‘We live for this’: No. 14 BYU savoring opportunity to play meaningful November game

TEMPE, Ariz. — There has been a lot of debate in the Valley of the Sun, and northward in Provo, where the temperature is nearly 30 degrees colder than here, regarding the magnitude of Saturday’s BYU-Arizona State college football game for both programs.
Is it the biggest game of the century?
Is it the most important game in the Kalani Sitake era for BYU and the Kenny Dillingham era, albeit only two years, for ASU?
The argument rages on, and probably will until the 1:30 p.m. MST kickoff at sold-out Mountain America Stadium, which has a capacity of around 54,000 and will have something of a bowl-like atmosphere because a good portion of the crowd will be decked out in BYU royal blue, rather than Sun Devil maroon and gold.
The setting is seemingly as pressure-packed for BYU as any since the 2020 game at Coastal Carolina, when the Cougars were 9-0 and ranked No. 13 in the College Football Playoff rankings, and the Chanticleers were 9-0 and No. 18, but BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick downplayed that notion Wednesday.
“Oh man, we live for this,” Roderick said. “There is no pressure. This is what we do. This is exactly why you play this game. We are in the moment and we are loving this.”
Still, the stakes are enormous.
The No. 14 Cougars (9-1, 6-1) and No. 14 Sun Devils (8-2, 5-2) both have their sights set on the Big 12 conference championship game. After losing their perfect season and sole Big 12 lead by a count of 17-13 last week to Kansas, BYU still controls its own destiny.
Bottom line is that the Cougars can clinch a berth in the Dec. 7 title game in Arlington, Texas, with a win on Saturday, coupled with a Utah victory over No. 22 Iowa State (8-2, 5-2) Saturday night in Salt Lake City.
A loss wouldn’t doom BYU’s chances of playing for the conference championship, but it would make a win over Houston at home on Nov. 30 mandatory, and would require some help from other teams after Thanksgiving.
“If you had said three months ago to all the fans and the players and coaches that we are going to be 9-1, that we are going to be in the top 15 in the country, and playing for a conference championship, at this week, we would have all taken it,” said BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill. “We are excited about where we are at. We are excited about the challenge moving forward.”
It is a far cry from those days as a college football independent, when the first loss of the season pretty much ensured BYU would play in a minor bowl game before Christmas. In that regard, it is as meaningful of a game as the Cougars have played since 2008, when they were 10-1 and ranked No. 14 and traveled to Salt Lake City to take on the No. 7, undefeated Utes.
Utah won that game 48-24 en route to a berth in the Sugar Bowl against Alabama.
“We are still sitting at the top of the conference, but really, all that stuff doesn’t really matter,” Sitake said Monday. “We are just focused on trying to win our next one. … The process is still the same. We have to be humble and be hungry and be able to move on to the next one and be ready for Super Bowl 11.”
Perhaps BYU defensive tackle John Nelson said it best.
“The attitude around the team is (that) Arizona State is the only game that matters right now. It doesn’t matter what is after that, or what the playoff rankings are, or top 25,” Nelson said. “None of that matters. All that matters is Arizona State and how we are going to win that game.”
It obviously won’t be easy. Arizona State has won three straight since a shorthanded 24-14 loss at Cincinnati on Oct. 19 and is a solid three-point favorite. The Sun Devils went into Manhattan last week and manhandled No. 16 Kansas State 24-14 behind a super performance from quarterback Sam Leavitt, whose father and brother played for BYU.
He threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions.
“Really good player. I mean, he comes from a good family. He is super athletic. He can run. He’s got an accurate arm. I think he’s got a great football IQ. So he is dangerous,” Sitake said of the 6-foot-2, 200-pound redshirt freshman. “He is going to be a difficult matchup for us for sure. … The sky is the limit for him. Just hoping we don’t see that (kind of) performance this week.”
Hill said Leavitt reminds him of a quarterback with which a lot of BYU fans are familiar — their own Jake Retzlaff, who has vowed to play better after a subpar performance against Kansas.
“We play athletic quarterbacks in the Big 12 almost every week,” Hill said. “In a way (Leavitt) is a lot like Retzlaff, because he can hurt you with both his arm and his legs. I like him having to see all the stuff that we will bring at him, and see if he will handle it.”
Said BYU linebackers coach Justin Ena: “You can see why they are as good as they are, with only two losses in the Big 12. That quarterback is special.”
Defensively, Arizona State is fairly stout, ranking 53rd nationally in scoring defense (22.8 ppg) and 43rd in total defense, allowing 338.9 yards per game.
“They play with an edge, man. They compete really hard. They are just flying around,” Roderick said. “They have good speed and they play with tenacity. I respect these guys a lot. They are fun to watch. I am excited to play against them. We have a lot of respect for them.”
Former BYU linebacker Tate Romney — brother of former BYU standouts Gunner and Baylor Romney — is a backup linebacker for the Sun Devils who has appeared in three games and made one tackle.
“They are a high-energy, high-effort (team), with a lot of good playmakers on that side,” said BYU tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase, who is from nearby Mesa, Arizona. “They have a good coaching staff behind them and they are on a good win streak and have a lot of momentum on their side. It will be a good test for us.”