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PROVO — Before he knew that BYU would face Hawaii in the SoFi Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve, defensive lineman Trajan Pili had a hunch.
He had seen a few things on Twitter — the Rainbow Warriors were squarely in contention to stay home and face the Cougars (7-5) on Christmas Eve at Aloha Stadium (6 p.m. MST, ESPN). But he, like several of his teammates, didn’t take the opponent for granted.
You just never know with these things.
“Last year, we played Western Michigan (in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl), and I didn’t see them at all in any of the predictions,” Pili said. “You never know; it gets too hard to predict these things.”
This year’s postseason bowl matchup was a bit more predictable, but Pili’s right — you never really know. If Hawaii had beat Boise State in the Mountain West title game, for example, the Warriors would be bound for the Las Vegas Bowl. Or if the Broncos’ win had been enough to vault them past American Athletic Conference champion Memphis, then Boise State would be bound for the New Year’s Six — and the Warriors would fly to Las Vegas.
So, you really never know — but you can have a hunch, and some of the guys did.
“I heard people saying it could be SMU or Hawaii or UCF,” BYU linebacker Isaiah Kaufusi said. “But I’m glad it’s Hawaii; I like playing against them. We played them for a few years, and they’re a great team. I think this year they really stepped it up. The quarterback’s a returning starter … and I think it will be a good game.”
Knowing is half the battle in bowl prep, in addition to other preparations (like the all-too-mentioned “motivation” factor). Despite its 31-10 loss to the Broncos in the Mountain West championship, Hawaii (9-5) is staring down the barrel of a 10-win season — a significant benchmark under Mountain West Coach of the Year and former ‘Bows quarterback Nick Rolovich, so the Cougars aren’t taking them likely.
But knowing is important.
“I think it makes all the difference, really,” senior receiver Micah Simon said. “Last week was focusing on us, and what we can do better, and what areas we can focus on as a team. Now we’ll just shift the mindset to real game prep, hop on the film and see what we can do.”
The Rainbow Warriors also boast a quarterback in junior Cole McDonald, who ranks fifth nationally with 3,642 yards, and 29 touchdowns with 14 interceptions. That’s a passing offense that ranks No. 6 in the Football Bowl Subdivision, averaging 325.9 yards per game and sandwiched between USC and Texas Tech.
“We did our scouting report last week and got some extra work done, and I’m glad it paid off,” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake admitted. “They had a tough game against Boise, but I think the game was a lot closer than the score showed.
“They moved the ball often, especially early in the game, and two turnovers on downs — one at the 1-yard line, one at the 5-yard line — and a pick in the red zone changed things, too.”
Like most college football teams this time of year, the Cougars will take advantage of all 15 bowl-game practices the NCAA allows. It’s the biggest benefit of earning that postseason contest with a minimum 6-6 record.
Also like at most universities, they’ll prepare in the middle of finals week. Some finals start as early as this weekend for BYU students — a fact not lost on Pili amid his biochemistry study groups and pre-medicine coursework.
“It definitely is busy,” Pili said. “But it’s a week and a half of craziness, and then it’s done. We’ll be in Hawaii. You just have to grind through it and enjoy it. That’s the best way I’ve been able to deal with it.
“You see the light at the end of the tunnel. You just have to get there.”
