forced them. … Obviously, the turnovers cost us. We knew it was going to be a battle. We knew we were going to get their best. They had been preparing for this game and they were ready.”

Defensively, BYU has more issues to solve, as its tactic of rushing three and dropping eight was picked apart by LU quarterback Buckshot Calvert, who has done it to a lot of people. He threw for 303 yards and three TDs without an interception.

Offensively, BYU coaches had to reach deep into their bag of tricks, producing some of the aforementioned absurdity such as the unsuccessful fake field goal and a play out of the “scrum” formation with defensive back Dayan Ghanwoloku netting just 1 yard on second-and-9.

“I thought it would be close to popping (for long yards), but obviously I was wrong,” Sitake said of the tight formation. “Liberty was ready for it. It was probably not the right call.”

Overall, the Cougars seem to have improved. Freshman quarterback Baylor Romney, 2-0 as a starter, said it all started in practice after the 27-23 loss at South Florida.

“That’s all I got to say,” Romney said. “We have been working so hard ever since that USF loss. We have really come together as a team — defense, offense, special teams. It has made us closer, and we have all worked harder for each other, day in and day out.”

It will be interesting to see if coaches stick with Romney as the starter or go back to season starter Zach Wilson, who warmed up Saturday and threw the ball around a bit, but did not see action. Wilson is really close to being cleared, offensive coaches have said.

Romney’s pass efficiency rating against LU was 160.3 after it was 154.5 in his first start, against Boise State. Wilson’s numbers weren’t as good, but he played against better competition.

Jaren Hall (concussion), who started against South Florida and Utah State, could also be in the mix although he didn’t even dress for the Liberty game.

“Whatever happens, we just have to continue to sharpen things up,” Lee said. “We have to keep in mind that there is always something to play for.”

Regardless of the league their next opponent is in.

Cougars on the air

Idaho State (3-7) at BYU (5-4)

At LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo

Saturday, 1 p.m.

TV: BYUtv/ESPN3

Radio: KSL 1160 AM, 102.7 FM

Austin Lee: “A win is a win.” pic.twitter.com/xre219rXPn

— Jay Drew (@drewjay) November 10, 2019

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