Arizona

What BYU coach Kalani Sitake said about Arizona State game

Published

1 year ago

November 21, 2024

What BYU coach Kalani Sitake said about Arizona State game

BYU’s stock plummeted this week.

After suffering a 17-13 loss to Kansas — their first loss of the season — the Cougars dropped from No. 6 to No. 14 in the College Football Playoff Rankings and into a tie with Colorado for first place in the Big 12.

And now they’re 3.5-point underdogs to Arizona State (8-2) in arguably the biggest game on the college football schedule this weekend. The winner will be in the pole position for a berth in the Big 12 championship game; the loser will be all but eliminated.

BYU coach Kalani Sitake knows anything can happen in the Big 12, and the Cougars are still very much alive for a berth in the College Football Playoff.

“You look at the conference, there’s a lot of parity … anyone has a shot,” Sitake said during his weekly press conference.

Here is a snapshot of what Sitake said ahead of BYU’s game with Arizona State:

Sitake on ASU Coach Kenny Dillingham

“Kenny Dillingham is a really good coach. I have a lot of respect for him and the way he coaches his team. You can tell he’s got a great connection with his players, and he’s a local kid so he’s from that area. He grew up an ASU fan and knows what that program can do. … I think he did it the right way bringing in a lot of local staff. … I know a lot of guys on his coaching staff. They’re really good coaches, good men.

“Looking at the talent that they have, it’s a difficult matchup. You have to be ready. We’re going on the road. We already know the time for that game and that it will be a little better weather than what we have here [in Provo]. Looking forward to the matchup. I think the goal is for us, like we said every week, stay humble, stay hungry and find ways to get better.”

Sitake on ASU Quarterback Sam Leavitt

“Really good player. He comes from a good family. He’s super athletic. He can run, he’s got an accurate arm. I think he’s got a great football IQ. He’s dangerous. He’s got a lot of football to play. I think he he saw some opportunities over there at ASU and you look at him, he’s thriving in it. He’s going to be a difficult matchup for us for sure. But man, it’s good to see good young men that you know are from amazing families get what they want. He’s doing some really cool things and he’s going to be doing really good things for a long time becauase I think he’s only a freshman right now. The sky’s the limit for him. Hopefully we just don’t see that great ‘sky limit’ performance this weekend.”

Sitake on BYU’s Recent Offensive Struggles

“There’s a fine line between it all … the key to execution is just eliminating the mistakes. There shouldn’t be any mistakes. Whether it’s alignment issues or technique issues or even running the wrong route or not doing the correct assignment. So all that should be cleaned up. But there’s also some room for improvement where you can actually install some stuff. You want to have a foundation of stuff that you’re good at and that you could lean on, but that’s the stuff that everybody knows is coming. So we have to have that and you have to have a little bit of install that gives you the favorable matchup, depending on who you’re going against.”

“That’s what we’re trying to get done. Obviously it’s worked quite a bit, and the offense they’re getting in the red zone. We’ve just got to score touchdowns. It’s hard to get in the red zone and only kick field goals. Even though you have a good kicker like Will Ferrin you’re going to need to score points and score touchdowns and finish the drives. It gives you a little bit more motivation and a little bit more ‘umph’ when you’re trying to get it done, so that’s what we’re focusing on.”

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Arizona

5 big Powerball lotto prizes won across Arizona days before Christmas

Published

12 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

5 big Powerball lotto prizes won across Arizona days before Christmas

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Five more lucky lotto players are heading into the holidays with a little extra cash in their pockets.

According to state lottery officials, the big winning tickets were sold around Arizona, each worth $50,000.

The tickets were sold at:

Goldfield Chevron
- 3265 S. Goldfield Rd, Apache Junction, AZ
Circle K
- 2088 W. Orange Grove Rd, Tucson, AZ
QuikTrip
- 918 E. Baseline Rd, Tempe, AZ
Desert Springs Travel Center
- 4031 Fleet St., Littlefield, AZ
Terrible’s
- 19985 N. Hwy 93, White Hills, AZ

The winning numbers from Monday’s drawing were 3, 18, 36, 41, 54 and Powerball 7. Nine $1 million tickets were sold nationwide.

The jackpot remains unclaimed and is estimated at $1.7 billion — the fourth largest ever — with the next drawing set for Christmas Eve.

Powerball tickets cost $2 per play, with odds of winning the jackpot sitting at 1 in 292.2 million, according to the lottery.

More information on games and prizes can be found on the Arizona Lottery website.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

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Arizona

No. 1 Arizona wraps up Bethune Cookman 107-71

Published

24 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

No. 1 Arizona wraps up Bethune Cookman 107-71

Arizona wrapped up their pre-Christmas schedule with a nice bow in the form of a 36 point victory over Bethune Cookman. Seven players scored double figures as Brayden Burries lead the game with 20 points. Partway through the first half Mabil Mawut was ejected from the game while on the bench, a rare occurrence under the Tommy Lloyd led team. Arizona will take Christmas off with practice resuming on the 26th and their next game at home on the 29th.

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Arizona

Will Arizona see a white Christmas? What the holiday forecast says

Published

1 day ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Will Arizona see a white Christmas? What the holiday forecast says

After a week of persistent warm weather, a storm system is expected to bring rain, not snow, to Arizona for Christmas.
Flagstaff and other high-country areas are also too warm for Christmas snow, with precipitation expected to be mostly rain.
The same weather pattern is bringing heavy rain and potential flooding to Southern California and parts of the Northwest.

Arizonans dreaming of a white Christmas will likely have to settle for rain this year as warm temperatures persist.

A storm system off the West Coast is expected to funnel moisture into the state later this week, giving much of Arizona chances for rain around Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The unsettled pattern could bring measurable rainfall, but temperatures are expected to stay too warm for snow, even in the high country. Arizona won’t get the soaking Southern California is expecting from incoming atmospheric rivers slamming the coast, but that same system will push moisture into the Southwest.

“Unfortunately, no white Christmas. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news,” said Ted Whittock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix.

In Phoenix, rain chances as temperatures cool from record highs

In Phoenix and the lower deserts, Christmas week will start off unusually warm before gradually cooling as rain chances increase.

Phoenix could break a daily temperature record for the second day in a row on Monday, Dec. 22. The current record is 79 degrees, with a forecast high of 82. A high of 81 degrees on Sunday, Dec. 21, broke the daily record for the third time this month.

But the weather should shift as a low-pressure system moves in from the Pacific.

“We’ll see a strong low-pressure system move in just off the West Coast and bring plenty of moisture into the region starting tomorrow,” Whittock said. “As a result, we’re going to see periodic rain chances this week.”

Forecasters say there will be two main windows for rain: late Tuesday into early Wednesday and again from Christmas Eve into Christmas Day.

Temperatures will start to trend downward midweek, with highs potentially dropping into the 60s and low 70s by the weekend.

Rainfall totals in the Valley could add up to around a half-inch or more in spots.

In Flagstaff, mostly rain early with uncertain snow chances later

Up north, Flagstaff will also see an unsettled and warmer-than-normal Christmas week. But snow lovers may be disappointed.

“It’s very warm for this time of year compared to what it usually is in December, so we’re expecting this week’s events to mainly be rain instead of snow,” said Jacob Lewandowski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Flagstaff.

The first chance of rain in the forecast is Tuesday, Dec. 23 in the evening. Snow levels are expected to stay high through midweek, generally between 9,000 and 10,000 feet. That puts Flagstaff below the snow line during the initial rounds of precipitation.

Chances for snow could increase later in the week as cooler air moves in, but confidence drops significantly after Wednesday.

“The chances for snow start increasing by Thursday and Friday, but it’s still a lot of uncertainty with it,” said Lewandowski. “It’s just how warm it is through the week and whether it’s going to be all rain or a little bit of snow mixed in. Most likely not a white Christmas, though. It’s too warm.”

Atmospheric rivers hit the West Coast as much of the U.S. stays warm

The storm system affecting Arizona is part of a broader pattern impacting much of the western United States. Atmospheric rivers, or long plumes of moisture from the Pacific, are expected to bring heavy rain to parts of coastal California this week.

“The atmospheric rivers are going to impact Southern Calfironia, particularly on Wednesday,” Whittock said. “This is an especially impactful system for people that are traveling to and from Southern California, especially coastal areas.”

Forecasts from the National Weather Service in Los Angeles show an extended period of heavy rain expected from Tuesday through Saturday, with 4 to 8 inches of rain likely across coastal and valley areas. Prolonged rainfall could lead to flooding and debris flow concerns, especially in burn scar areas.

Unusual weather isn’t limited to just the West. Much of the United States will have a warmer than normal holiday, with some areas experiencing their warmest Christmases on record.

A northward shift in the jet stream over the middle of the country is allowing warmer air to spread east, causing above-normal temperatures. From the Rockies to parts of the Appalachians, temperatures could reach 15 to 30 degrees above average for Christmas Day.

So whether it’s rainy or warm, much of the country will miss out on a snow globe Christmas this year. In Arizona, that likely means a damp holiday instead of a snowy one.

Hayleigh Evans writes about extreme weather and related topics for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Email her with story tips at hayleigh.evans@arizonarepublic.com.

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