BYU football: Cougars prepping for wet, sloppy conditions vs. OSU

BYU safety Talan Alfrey, left, and linebacker Ace Kaufusi tackle Oklahoma State wide receiver Leon Johnson III (17) during game Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, in Stillwater, Okla. The No. 13 Cougars will host the Cowboys Friday in LaVell Edwards Stadium in what is forecast to be soggy conditions.

One common denominator in BYU’s first six football games of the 2024 season has been the splendid weather. From Provo to Dallas, Wyoming to Waco, and back to Provo again, the climate conditions have been spectacular.

Yes, even in Laramie.

If anything, it has almost been too warm, particularly last Saturday during BYU’s 41-19 conquest of Arizona.

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Well, if prognostications from the local meteorologists are accurate, that all changes Friday night for the No. 13 Cougars (6-0, 3-0) when they host unranked Oklahoma State (3-3, 0-3) at LaVell Edwards Stadium in a late-night special.

Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m., and the game will be televised by ESPN.

It could be raining in the valleys, perhaps even snowing in the higher elevations of Utah. And it is going to be cold, some 30 to 40 degrees below the temperatures BYU has been enjoying en route to its first 6-0 start since 2020, and sixth overall.

As perfect as the weather was last week and earlier this week, it could be downright dismal the 18th day of October, much like it was last year in Stillwater, Oklahoma, when the Pokes outlasted the Cougars 40-34 in late November in the miserable rain and sleet at Boone Pickens Stadium.

How will BYU handle the weather this time around?

Defensive coordinator Jay Hill said Tuesday that it shouldn’t affect the Cougars one way or the other.

“Well, it shouldn’t be (a factor) for us. We are a cold-weather team. We are used to living at altitude. We are used to cold weather,” Hill said. “We are used to spring ball practices in the rain and sleet and so whatever comes at us, in my opinion, should be at our advantage.”

Coaches say the common perception among fans that wet weather and sloppy conditions favors running teams and defenses isn’t accurate. Offensive players know where they are going, while defensive players generally have to react to that, and their footing is less sure.

How will BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff, from Southern California, perform in the rain and cold? He was a bit shaky last year in the 40-degree temperatures in the Sooner State, completing just 14 of 30 passes for 161 yards, with a long of 50 in front of 53,855 shivering fans.

Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy and BYU head coach Kalani Sitake meet before a game Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, in Stillwater, Okla. | (AP Photo/Mitch Alcala, Associated Press

That loss that denied the 5-7 Cougars a bowl bid hasn’t been used as a rallying cry by coach Kalani Sitake’s crew this week, but it has been clear that it stung deeply — BYU blew a 24-6 halftime lead — and has not been forgotten. This time, mildly disappointing OSU is playing to save its season, not the Cougars.

“This is a game where we know we are going to get all of what they’ve got,” Retzlaff said. “At the same time, this is a game where we remember last (year), late November. We remember that. So we are coming out ready this week, because we know we owe them one.”

Said Sitake, who has downplayed the “revenge factor” all week and instead is focusing on the need for BYU to stay humble and hungry as national attention pours in and some folks are projecting a berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff: “It is going to be a dogfight, man. It is going to be a lot of fun. We saw some really cool things from the Arizona (game), got a lot out of our players. So we are looking forward to the challenge of Oklahoma State, too.”

That big challenge is expected to come from OSU’s defense and its rushing attack, largely because the Cowboys are probably going to go with a relatively new starting quarterback, redshirt sophomore Garett Rangel. Sixth-year senior Alan Bowman, who threw for 321 yards against BYU 11 months ago, has been benched twice for ineffectiveness this season.

Related What Mike Gundy said about facing BYU this week

“I mean, we gotta cover everything,” Sitake said. “They have a really good coaching staff. You don’t just luck into playing for the conference championship last year. We have to be ready for all of it.”

That also means being ready for junior Ollie Gordon II, one of the best running backs in the country. Gordon ran for 167 yards and five touchdowns against BYU last year and won the Doak Walker Award as the country’s top RB.

Cougars on the air Oklahoma State (3-3, 0-3) at No. 13 BYU (6-0, 3-0) Friday, 8:15 p.m. MDT

At LaVell Edwards Stadium

TV: ESPN

ESPN Radio: 102.7 FM/1160 AM

“Yeah, dangerous player,” Sitake said. “It is hard to keep a guy that is that talented down. And so eventually he is going to find ways to poke holes in your defense. We gotta be assignment-sound and make it difficult for him, and that offense.”

Hill said Gordon is a “phenomenal player” who ran for more than 1,700 yards last year. The Fort Worth native and preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year hasn’t really had a huge game this year — yet.

“He is one that you have to game plan for. We gotta be ready for him to have his best game. We gotta assume that is going to happen,” Hill said. “The offensive line, those guys are great. They all played last year. We gotta be ready with our ‘A’ game.”

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