Kirk Herbstreit Calls Kalani Sitake’s BYU More Dangerous Than Last Year but Issues Warning Before UCF Matchup

BYU beat Notre Dame Saturday night and climbed to No. 2 in the AP Top 25. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit thinks this Cougars team is better than last year’s team, but he also sees a trap waiting for it in Orlando.

“I just like the BYU team…,” said ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit on his Nonstop Podcast. “I just feel that this is a better, deeper, dangerous BYU team.”

He added that BYU does not even have its starting running back yet. That is LJ Martin, last year’s Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, who left the TCU game on October 3 with a lower-body injury and is expected to miss four to six weeks. Backup Sione Moa is also out with a torn MCL and PCL.

Herbstreit said the difference starts with depth and the defense and credited first-year coordinator Kelly Poppinga with bringing pressure and showing what pressure feels like. BYU also kept blitzing a linebacker late against Notre Dame instead of playing not to lose. Poppinga took over in January after Jay Hill left for Michigan.

Herbstreit sees BYU's evolution, but what's the critical flaw that could derail them against UCF? Subscribe to stay ahead of college football's biggest surprises.

Last year’s team was no slouch. In 2025, BYU went 12-2 under Kalani Sitake, finished 8-1 in Big 12 play and reached its first Big 12 Championship Game, where it lost to Texas Tech. The Cougars bounced back with a 25-21 win over Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl and finished 11th in the final AP poll.

This year’s result gave Herbstreit plenty to talk about with October 17’s BYU win, 28-24, beating Notre Dame for the first time since 2004. Herbstreit called it maybe the biggest win in school history, right up there with the Miami game in 1990.

In that one, Ty Detmer threw for 406 yards, and BYU upset then top-ranked Hurricanes 28-21 in Provo. Bear Bachmeier threw the go-ahead six-yard touchdown to Walker Lyons with 1:47 left and also ran and caught a touchdown. The first one to do so in a game, after Steve Young in the 1983 Holiday Bowl.

No quarterback had done all three in one game since Steve Young, in the 1983 Holiday Bowl. That is exactly why Herbstreit is wary.

“Now they’ve got to come back down to earth and play on the road. It’s a long flight to Orlando, and they’re playing a game where they’re pursuing a number two ranking in the country…,” said Herbstreit. “They’d better get back down to earth and get ready to go into UCF.”

He added that BYU has not been in this spot a ton, going on the road right after a huge win. But the finish is not without controversy.

The Big 12 acknowledged that time remained on the clock when the ball hit the ground on Notre Dame’s final offensive play, and said its replay crew incorrectly cleared the play. The league announced a full review of its end-of-game officiating process.

“We had them on the ropes, and we couldn’t find a way to finish,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said in the postgame presser. But Sitake saw it differently.

“We’ve been in these tight games before. It felt normal for us,” Sitake said.

UCF, 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big 12, comes off a bye week after road losses to Houston (27-17) and Oklahoma State (42-28). Injuries and offensive inconsistency have cost the Knights upset chances, though the defense has held up relatively well.

Keyone Jenkins has played quarterback since Alonza Barnett was hurt in Week 2 against Pittsburgh, and Barnett’s return is uncertain.

History does not help UCF. BYU leads the series 4-1 and has won three straight, including 41-21 last year. UCF has never beaten BYU as Big 12 members and is reportedly 0-6 against top-five teams. Saturday is its first time hosting one.

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