Published Nov 12, 2024
BYU is not looking at KU as a 3-6 team as they aim to stay unbeaten
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Jon Kirby  •  JayhawkSlant
Publisher- Football Editor
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@jayhawkslant

BYU goes into the game against Kansas ranked ninth and only one of four unbeaten teams remaining at the Power Four level.

They have two common opponents from last season in Oklahoma State and Kansas. They lost to both teams on the road last year and have already avenged one loss by beating Oklahoma State last month 38-35.

On Saturday they hope to even the score with the Jayhawks. BYU is looking forward to playing at home after a long break. They defeated Oklahoma State on Friday, October 18 and then traveled to UCF. That was followed with a bye week and last week’s game against Utah. It will be close to a month between home games.

“We're excited about this week and the preparation being a home game going against Kansas,” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said. “We’re excited about the game and the atmosphere that will be back in LaVell Edwards Stadium.”

Last year BYU led the Jayhawks at the half 17-14 before a Kenny Logan interception changed the momentum. KU won the game 38-27 helping them start the season 4-0. Jalon Daniels ran for 54 yards and threw three touchdowns in last year’s game. Devin Neal added 91 yards on the ground to lead all rushers.

“He’s gifted, man,” Sitake said of Daniels. “The guy can run, he can throw, and he's a veteran. So, it's a difficult matchup. And then they have their running back that's back. There's great running backs all over this conference, and he's one of the premier running backs. And so, you combine that with a physical line.”

In last year’s matchup the Kansas defense held BYU to nine yards rushing.

“I don't think they get enough credit for what they do on defense,” he said. “And we saw that how they could create havoc and create some turnovers. This will be a great matchup for us. I'm looking forward to us trying to play our best game of the year this weekend and trying to improve and get some things better and be more efficient as a team than were even last week and looking to get that done.”

BYU is not going to be fooled by the Jayhawks 3-6 record. Kansas has won two of their last three games and in Big 12 play is averaging 33 points a game and 431 yards of offense.

“Anybody can play and can win at any time,” Sitake said. “This is one of those matchups that you have to take seriously. I'm excited that we have it at home, but we see the talent that they have, and we have to be on top of our game.

“I have tons of respect for the coaching staff. Lance Leipold is an amazing man and coach. I have so much respect for him as a leader and he'll have his guys ready and just like they did last week, they can get up on you and beat a ranked team. So, nothing's easy in this conference, and we don't anticipate it being easy, but in order for things to go our way, we have to play at our best every week.”