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| Photo credit: Isaac Hale, Daily Herald |
The BYU Cougars will play the Hawai'i Warriors tomorrow. Here are five questions to keep in mind while watching the game.
1. Is the team still fully invested?
The expectation was that BYU would redeem the season after the 1-6 start by winning every game left on the schedule. After losing to UMass, BYU is just 2-3 in those games. How resiliant is this team? Are they able to stay fully invested, or has the team finally broken? Will the Cougars back up all this talk about taking the game and trip to Hawai'i seriously?
2. Will Dylan Collie make BYU fans regret that he transferred?
Collie was originally a Cougar, just like the rest of his family. However, after he was done serving a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he tranferred to Hawai'i. BYU had changed the offensive staff while he was gone.
It is not uncommon in games like this to see a player like Collie, full of emotion, go out and have his best game of the season. Will Collie do that? Maybe he will make a big play near the end that will change the outcome.
3. Can BYU ruin Hawai'i's senior night?
BYU just had its Senior Day spoiled by UMass. Now, BYU can do the same thing by beating Hawai'i. The Cougars were in a similar situation at East Carolina as the Pirates hosted BYU for Homecoming, but BYU lost that game. Can BYU play the spoiler role this time?
4. Can BYU top an equally bad opponent?
This is the fourth time this season that the win-loss record of the opponent (3-8) and BYU (3-9) are, roughly, the same at the time of the game. (The first game of the season when both teams were 0-0 does not count.) BYU is just 1-2 in these games with losses to East Carolina (1-6) and UMass (3-8), and a win over San Jose State when both teams were 1-7. Can BYU be the better team this time?
5. Can BYU avoid more historic landmarks?
If BYU loses, it will be the first time since 1970 that BYU has won less than four games in a season. It will also be just the second time ever that BYU had double-digit losses in a season. The only other time BYU lost 10 or more games in a season was the winless 1949 campaign (0-11).
Granted, BYU didn't play more than 10 games in a season for most seasons before 1970. Other teams may have reached the double-digit loss milestone if they had played 13 games like this season (i.e. the 1955 team was 1-9, and the 1954 team was 1-8).
The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com
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