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After coming off a tough loss to Boise State last week, the BYU Cougars are looking to bounce back Friday against the Hawaii Warriors.
The Warriors are led by first year head coach Norm Chow. Chow coached at BYU for 27 years as offensive coordinator, assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach under LaVell Edwards. Most recently, Chow was the offensive coordinator at Utah for one year.
Game Notes- Hawai'i (1-2, 0-1) at BYU (2-2)
- Date/Time: Sep. 28, 2012 6:00 p.m. MT
- Site: LaVell Edwards Stadium
- TV: ESPN
- Radio: KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM 1160 AM
- Series Record: BYU leads 20-8
- Last Meeting: 2011 (BYU 41-20)
- Kickoff Weather: Sunny, temps in the mid-70s
Hawaii has not had a stellar start to its season and is currently 1-2. Last week the Warriors lost to Nevada 69-24. Hawaii is ranked last in the Mountain West Conference.
Last season, BYU traveled to Hawaii and beat the Warriors 41-20. This will be the 29th meeting between the teams. BYU leads the series 20-8 and has never lost in Provo.
Offense
Hawaii’s offense is going to have a challenge against BYU’s defense. However, Hawaii has some key playmakers who will help lead the team.
Junior quarterback Sean Schroeder has had a good start during his first season as a starting quarterback. Schroeder is connecting on 59.8 percent of his passes and has thrown for 592 yards and six touchdowns this season.
Schroeder had a career high last week, passing for 345 yards against Nevada.
The Warriors have focused this season on their ground game. In their game two weeks ago against Lamar, the Warriors used four different rushers who carried the ball 48 times.
The leading rusher for Hawaii is freshman running back Will Gregory. Gregory has rushed for 202 yards and one touchdown this season.
Against Nevada, Gregory rushed for 92 yards and his first collegiate touchdown.
Senior wide receiver Jeremiah Ostrowski is the Warriors leading receiver. Ostrowski has 17 receptions for 148 yards and six touchdowns this season.
Last week Ostrowski had seven receptions for 99 yards and a 36-yard touchdown.
Another player Cougar fans should watch for is wide receiver Scott Harding. Harding has also stepped in as the punter for the team and is averaging 34.7 yards.
BYU linebacker Kyle Van Noy believes Hawaii’s offensive style will be familiar to BYU’s defense.
“We are going to expect the same stuff we saw against Boise State and Utah,” Van Noy said. “We are ready for it.”
Defense
Hawaii’s best defensive player is junior cornerback Mike Edwards. Edwards has 14 solo tackles this season and is the team leader in tackles.
Edwards is also a kickoff returner and ranks second nationally with an average of 39.0 yards. Edwards had three returns over 40 yards against Nevada.
Leroy Lutu is the other leader on the defense with 12 tackles.
Beau Yap is a rising star for the warriors. Yap has 11 tackles this season and seven of them have been for loss.
Yap also has two sacks and a forced fumble this year.
BYU quarterback Taysom Hill expects Hawaii’s defense to be tough.
“The first three games they played they showed a lot of man defense,” Hill said. “I don’t expect anything less.”
This game will provide BYU a chance to cleanup it’s game and fix some of the mistakes from two recent losses as the Cougars prepare for a tough month of play in October.
Ashley Anderson is a senior at BYU majoring in public relations with the hope of one day having a career in sports public relations.
