PROVO — First, let’s get something straight.

Don’t call them trick plays, gadget plays, deceptive plays, sneak plays or anything of the sort.

If you play for or coach the offense on BYU’s football team, you call them “specials.”

And contrary to what you saw or may have read about in the final head-scratching moments of the Cougars’ 31-24 win over Liberty last Saturday, they have been overwhelmingly successful this season.

In fact, you could make the case that BYU (5-4) would not have defeated Boise State (8-1), or maybe even the plucky, fire-breathing, upset-minded Flames (6-4), without them.

“I like trick plays,” head coach Kalani Sitake said Saturday, perhaps having missed the memo about calling them specials, but before defending them when he was asked if the Cougars had “gone to the well too often” in the second half.

“So everybody should be ready for everything when they play us,” Sitake concluded after a mild rant about the media wanting more aggressive plays a few weeks ago and now “talking out of both sides of your mouth” by questioning their abundance the past few games.

That expect-the-unexpected warning probably doesn’t apply to this week’s opponent, 3-7 Idaho State of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), because if the Cougars need to resort to trickery to overcome the Bengals, there may be greater concerns than just annoying questions.

Wednesday, after declining to announce whether season starter Zach Wilson or most recent starter Baylor Romney would get the nod Saturday, offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes — who said on his Coordinators’ Corner program that he didn’t call for the scrum formation on 2nd-and-9 or the fake field goal on fourth-and-2 on the final drive against Liberty — took his turn defending the plethora of special plays.

“I don’t consider reverses trick plays, and really, we call them specials, because really even though you are trying to trick the defense, ideally you are trying to trick the defense on every play,” Grimes said, after asking to be asked about trick plays. “Some employ more deception than others.”

Grimes said the Cougars have tried nine specials this year, and eight have been successful. The only one that could be considered a failure was the intercepted double-reverse flea flicker on first down late in the third quarter against Liberty.

“The ultimate goal is to win the game. So every one that we call in a game is there for the intention of helping you win that game in particular. Then you try to build off of that and maybe change it a little differently or you go to something different.” — BYU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, on calling ‘specials’

“Three were three touchdowns, four put us inside the 10 in position to score,” Grimes said. “Another one gained a first down. … It is something we are committed to and I think it is a valuable part of what we do. I think it makes the rest of our offense better.”

Regarding the one failure — Romney threw into triple coverage and was picked off by LU’s Bejour Wilson — Grimes said the freshman learned from the mistake.

“The lesson in it is if it is not there, you don’t have to throw it. You just throw it away, or you scramble, like any play. So, just don’t make a bad play worse,” he said.

Grimes said the special plays have a “cumulative affect” on the season because defenses have more to prepare for and try to stop. Liberty players said after the game they were prepared for the double-reverse flea flicker, but were surprised by the double-pass play from Micah Simon to Matt Bushman that went for a touchdown.

“The ultimate goal is to win the game,” Grimes said. “So every one that we call in a game is there for the intention of helping you win that game in particular. Then you try to build off of that and maybe change it a little differently or you go to something different.”

Zach Wilson, who started the first five games when the Cougars went 2-3, said he’s looking forward to going deeper into the playbook than when BYU played Utah, Tennessee, USC and Washington to open the season.

“It has been fun for us to be able to air it out and mix it up a little bit and throw some trick plays at some of these other teams,” he said.

Said Romney, who engineered the wins over Boise State and Liberty: “We got a win, and I think that a win is a win at this level. As long as we are winning, we are doing something right.”

Bushman, the tight end who has been the recipient of two touchdown catches on special plays, said the bottom line is that players trust the coaches to call them when they will be the most effective.

“Maybe we were a little bit too eager on that little double-reverse pass the past two games,” he said. “I think the coaches were just thinking, ‘why the heck not try again?’ So yeah, we might need to take it easy, but they are fun when they work, and they definitely bring that momentum, so we just need to find the right timing.”

And call them by their right name.

Cougars on the air

Idaho State (3-7) at BYU (5-4)

At LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo

Saturday, 1 p.m.

TV: BYUtv/ESPN3

Radio: 1160 AM, 102.7 FM