‘Anything can happen’: Iowa State coach Jimmy Rogers previews Cyclones’ attempt to upset No. 8 BYU

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Jimmy Rogers may be new to the Big 12, but he’s quite familiar with Kalani Sitake.

As Iowa State’s new head coach prepares for his first meeting with BYU Friday in Provo, he reflected on his longtime respect for Sitake, which originated 25 years ago at Sitake’s first coaching stop.

“I think Kalani Sitake is a hell of a coach,” Rogers told reporters Tuesday at his weekly press briefing. “For one, he’s an unbelievable person. I had the opportunity to meet him years ago, he coached my brother at a junior college, Eastern Arizona (in 2001).

“… I think he does an unbelievable job. He’s just a great person, you can see his players play for him, and what he’s been able to turn BYU into over the years has been incredible to see.”

Rogers’ early performance at Iowa State has been impressive as well, with his Cyclones coming off a 45-42 victory over West Virginia this past weekend.

Iowa State was widely projected to be the Big 12’s worst team in 2026, as Matt Campbell’s departure for Penn State in December led to a massive roster overhaul in Ames — 55 Cyclone players transferred away in the offseason, and Rogers brought in 83 new players for his first campaign with the program.

Yet Rogers’ new-look group has already proven better than the Big 12 cellar, averaging 46 points per game across its three wins. The Cyclones’ two losses have come against ranked opponents, taking No. 21 Iowa down to the wire and giving No. 15 Utah a fight into the fourth quarter.

Of course, having led South Dakota State to an FCS championship in 2023, Rogers’ standard is understandably high, even in what could have been a perfectly understandable rebuilding season.

“I don’t know if we’ve lived up to expectations, they’re pretty high in here. We’re 3-2, we’ve got a whole season left to go,” Rogers said.

“… I would say, of anything, I’m proud of the resiliency inside of games and never hanging your heads or feeling like we’re out of the game. With so many new people, that can be hard at times because you’re coming from different backgrounds. You don’t know what really they’re used to in the history of competition and competing, that they can put themselves back into a game or stay competitive throughout a game. So for me, I’ve been pleased with that.”

Friday against No. 8 BYU will arguably be Iowa State’s toughest test of 2026, and for much more than merely facing a top 10 team on the road.

The 8:15 p.m. kickoff will be especially late for the Cyclones traveling in from the Central time zone, and the Cougars are 35-4 in night games since 2019. It’s also the Cyclones’ first trip outside of Iowa in 2026, with Provo’s elevation sitting nearly 4,000 feet higher than that of the Hawkeye State.

“I think the more you talk about things, the worse things are, honestly,” Rogers said when asked about the travel, late kickoff and elevation. “If you think our guys are in bed by 11 o’clock at night, we’re nuts, you know? So we’re going out with the expectation to compete and win a game.

“Elevation is just like a lot of things. It’s like heat, I think it’s a little bit of a mindset more than anything. Is it different? Yeah, it’s different, but it is what it is. There’s no excuses … it is what it is.”

In addition to Sitake, Rogers offered praise for Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier, particularly for how he embodies BYU’s trademark toughness.

“I love the way Bear plays. I mean, he’s a physical kid. He can throw the deep ball with the best of them,” Rogers said.

“Obviously, they put a lot on his plate, and you can see that schematically, but I think he has the ability to take over games and move the sticks with his legs. You look at majority of the games when they’ve faltered, he’s carried them through with his legs, and he’s not afraid to take on the contact. As a coach, I admire that. I think it’s awesome, there’s no sliding in there. I told one of the (defensive backs) today, ‘You better get ready to put your pads on him, because he’s gonna run through your face.’”

Rogers continued, “This will be a physical game. It’s also the style of how they play as a whole team. You can see the physicality on their D-line and their defense, their middle linebacker (Cade Uluave), I think he’s one of the best in the country, surely in the Big 12.

“Sideline to sidelines, their whole team is just physical, has great length. I think when you look at the quarterback position, you don’t think that, but Bear resembles really the identity of how they’ve played thus far.”

Iowa State’s offense has been powered by running back Aiden Flora, whose 594 rushing yards on the year rank second in the Big 12 and seventh nationally.

Against West Virginia this past weekend, Flora exploded for 212 yards on 22 carries, averaging 9.6 yards per touch and scoring three touchdowns.

AIDEN. FLORA. 😱

His 63-yard rushing TD puts @CycloneFB back in front 🔥 pic.twitter.com/OAzWUUd5lw

— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) October 3, 2026

“I think Aiden is who he is because of how he believes in himself and the process of how he goes about things,” Rogers said. “So is he going to go out and perform like (he did against West Virginia) every week? I mean, it’s wishful thinking. I hope he does, right? But he was feeling it, and we put him in a position to have success, and he was able to make the plays and capitalize on the calls that came into his way.

“Proud of him, obviously. He’s grown a lot. We’re going to need him to play at a high clip (against BYU), very similar to that, because he’s one of our most explosive players.”

While BYU’s 17-10 win at TCU last weekend was closer than many originally anticipated, and the Cougars continue to deal with injuries to LJ Martin and other key contributors, Rogers doesn’t view BYU as a team reeling or on the decline, instead calling the Cougars “great” and possessing “a lot of skill.”

“I take (the TCU performance) really with a grain of salt because of the conditions that they were playing in. High humidity with a wet ball, you could see just how the ball was landing on the grass. It was a hard game to play in, and they found a way to win, which is the most important part,” Rogers said.

“I don’t know if they have too much troubles. But we’ve got to get ready to play our best football in a short week, just as they do. Anything can happen.”

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