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BYU football notes: Cougars will hit Hawaii early, and the beach later, but they insist it is a business trip

Regular-season finale not meaningless to a pair of three-win teams, former rivals, coach Kalani Sitake says

(Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU tight end Matt Bushman (89) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the game at LaVell Edwards Stadium Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017.


Provo • Saturday’s football game at the University of Hawaii looks like the perfect recipe for another humiliating loss for the beleaguered BYU football team.

Check them off:

• Meaningless, season-ending contest against a former conference rival eager to prove itself against a longtime bully.

Rock-bottom confidence after an embarrassing senior day loss to lowly UMass.

• Freshman quarterback making his third start.

• Surrounded by plenty of friends and family members and a lot of distractions in a tropical paradise.

So will it be a business trip or vacation for the Cougars, who played like they only mildly were interested in finishing the season strong the last time out?

Coach Kalani Sitake, offensive lineman Thomas Shoaf, defensive end Corbin Kaufusi and tight end Matt Bushman all insisted during Monday’s news briefing that it will be more of the former than the latter. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. MST at Aloha Stadium, and the game will be televised by the CBS Sports Network.

“There are many reasons why we could go out and try to have fun and slack off, but that’s what we cannot do,” Bushman said. “The way the season has been, we can’t go out and mess around this last game. We have to show everyone, and we have to prove it to ourselves, that we want to go out and win, that we want to make this more of a business trip than a vacation.

“It is still the last game of the season, but it is not like it is meaningless. A win can do so much for us, so that’s our plan. Yeah, it is going to be cool to be in Hawaii. I have never been before. But it is still a football game. We have to go out and do our best to win the game.”

Sitake said the Cougars will arrive in Oahu on Wednesday, celebrate Thanksgiving there and practice Thursday, then practice again Friday. He said they studied their past performances in Hawaii and determined that they did better when they arrived a few days before kickoff.

He said even though the Cougars are getting there early, it does not mean they are treating it like a bowl game. Still, “we will try to make the best of it while we are there and try not to have too much idle time,” he said. “… But you are in Hawaii, so you let them just have some time where they can just enjoy the beach a little bit. But that is because we are there all day.”

Sitake said several times Monday that 100 percent of the focus is on winning the game.

“Moving forward and setting the tone for next season, that’s the ultimate goal for us right now,” he said.

Dealing with Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving always comes in the latter part of the college football season, so coaches and players are used to it and know how to handle it, Sitake said.

“I don’t think it is a struggle,” he said. “The hardest part is players are used to being with their families during this time. So we are trying to be the surrogate family for our players while they are away from home and will just try to give them a good experience.”

Recruiting during a down year

Sitake said BYU’s woeful season and 3-9 record “hasn’t been a catastrophe, as far as recruiting goes.” He said there has been some “attrition” — recruits flipping to other schools — but that happens to every program, even during a successful year.

“Our recruiting is a little different than other places,” he said. “There are guys who have been committed for years and are still committed. … We have more guys that are committed early here, and they usually stay that way. [The season] really hasn’t been a huge detriment in our recruiting efforts.”

Briefly

Bushman’s right thumb is heavily taped from the hit he took against Fresno State that caused him to fumble on the Cougars’ last possession. “I played the past two games with it,” he said. “I will just finish the season out with it.” … BYU has won its last six regular-season finales and is 8-2 in them the last 10 seasons.