No. 14 BYU wary of ‘distractions’ as Arizona, Fox’s ‘Big Noon Kickoff’ visit Provo

For the first time since 2009 , a national college football pregame television show will emanate from BYU’s campus, as Fox Sports announced Sunday that its “Big Noon Kickoff” will be broadcast live leading up to Saturday afternoon’s Big 12 tilt with Arizona.

The two-hour show begins at 8 a.m. MDT; the No. 14 Cougars and unranked Wildcats will kick off BYU’s annual homecoming game at 2 p.m., also on Fox.

It’s heady stuff for the Cougars, who are off to their first 5-0 start since 2021 and are wildly surpassing expectations. But head coach Kalani Sitake said Monday that the sudden national attention can backfire on them if the Cougars divert from what got them here in the first place.

“We can’t let it become a distraction,” Sitake said, adding that the show will be a good way to bring attention to BYU’s passionate fanbase, but the players and coaches will pay little attention to it.

ESPN’s “College GameDay” did its Saturday morning broadcast from the parking lot west of LaVell Edwards Stadium in October 2009 before the No. 16 Cougars hosted No. 8 TCU. The Horned Frogs won easily, 38-7, dampening a joyous occasion.

Sitake doesn’t want to see history repeat itself.

“I am excited for our fans, and for our families, and to see the excitement around BYU football,” he said. “I am glad that there is a lot of attention and that we are having Fox come in and be a part of the festivities, because I want to show off our fans.”

BYU (5-0, 2-0) is coming off a bye week, a week that featured a lot of practicing and conditioning, Sitake said.

Arizona (3-2, 1-1) is coming off a discouraging 28-22 loss to Texas Tech in Tucson.

The show is hosted by Rob Stone, and the analysts are Mark Ingram II, Matt Leinart, Brady Quinn and former University of Utah coach Urban Meyer , who was famous, or infamous, for calling BYU the “Team Down South” when he was coaching on the Hill in 2003 and 2004.

Seeing how BYU fans react to Meyer, who guided the Utes to a perfect season in 2004 before moving on to Florida, will be part of Saturday’s fun. In 2003, Meyer’s Utes edged BYU 3-0 at LaVell Edwards Stadium in a blizzard.

Clearly, BYU’s fast start and undefeated record has attracted the national broadcast, and Fox will send its top broadcasting crew of Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft for the call. Sitake said he has met and interacted with all three.

“So a lot of cool personalities coming into town. There is a lot of excitement. They are going to do a great job at what they do, which is report the game and … give commentary to it. I need to do my job, which is get the team ready to play, so there is something to report and get excited about,” Sitake said. “Good people, great professionals are coming into town. I think our fans should be really excited about it. I am excited, our players are. But our job is going to be what we do on the field. The fans and everybody else can enjoy the rest of them.”

Adding to the excitement for BYU fans is the fact that two of the top high school basketball players in the country, AJ Dybantsa and JJ Mandaquit of Utah Prep in Hurricane, will be making their official campus visits to BYU this weekend.

Some are calling it one of the most important weekends in BYU athletics history.

Can Arizona, which features a spectacular quarterback-receiver tandem in QB Noah Fifita and WR Tetairoa McMillan, spoil the party? Sitake said the Wildcats, which hammered Utah 23-10 in Salt Lake City two weeks ago, is certainly capable.

“Arizona has tons of talent, and so we are looking forward to having them here at home. There are a lot of exciting things going on here this week, and the goal for our team is to stay focused and to stay humble, keep working hard,” Sitake said. “I know there are a lot of people talking about us, but I think the key for our team is to keep working. Put your nose to the ground and go to work, and find ways to get better.”

BYU cornerback Marque Collins also met with reporters via Zoom on Monday and said the Fox pregame show visit is nice for the fans, but will have very little impact on the players. And it won’t be a distraction, he said.

“We got the news over the weekend, but I think for me it is just another game. Obviously it is a bigger game to the public, to everybody else. For us, we know a good opponent is coming in to our stadium. We gotta protect our stadium, and that is kinda how everybody will look at it,” Collins said. “It is not about ‘Big Noon,’ and it shouldn’t be. That’s more for the fans. It is great recognition, obviously, but we are not too worried about it as a team, I don’t think.”

Receiver Keelan Marion said players will mostly ignore the national attention, and focus on the Wildcats making their first visit to Provo since 2007. BYU won that game 20-7, then lost to U of A 31-21 in the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl.

Since then, BYU has won the last three matchups, two on neutral fields and one in Tucson.

“I wouldn’t say there is a challenge to (stay grounded),” said Marion. “We are just going to remain humble the whole season, just continue to come to practice and work hard, lift hard, study hard, prepare hard, make sure we are doing the right things to be ready on Saturday.

“Even though Big Noon’ is coming to town, we are going to pretend like they are not there.”

Sitake gives an injury update

At the same weekly press briefing Monday, Sitake said that fifth-year junior receiver Kody Epps will miss the Arizona game with an undisclosed injury. Epps made a 5-yard reception the first play of the game in the 34-28 win over Baylor, then left the field and didn’t return.

“After getting a little bit more feedback on everything, we are hopeful for the next week,” Sitake said.

BYU will also be without starting center Connor Pay, who sustained a fractured bone in his left foot against the Bears and is out for approximately six weeks. Sitake said Sonny Makasini, Bruce Mitchell, Jake Eichorn, Trevor Pay and Sam Dawe are the backups at the center and guard positions and could see the field Saturday in one combination or another in Pay’s absence.

No fewer than six running backs are on this week’s depth chart, led by sophomore LJ Martin, who has missed the last three games with an undisclosed injury. Hinckley Ropati, Miles Davis, Sione I. Moa, Enoch Nawahine and Pokai Haunga also made the two-deep, in that order.

Sitake said all six are available to play, the first time all season that all six have been available.