Kalani Sitake doesn't want to compare BYU to Indiana, Curt Cignetti

It is hard if not impossible to compare non-blue blood college football programs with Indiana. It's an understandable impulse, given the Hoosiers' unexpected and meteoric rise to the top of the sport under Curt Cignetti. BYU football coach Kalani Sitake was recently asked by the Salt Lake Tribune if Indiana gives him and BYU hope that it can achieve the Hoosiers' same level of success. Sitake didn't take the bait.

“Hope is a good motivator, but it is not a good strategy,” Sitake said. “The fact that Indiana was able to do that was great. But we have a system in place now where there is a playoff. So you’ve got to find a way to get there.”

Sitake later continued: “We were right there within grasp of the playoffs and didn’t get in. There is a reason why a bunch of these guys came back. I just want these guys to focus on being at their best. If we perform at our best, I like our chances, but it is not like you are all in for one thing only [the playoff]. That causes stress and anxiety. Let’s just focus on being the best that we can. Maybe we can create a competitive gap between us and the other schools. That’s all the stuff we will do in the next few months.

"I think it is really cool what Cignetti and Indiana were able to do. The best way for us to get there is to play our best football."

It's not about Indiana or Cignetti; it's about those guys in the locker room doing what it takes to get past Texas Tech, win the Big 12, and take that next step. Kalani Sitake knows what matters and what doesn't.

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