A one-touchdown favorite, No. 14 BYU will be at less than full strength against Arizona

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There were a few disturbing moments for No. 14 BYU in its 63-7 win over outmatched Utah Tech at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday night, and several could prove to be significant as the Cougars’ schedule gets decidedly more difficult.

Most notably, senior safety Raider Damuni sustained a left leg injury with 2:57 remaining in the second quarter after having been rolled up on by a BYU teammate. Damuni let out a scream after going down and needed help from the trainers to get off the field.

After going into the medical tent for a brief examination, Damuni was helped into the tunnel leading to the BYU locker room and did not return. Head coach Kalani Sitake said Damuni’s status was still being assessed and that the star defender would have an MRI soon to determine the extent of the injury.

“Hoping for a speedy recovery, and just praying for a miracle,” Sitake said.

Sunday afternoon, Damuni posted a message on his Instagram account and finished by saying that he will “miss a lot of my senior season, (but) I won’t miss all of it.”

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Throughout the summer and fall camp, BYU’s safety situation was uncertain because junior Faletau Satuala broke his foot in June and only returned to action midway through August. Satuala started and played briefly in Saturday’s rout, recording one assisted tackle.

If Damuni is out for an extended period of time, the Cougars will rely on sophomore Tommy Prassas and freshman Kennan Pula to feel the considerable void.

Sitake said he was pleased that the defense forced four turnovers — the most in a season-opener since 2003 against Georgia Tech, when that defense also got four takeaways — but mildly disappointed that the reserves couldn’t keep the Trailblazers out of the end zone in the third quarter.

“I liked the energy. I liked the effort. I thought the guys played great. … I think everybody really wanted to be on the field, and I liked the energy from the guys that weren’t playing,” Sitake said.

“They got to come here to Provo and we’ll see what happens, but it is a good focus for us on Week 2 to be ready for a conference game and we’re looking forward to the matchup.”

BYU coach Kalani Sitake on showdown with Arizona

“In the second half, that touchdown drive was hard to see, but the guys on the sideline were all bought in and excited to cheer their teammates on. This is a really great brotherhood, and the closeness that they have for each other, I’m just really proud of the leadership.”

Senior linebacker Isaiah Glasker was held out of the game for precautionary reasons but should be good to go this week when BYU hosts Arizona at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday (1:30 p.m. MT, Fox).

“Zay was a little banged up from camp and I think he could have gone, but we made a decision to just take it out of his hands and just rest him for next week. He’ll be ready,” Sitake said. “He’s always done great for us against Arizona, and we felt as a coaching staff we didn’t need him. He really, really wanted to play.

“As a team captain, he wants to be out there with the guys, but he at least wanted to warm up and give it a shot. I think he could have gone. He was gonna go, and then me and (defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga) made a decision not to play him.”

Offensively, the Cougars could also be a bit shorthanded against the Wildcats, who blew out Northern Arizona 35-7 in Tucson Saturday night as a 32-point favorite.

Sophomore running back Sione Moa saw a lot of action early, carrying the ball six times in the first quarter for 22 yards. However, after that sixth carry, the backup RB who missed most of last season with a compartment syndrome condition asked to be taken out of the game and never returned.

Sitake did not address Moa’s status in his postgame news conference, but did tell BYUtv immediately after the game that a “few guys … won’t play” this week against Arizona. He was presumably talking about Damuni and Moa.

With reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year LJ Martin getting only seven carries for 54 yards against the Trailblazers, BYU relied heavily on its RB depth to get through the second half.

Freshman Devaughn Eka had eight rushes for 59 yards, junior Preston Rex had five carries for 38 yards and freshman Journee Tonga had two carries for 38 yards.

All three scored their first career touchdowns.

Logan Payne also got a lot of touches late and picked up 30 yards on five carries. Sitake said running backs coach Harvey Unga has “done a great job with that room,” particularly in developing the RBs as blockers.

“We’ve been able to run the ball with success,” Sitake said. “They just need to keep it consistent, keep going, but I love the mindset for all the running backs and receivers.”

BYU turns its attention to a ‘great team’ — Arizona

Having defeated the Wildcats 33-27 in double overtime last October, BYU expects a talented, motivated Arizona group to show up in Provo on Saturday.

Wildcats coach Brent Brennan promised at Big 12 media days that his team was looking forward to the early season conference game as well.

“Arizona’s gonna be a great team. Coach Brennan’s a great coach. He’s a great friend of mine, so I know they’ll be ready, and I think they didn’t like how last year’s game ended,” Sitake said.

“They got to come here to Provo and we’ll see what happens, but it is a good focus for us on Week 2 to be ready for a conference game and we’re looking forward to the matchup.”

Arizona led NAU 35-0 late on Saturday, but backup quarterback Sawyer Anderson threw a pick-six on his first collegiate pass to allow the Lumberjacks to get on the scoreboard.

Heisman Trophy candidate Noah Fifita played the first three quarters and was 22 of 29 for 262 yards and two touchdowns. The Wildcats committed three turnovers after finishing second nationally in turnover margin last year (+18).

Arizona’s defense was mostly stout, but did give up a few big plays through the air.

“We can’t stay where we are right now and stay doing what we are doing for long because Arizona is a good team,” said BYU linebacker Siale Esera.

“They they know what they’re doing and we played them before and it was a pretty close game, so we’re gonna go into this next week with the mindset that we have to get better.”

BYU opened as a 7.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

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