This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • It is not often that BYU's football team and the word "sexy" are mentioned in the same sentence.
But that's what Saturday's regular-season finale for the 8-3 Cougars in Hawaii is being called, as the 6-6 Warriors prepare to face their old Western Athletic Conference rivals needing a win to become bowl eligible. Kickoff is at 5:30 p.m. MST, and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
"They are bringing sexy back," a Hawaii television announcer said during the Warriors' 35-23 win over Tulane, pumping up the first meeting between Hawaii and BYU since 2002.
Well, they need to do something in the islands. Only 21,542 fans attended the Tulane game at Aloha Stadium, Hawaii's smallest crowd since 1998. The Cougars, who are going to the Dec. 30 Armed Forces Bowl, win or lose, know Warriors fans will be there in force this Saturday.
"We are obviously excited for the opportunity to go play a great team out there," said BYU quarterback Riley Nelson, perhaps not realizing that this Hawaii team is actually on the mediocre side of the scale. "We know that they are very tough at home, and they come to play. And the time difference and the jet lag and all that can be a factor, so we are going to do everything we can to prevent that. So overall, we are excited and anxious."
Nelson has been cleared to fly after suffering a collapsed lung and other injuries two weeks ago against Idaho. If he is cleared to play, he will probably start, based on coach Bronco Mendenhall's declaration a few weeks ago that Nelson will regain his starting position when he's healthy. The junior has some experience with the Warriors, having faced them in Logan when he was a freshman at Utah State and losing 63-10.
"It was bad," Nelson said. "We lost by something like 60-14, and I have never been more sore than after that. Normally I kind of roll out of bed and crack the back and I am sore. But that day was almost debilitating. I don't remember being able to roll over. So personally I am excited to go get a crack at them. ... So for me personally, if I get the opportunity to play, it is going to be a fun one for me."
The Cougars will practice Monday and Tuesday, having had a bye last weekend, and leave on Wednesday. Mendenhall, who often visits the North Shore for surfing and sun in the offseason, said this trip will be different.
"I go over there most of the time to not think about football. Now we are going over there with that being the primary thought," he said. "So I am not sure it is going to seem like Hawaii."
BYU tight end Kaneakua Friel is from Kaneohe and attended Kamehameha High School.
"Teams think they can take a vacation over there — get some sun, go to the beach — and they get tired out before the game," Friel said. "That's something the [BYU] coaches know, having played in Hawaii in the past. So I think they will allow us only so much time out in the sun, doing our own deal."
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU at Hawaii
P Saturday, 5:30 p.m. MST, ESPN2