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BYU Football: Scouting the Schedule – Hawaii

By Shaun Gordon

PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: Cole Brownholtz #17 of the Hawaii Warriors gets pas Keisean Lucier-South #11 of the UCLA Bruins as he runs for a touch down in the fourth quarter of the game at the Rose Bowl on September 9, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: Cole Brownholtz #17 of the Hawaii Warriors gets pas Keisean Lucier-South #11 of the UCLA Bruins as he runs for a touch down in the fourth quarter of the game at the Rose Bowl on September 9, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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Lawless Republic’s Scouting the Schedule series continues with BYU Football’s seventh game of the 2018 season, former conference foe Hawaii.

For the first time in 2018, BYU Football will play a second straight home game when they host Hawaii on October 13th for their seventh game. The Cougars could legitimately finish the first half of the season anywhere between 4-2 and 1-5.

This is as close to a must-win game as you can get when it comes to bowl eligibility. Fortunately for the Cougars, they’ll be facing a very young an inexperienced Rainbow Warriors team that lost two key players to transfer and even more to graduation.

Last Season

2017 was the first year for new head coach Nick Rolovich, who took over after four years as Nevada’s Offensive Coordinator. He inherited a team that had suffered six straight losing seasons.

He wasn’t able to halt that streak in his first year. The Rainbow Warriors won their first two games (UMass and Western Carolina), but lost nine out of their last ten. Their only other win was against San Jose State 37-26.

One of those losses came against BYU. The Cougars traveled to the islands on the last week of the season and handled the Rainbow Warriors 30-20, giving Hawaii their ninth loss of the season.

Offseason

Rolovich inherited a fairly experienced roster, albeit one short on talent. A lot of Hawaii players graduated, and two key pieces decided to transfer. Two-year starting quarterback Dru Brown transferred to Oklahoma State, and leading wide receiver Dylan Collie came to BYU.

The Rainbow Warriors’ defense was abysmal, and Defensive Coordinator Legi Suiaunoa lost his job as a result. Corey Batoon will take over those duties in 2018 after serving as the safeties coach under Lane Kiffin at Florida Atlantic last season.

Another change will take place in 2018. Rolovich will be calling the offensive plays instead of Offensive Coordinator Brian Smith.

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