Keanu Tanuvasa has one of the more unusual storylines in this BYU-Utah week, and he didn’t shy away from it Monday.
The Cougar defensive lineman spent his first two seasons at Utah before moving across the rivalry line to BYU, and the ties he built in Salt Lake City are still very much alive. That was especially clear when he talked about Utah head coach Morgan Scalley, a man Tanuvasa clearly still holds in high regard.
“He was at my wedding. He was there when I got sealed, and he’s been a mentor to me,” Tanuvasa related.
“He’s a very deliberate and intentional man that I admire and adore. So, I’m excited to go take the field on the opposing side of him being the head coach because anytime I can be around him, I’m excited.”
Tanuvasa knows exactly what’s waiting for him Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium. He expects a hostile crowd, but that hasn’t dimmed his enthusiasm for the matchup or for returning to a place he still loves playing in.
“Rice-Eccles is a phenomenal place to play, and it’s one of my favorite stadiums in the entire country,” he said. “Being back there is just a lot of excitement.
They have a great team. I know their offensive line very well and they’re a freaking great bunch of guys that have huge effort, and I’ve seen that since they were young players.
So I just have a lot of excitement, you know? I think the game that we play is a boy’s game and we have a lot of fun doing it.
So, I’m just go excited to go line it up.”
Monday also brought a very different kind of excitement for Tanuvasa. His wife’s delivery date is closing in, and he’s preparing for the possibility that his first son could arrive any day now.
“I got my trainers on standby with my phone to alert me if I need to run off the field and miss any practice in order to go to attend the hospital,” Tanuvasa shared. “We’ve got six days, so realistically any day baby boy could be here. So, I’m just again living in excitement.”
While Tanuvasa’s situation adds a personal layer to the week, the biggest football question for BYU remains the status of running back LJ Martin. He has been out since leaving the win over TCU early with an injury, and after BYU’s ground game struggled against Arizona State, his possible return carries even more weight.
“We’re going to evaluate the next couple days and then see how it looks,” Sitake said. “He’s working hard and, you know, I think the next 48 hours we’ll be able to see so much more from that. I’ll probably have more to to tell you by then.”
Martin was injured on October 3 in the second quarter against the Horned Frogs, when he appeared to hurt his leg. The original recovery window was listed at 4-6 weeks, which leaves open the possibility that he could be available against Utah.
Sitake was less specific about the other injuries BYU is managing, including cornerback Evan Johnson, who was hurt in the loss to UCF and sat out last week against Arizona State.
“I think we have guys that are definitely not out,” Sitake offered. “The next couple days are going to be the key factor in all of it.
I don’t know if you can play if you don’t practice Tuesday and Wednesday. We basically don’t play our guys if they’re not on the field that way.”
Neither Martin or Johnson were listed on the depth chart that was released on Monday.
The game itself will kick off at 10 a.m. local time, an early start that caught plenty of attention. Sitake, though, said the timing won’t change much inside the program.
“I think you just adjust your schedule, but I don’t think it really makes that big of a difference,” Kalani said. “I think it’s more of an adjustment for the fans that to get up and (do some) early tailgating, and I think the the the menu is probably more breakfast stuff … I like ribs anytime of day, even in the morning. So, I think maybe the menu changes a little bit, but overall, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
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BYU Faces A Huge Holy War Test After Its Uneven Stretch
BYU left Tempe with a 27-20 win over Arizona State, but the bigger picture now shifts quickly to the road and to the kind of game that can define a season. Kalani Sitake has made it clear the Cougars still need to sharpen up after an uneven stretch, and the timing could hardly be more demanding with No. 3 Utah waiting on Saturday morning in Salt Lake City.
The Holy War has a way of stripping everything down to urgency, and BYU enters this one trying to keep its momentum while also proving it can play cleaner football against a top-tier opponent. The Cougars will get their shot on November 7, with kickoff set for 10 a.m. MST, and the stakes are obvious: a chance to extend their winning streak against Utah and show that the recent bumps have not knocked them off course. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler Betseys Quiet Start Puts BYU Fans In Wait-And-See Mode
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Kevin Young has not sounded concerned, pointing to Betseys defensive work and saying the shooting will come around. The Cougars will get a better read soon enough, with Ohio State up next in a non-conference game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, where the stakes and the pace should offer a clearer picture of how Betsey fits. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Faces A Defining Big 12 Test With Playoff Stakes Rising
November is arriving with the Big 12 suddenly looking like one of the deepest races in the country, and BYU is right in the middle of it. The league has five ranked teams heading into the month, with Utah, BYU, Texas Tech, Houston and Arizona all still carrying real weight in the conference picture. For the Cougars, the next stretch is about more than staying in the hunt for Arlington. It is about proving they belong in the conversation as the playoff field starts to take shape.
The timing makes every remaining game feel bigger, especially with Utah and BYU among the matchups that could reshape both the Big 12 Championship Game race and the College Football Playoff pecking order. The first CFP rankings are coming soon, and the door is open for multiple Big 12 teams to make a case if they keep winning. For BYU, that means the margin for error is shrinking fast, and the path forward is starting to look like a weekly test of staying power. [Read more 🡒]