![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Z2KHBZPLQFGCVASIO23S4BVQH4.jpg\")
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, right, talks with defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa (57) during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Central Florida, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. | AP Photo\/Phelan M. Ebenhack <\/p>\nSitake emphasizes developing men beyond football, saying the goal is to improve in every area of life.Losing to UCF exposes weaknesses that winning against Notre Dame hid, helping BYU identify growth areas.When winning becomes our identity, losing becomes an identity crisis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a former NFL and BYU football player, I love competing. And I love winning. <\/p>\n
But my Christian convictions compel me to believe that God is more concerned about the character of the coaches and the young men playing football than the scoreboard. <\/p>\n
After BYU\u2019s emotional roller coaster of defeating Notre Dame and losing to University of Central Florida, I had to do a lot of online grief counseling. BYU football fans, we need a healthier perspective. <\/p>\n
From heroes to villains in 7 days <\/p>\n
On a beautiful autumn night at LaVell Edwards Stadium, BYU shocked Notre Dame. The Cougars competed with discipline and determination. Tight end Walker Lyons caught what became the game-winning touchdown. <\/p>\n
Seven days later, against UCF, Lyons couldn\u2019t secure a potential game-tying touchdown. Suddenly, everything changed. <\/p>\n
After Notre Dame, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick was celebrated for his brilliant play-calling. After UCF, some fans wanted him fired. <\/p>\n
Defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga went from receiving praise to facing criticism. <\/p>\n
Even Kalani Sitake\u2019s culture of humility, hunger and love was questioned. <\/p>\n
What changed? <\/p>\n
The scoreboard changed. <\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the thing, fellow BYU fans: When winning becomes our identity, losing becomes an identity crisis. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s an exhausting way to follow football. <\/p>\n
What makes BYU football special? BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, right, talks with defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa (57) during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Central Florida, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. | AP Photo\/Phelan M. Ebenhack <\/p>\n
In today\u2019s NIL-driven, transfer portal era, what makes BYU successful? <\/p>\n
Here are some things that matter more than championships. <\/p>\n
First, Kalani Sitake develops men, not just football players. As BYU\u2019s head coach said at Big 12 media days<\/a>, \u201cThe goal for us is to get better, and not just in football. How can we improve in every area of our life?\u201d<\/p>\n Sitake is an outstanding coach and an exceptional role model. His journey as a Tongan-born leader who has climbed to the top of college football reflects resilience and humility. <\/p>\n Most college athletes will go professional in something other than sports. Their football careers will end. The ultimate question isn\u2019t simply whether Sitake prepares them to win on Saturday. It\u2019s whether he helps prepare them to flourish for a lifetime. <\/p>\n Second, BYU\u2019s culture is a competitive advantage. \u201cStay humble, stay hungry and keep working our culture of live and learn,\u201d Sitake said<\/a> before Saturday\u2019s game \u2014 reiterating themes he\u2019s emphasized from the beginning of the season. He\u2019s also said<\/a>: \u201cOur culture is built on love and learn.\u201d <\/p>\n Some think humility and love are incompatible with Big 12-caliber championship football. <\/p>\n I disagree. Humility isn\u2019t thinking less of yourself. It\u2019s thinking about yourself less. <\/p>\n Humble players sacrifice personal glory for team success. And hunger means pursuing excellence through disciplined preparation and relentless effort. <\/p>\n And love? Love isn\u2019t weakness. Look at the cross of Jesus. There, God the Son willingly suffered for sins he did not commit so all those who trust in him can be redeemed. <\/p>\n Love is sacrificial strength. Imagine a team where players genuinely love one another, hold each other accountable and refuse to abandon one another after failure. <\/p>\n That\u2019s not a soft culture. That\u2019s a championship culture. <\/p>\n But more importantly, it\u2019s a culture that prepares young men for life. <\/p>\n Jesus is not a good-luck charm <\/p>\n When I played at BYU and up until my fifth year in the NFL, I treated God like a rabbit\u2019s foot. <\/p>\n I wanted God to bless my performance, protect me from injury and help me win. <\/p>\n I wanted God to be about my agenda, but I was not about his. <\/p>\n That changed on Aug. 2, 1997, when I encountered Jesus in a life-transforming way. <\/p>\n I discovered that Jesus wasn\u2019t interested merely in improving my performance. He wanted to transform my life to reflect his kingdom\u2019s ethic of love. <\/p>\n Why losing to UCF might be a gift <\/p>\n Losing to UCF could help BYU more than beating Notre Dame, because winning sometimes hides weaknesses that losing exposes. <\/p>\n Notre Dame revealed what BYU can accomplish. <\/p>\n UCF revealed where BYU must grow. <\/p>\n When I spoke to the team before the Iowa State game, I shared with them what I call the Power of NOW: <\/p>\n N: No distractions. Don\u2019t let yesterday\u2019s success or failure steal today\u2019s focus. O: Obsess over the details. Excellence grows through disciplined preparation. W: Win the moment. Control your effort, preparation and response. <\/p>\n These principles don\u2019t just produce better football players. They develop better husbands, fathers, leaders and neighbors. <\/p>\n Getting off the emotional roller coaster <\/p>\n Let\u2019s stop treating every victory as proof our coaches are geniuses and every defeat as proof they\u2019ve forgotten how to coach. <\/p>\n Let\u2019s pursue excellence without making an idol of winning. <\/p>\n Let\u2019s demand accountability without abandoning compassion. <\/p>\n And let\u2019s remember that the young men wearing those uniforms are human beings, not entertainment products. <\/p>\n Their worth to God doesn\u2019t rise with a touchdown or fall with a dropped pass. <\/p>\n As someone who once wore Cougar blue, I know how much representing BYU means. But I also know something I didn\u2019t fully understand then. Football is a classroom that prepares young men for life. <\/p>\n So yes, let\u2019s compete for Big 12 championships. <\/p>\n Let\u2019s win!<\/p>\n But the ultimate goal isn\u2019t simply developing football players who win games. It\u2019s developing men whose character, courage and love help heal a hurting world. <\/p>\n And no opponent can take it away. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sitake emphasizes developing men beyond football, saying the goal is to improve in every area of life.Losing to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":897502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[399,398,396,397,1767,99],"class_list":["post-897501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-football","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-opinion","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=897501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/897502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=897501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=897501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=897501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}