Kalani Sitake doesn’t need a history lesson when Notre Dame shows up on the BYU schedule. He lived part of it.
Thirty-two years ago, Sitake was a freshman fullback in South Bend when BYU knocked off the Irish 21-14 at Notre Dame Stadium on Oct. 15, 2004, a victory the late LaVell Edwards would later describe as one of the most significant of his 29-year career. Now, with Sitake leading No.
8 BYU into Saturday’s meeting with No. 2 Notre Dame in Provo, that old upset is back in the spotlight.
Back then, BYU entered as the underdog and left with a breakthrough. The Cougars had been beaten by Notre Dame 42-16 and 45-20 in the first two meetings between the schools before Jamal Willis scored on a 2-yard go-ahead run and John Walsh hit Hema Heimuli on the two-point conversion that sealed the seven-point win.
“So I was fortunate to play in this game when I was a freshman way back in 1994. I know I’m an old man, but that’s OK,” said Sitake, now 51. “It was against (legendary Notre Dame coach) Lou Holtz, and being there in South Bend was a great experience.”
Sitake didn’t put up any numbers in that game and saw limited action in 1994. After a two-year mission to Oakland for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he returned to BYU in 1998 and became a three-year starter under Edwards.
His personal record against Notre Dame is layered. He beat the Irish as a player, lost to them as Utah’s defensive coordinator in 2010 under Kyle Whittingham, and also lost as BYU’s head coach when Notre Dame won 28-20 in Las Vegas on Oct. 8, 2022.
“The (game) in Vegas was a good game,” Sitake recalled Monday. “I think Jaren (Hall) was a little banged-up going into that game, but the competition was good.
I think it was a hard-fought game. We ended up losing that game, but I thought it was really good experience for our players.”
This weekend’s matchup is bigger than any of those previous meetings. It will be the 10th time the teams have faced each other, and for the first time, both are ranked in the top 10. BYU is 5-0, Notre Dame is 6-0, and the Irish are unbeaten in 16 straight games dating back to last season, with all 16 wins coming by 10 points or more.
Sitake made clear Monday that he respects what Notre Dame has built under Marcus Freeman.
“I like to think that we’re different as a program and a team now than we were in that game, but so is Notre Dame,” Sitake said. “You can see some of the things that Marcus has done as a head coach.
He has a really good staff. I mean, that staff’s amazing.
You can tell from watching the film, they’re well coached.”
He also pointed to the depth on the Irish roster, especially at running back.
“They don’t have a lot of weak links on their team, and they’re very deep, too,” Sitake said. “I mean, you have three running backs that can run the ball at any moment.
It’s crazy to have that depth, and that’s just the running back position. You can see that they have depth all over at every position, and so for me it’s exciting to see how we match up.
“I know a lot of people are wondering how the matchup’s going to go, and I feel good about our chances,” Sitake continued. “… And if they want to keep playing this game (in the future), I would love to keep doing it as much as possible.”
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