‘Really good team’: BYU could have its hands full with giant-killer Southern Illinois in opener

BYU’s football team wrapped up preseason training camp on Tuesday, took Wednesday off, then turned its attention to Southern Illinois on Thursday.

The Cougars will host the Salukis of the Football Championship Subdivision on Aug. 31 at 6 p.m. MDT, and suffice it to say the pressure to win — regardless of the division of the opponent — is as high as it has ever been for BYU in the Kalani Sitake era.

A five-game losing streak will do that to a program. And as daunting as BYU’s 2024 schedule is, a loss could continue a run of futility that hasn’t been seen in Provo since 2017 — Sitake’s second season.

“Really good team,” Sitake said of Southern Illinois, which is based in Carbondale, Illinois, and competes in the Ohio Valley Conference, widely considered the top conference in FCS football.

“I know some of the coaches on that staff,” Sitake said. “They are a well-coached team. They have had success playing against FBS teams, and so we need to make sure that we are ready for it, and part of that is making sure that we are prepped and have a plan going into it.”

As of Friday evening, neither team had announced its starting quarterback.

For BYU, it will either be Jake Retzlaff — who was the Cougars’ QB the last four games of 2023 — or Gerry Bohanon, who hasn’t taken a snap in a game since the 2022 season at South Florida.

For SIU, it will either be returnee Hunter Simmons, a redshirt junior, or Murray State transfer D.J. Williams, who also has two years of eligibility remaining.

Simmons backed up Nic Baker, SIU’s all-time leading passer, last year and threw for 169 yards and a touchdown. Williams was the OVC Freshman of the Year for Murray State in 2021, but sustained a knee injury in the 2022 opener against Texas Tech.

Last year at Murray State, Williams threw for 1,529 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Sitake said the Cougars are “sick of playing against each other” and eager to get the season started, after last year ended the way it did — with BYU out of a bowl game for the first season since 2017.

A year ago, BYU signaled rough days ahead when it could only beat Sam Houston 14-0 in the 2023 opener at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The Bearkats were technically an FBS team, having made the jump from the FCS ranks that season.

On paper, the Salukis pose a bigger threat to BYU’s all-time record of 18-0 against FCS foes. Picked fourth in the 10-team OVC, SIU is 3-5 against FBS teams in coach Nick Hill’s tenure.

The Salukis beat Northwestern 31-24 in Evanston, Illinois, in 2022 and beat Northern Illinois 14-11 last year in DeKalb, Illinois.

Also last year, Southern Illinois went 8-5 and lost to Idaho in the second round of the FCS playoffs.

Linebacker Colin Bohanek, offensive lineman Chase Evans, defensive back Ubayd Steed and receiver Vinson Davis III are preseason all-league picks. Although Hill was an NFL quarterback, SIU’s calling card is defense. The Salukis ranked No. 4 in the FCS in defense last year, but is retooling a bit on that side of the ball, having lost four of its top five tacklers.

BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said BYU’s offense got a look at SIU’s defensive schemes (simulated by a scout team) in a 10-minute practice period Monday.

BYU is paying $425,000 for the game, according to multiple reports from SIU-based websites when the game was announced in 2022. Southern Illinois was originally going to get $500K from Kansas for the 2024 Week 1 game, but the Jayhawks bought it out and will play Lindenwood on Thursday night at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City because Booth Stadium is being renovated this season.

As far as BYU’s readiness level is concerned, coaches and players haven’t spoken publicly to media members since last Monday, when the starting quarterback battle was the big topic of the day.

Roderick said that day that “a combination of things” would determine whether he picks Retzlaff or Bohanon.

“It is someone who moves the team and scores touchdowns, and I was hopeful that that would be more clear than it is by now,” Roderick said. “I think it has been a matter of both of them playing well, not that either one of them has seized the day, or seized the job. So we will keep working our way through it a little bit longer.”

BYU is expected to release its depth chart for the opener on Monday, right about the time Sitake conducts his weekly press briefing with reporters via Zoom.

Other offensive position battles to keep an eye on are right guard — Sonny Makasini or Austin Leausa — and at tight end, where former receiver Keanu Hill is the presumed starter but is facing competition from Ethan Erickson, Mata’ava Ta’ase and freshman sensation Ryner Swanson , among others.

Defensively, the most hotly contested starting spots are outside end — Isaiah Bagnah or Logan Lutui — and safety, where there are a half-dozen candidates for the two starting spots.

“This is a really close team,” Roderick said, when asked if any of the position battles, including quarterback, are threatening to divide the team. “We haven’t won a game yet, but I feel like we have a close-knit group here, definitely more so than we had a year ago.”