BYU HC Kalani Sitake channels Nick Saban after No. 2 ranking

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

BYU HC Kalani Sitake channels Nick Saban after No. 2 ranking

By Matt Wadleigh | Last updated Oct 20, 2026 1:53 AM ET

The BYU Cougars football team is 6-0 and comes off a stunning 28-24 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Provo, Utah, on Saturday.

BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier connected with Walker Lyons on a go-ahead touchdown pass in the final two minutes.

There was another controversial clock situation at the end, but BYU still prevailed in a major statement win for the Cougars.

BYU moved up to No. 2

After the win, BYU moved up from No. 8 to No. 2 in the top-25 polls. Notre Dame was at No. 2 going into the game against the Cougars.

After the rankings came out, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake had a perfect response to the rise.

"Never cared about it before, so why would I start now?" Sitake said, via Adam Rittenberg of ESPN. "Just keep the rat poison away from the boys."

Sitake, asked about being ranked No. 2: "Never cared about it before, so why would I start now. ... Just keep the rat poison away from the boys."
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) October 19, 2026

Legendary coach Nick Saban coined the "rat poison" phrase in 2017 after Alabama's win against Texas A&M, and now Sitake dipped into the Saban treasure chest to maintain his team's focus level going forward.

BYU has wins over TCU, Iowa State and Notre Dame over the past three weeks, and the Cougars face UCF and Arizona State before a potential top-10 showdown with Utah on the road on Nov. 7.

Right now, Miami is the No. 1 team after Georgia's stunning loss to Auburn, so it shows how quickly things can change in college football.

But for the Cougars, they need to stay away from the "rat poison" and just continue to win games.

Matt Wadleigh

Matt Wadleigh is based in California and born and raised in the San Diego area. He studied print journalism at Fresno State for college and got to watch Paul George, Derek Carr and Davante Adams play in a Bulldogs uniform. His work has been featured at ClutchPoints, Sportscasting, Sporting News, and various USA Today sites, including UCLA Wire, where he was the first managing editor

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