Provo • Head coach Kalani Sitake compared it to having children.

No matter how many books you read the first time around, you’ll never be fully ready. But by the second, it’s old hat.

So to anyone who asked about the direction of the BYU football program, the Cougars promised they’d be more prepared for the rigors of the Big 12 in 2024.

But even if the program is more prepared this year, their schedule is only getting more difficult.

That starts with No. 13 Kansas State coming into Provo for BYU’s Big 12 opener on Saturday night.

The Wildcats are favored near the top of the league this year. It begins a gauntlet of games where the Cougars see all four of the Big 12′s college football playoff contenders.

If BYU is going to make it to a bowl game this year (winning three more games), it’s going to take more than just improvement. It needs to knock off some of the top teams in the country.

Kansas State, led by dynamic quarterback Avery Johnson, is only the first test.