The BYU football team suffered a heartbreaking defeat on the road Saturday, against UCF. The loss ended BYU's undefeated season, and also dropped them in the Big 12 conference standings.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake wants his team to remain upbeat following this game.
“We can't let this define us. We have got to keep moving on…..we just have to come back and get better,” Sitake said, per BYUTV Sports Nation.
UCF would defeat BYU in double overtime, 39-31. The loss came right on the heels of a huge win BYU posted recently over Notre Dame.
Following the loss, BYU is now 6-1 on the season. The Cougars are 3-1 in the Big 12 standings, and are now in second place. Utah currently leads the conference standings.
UCF improved to 4-3 on the season following the win.
BYU must move on from this loss
This was certainly a disappointing loss for the Cougars. BYU though can still make the Big 12 championship game, as well as the College Football Playoff.
Sitake refuses to accept that this UCF contest was a letdown game, after the Notre Dame clash.
“No, I think it would be easy for me to say that,” Sitake said, per ESPN. “We played hard. We started fast. We were in the game. I just don't think I want to disrespect UCF by saying this was a letdown for us. They bested us. I can't sit here and tell you, oh yeah, there's this letdown. We just made a lot of mistakes. These mistakes shouldn't be happening midseason. That's on me.”
Sitake accepted responsibility for the loss to the Knights.
“There's so many things we could have done better. That's my job as a coach,” Sitake said. “We weren't disciplined enough as a team. We missed a lot of assignments. That falls on me. This is humbling for them.”
BYU next plays Arizona State on Halloween.