Fresh off a 4-0 dominant start, Kalani Sitake’s BYU Cougars are turning up the heat this season. And their 24-21 victory against Colorado just kicked off their conference play with a satisfying win. Now, under Friday night lights, they are back for another Big 12 clash against West Virginia, who has won against the Cougars the two times they have ever played against each other. But this time things look different, as West Virginia is now sitting at a 2-3 record, dropping back-to-back games against Big 12 teams. It looks like they might also fall short against BYU, as the Cougars’ massive 4th down move just added more to the Mountaineers’ misery.

At 4th & 6, with around ten minutes still left in the third quarter, the Cougars appeared to line up to kick a 53-yard field goal. But instead of the play going as expected, the punter Sam Vander Haar #35 picked up the ball and ran it straight ahead for a first down to gain 11 yards. A bold move that worked flawlessly, as the mountaineers’ defense was busy looping around the line to get to the kicker as fast as possible. With that, Vander put his team to a 28-10 lead against West Virginia before halftime.

No wonder this guy made this immense trick play while playing for Pitt; back in 2022, he recorded 30 punts, averaging 38.5 yards per punt. Crazy, right? Then he also placed the ball 11 times inside the other team’s 20-yard line. Which is impressive. This level of excellence comes from roots, and that’s the case with Sam Vander Haar. This guy went to the renowned Prokick Australia program, which produces exceptional college and NFL punters. That’s right; big names like Jordan Berry and Michael Dickson were all in it.

But just so you know, this isn’t the first time BYU has played a trick of this sort. Last year they did the same against UCF. So last year, while playing against them in the first quarter, BYU had a fourth down and five yards to go at UCF’s 28-yard line. Now it looked like BYU would go for a 46-yard kick, but instead, they amazed everyone. As Vander Haar didn’t hold the ball for a kick, instead he threw it straight to Will Ferron. And he ran towards the sideline, gaining 8 yards, which did it for them.

Well, it’s not just Vander Haar, but his entire team was in their best form against West Virginia. Bear Bechmier went 18 for 25 passes for 351 yards, and even WRs Chase Roberts and Parker Kingston went for 161 and 111 yards. Even their defense was on fire, which allowed just one touchdown and a field goal. But there’s one concern that can ruin the entire season for Kalani Sitake’s team, and it’s their own penalties and turnovers.

With that, Kalani Sitake and Rich Rod’s history finally gets a new ending.

Kalani Sitake’s history with Rich Rodriguez

West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez and BYU’s Kalani Sitake met for the sixth time this Friday night, and that history dates them back to the 1998 Liberty Bowl. Back then Rod was Tulane’s interim HC, who led them to a 41-27 win against BYU, and interestingly, Sitake was a player back then who caught five passes for 77 yards against them. And years later, he finally took his revenge in 2008 when he played as a linebacker at Utah and even helped them beat Rodriguez’s Michigan with a 25-23 margin.

But that’s just the start; after that, when Rodriguez moved to Arizona, his team dominated Kalani Sitake’s team from 2012 to 2015, when Sitake led the defense for four straight games. Talking of that time, Sitake said, “When he was out here in the West, I competed against him—I coached against him. The guy makes his mark anywhere that he goes and finds ways to get things going.”

Rodriguez’s offensive mind had an instant impact on Sitake, which even influenced him. “He’s an innovator, so he’s going to do things differently, and the guy knows football. He knows how to put points on the board,” Sitake said. But this Kalani Sitake changed the narrative as he smacked a massive win against them, racking up 516 yards against West Virginia and holding them to 351 yards. Yet some concerns could have ended their game, like BYU’s two fumbles that pushed West Virginia’s TD drive to 3 yards and 22 yards.

That’s something they need to focus on with that win. BYU now sits on a 5-0 record, and this historic game turned out just fine for them.