BYU sees Notre Dame game as chance to make statement

The video posted to BYU football’s Twitter account is three minutes long. Featuring former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin and Las Vegas-based magician Mat Franco, it reveals No. 16 BYU’s black jerseys and black and blue gradient helmets for Saturday’s Shamrock Series game against Notre Dame at Allegiant Stadium.

BYU coach Kalani Sitake enjoyed the video and appreciates the effort which went into the design and the reveal. However, the Cougars coach is more interested in simply getting back on the field.

“Doesn’t move the needle much for me,” Sitake said. “I just like the fact that our guys get to play this game and just really excited — doesn’t matter what color we’re wearing.”

New uniforms are traditionally part of the Shamrock Series, Notre Dame’s one neutral-site game per season. The Cougars and Fighting Irish will contest this year’s edition at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Allegiant Stadium.

While BYU enters as the ranked team, Sitake said his squad is perfectly content being the underdogs against a historic program like Notre Dame.

“No matter what the situation is, we know we’re going against a great team,” Sitake said. “Notre Dame hasn’t played their best football yet. You can see the talent. You can see the phases and the flashes of great players, great scheme and great coaching.

“But we haven’t played our best, either.”

BYU enters Saturday’s game looking to continue its strong start to the season. It blew past South Florida in the season opener, beat a ranked Baylor team in double overtime and brushed aside Mountain West competition Wyoming and Utah State during the past two weeks. BYU’s only loss came away against No. 12 Oregon Sept. 17.

Notre Dame represents another chance for BYU to establish itself as one of the best teams in the country. Sitake consistently praised the Irish’s talent and the job done by first-year coach Marcus Freeman.

“I think he’s done an amazing job,” Sitake said. “You see how the players respond to him really well. I think overall, you can see there’s a really good team there. There was a reason they were ranked preseason so high.”

Sitake and the Cougars (4-1) do have some advantages, though. They’ve already played at Allegiant Stadium. BYU opened its 2021 season by beating Arizona in Las Vegas and Sitake said his players enjoyed the experience. They also won’t be adjusting to a new time zone like the Irish.

The BYU coach also has his own personal history with Notre Dame. Sitake was a freshman fullback for the Cougars in 1994 when they beat the Irish (2-2) 21-14 in South Bend, Indiana. He was on the field, at the bottom of a goal-line scrum, when BYU running back and Las Vegas native Jamal Willis leaped over the pile for the go-ahead touchdown.

It’s one of BYU’s two wins against Notre Dame in eight games between the schools. Sitake, barely visible in the photos of Willis’ leap, will be hoping for a similar result Saturday, but admitted he’s changed a bit since his playing days.

“I think you can see my stomach, or something like that,” Sitake said. “It was way better back then than it is now.”

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashtia@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.