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BYU Football: A fast start and two more keys to beating Hawaii

By Shaun Gordon

TUCSON, AZ - SEPTEMBER 01: Tight end Matt Bushman #89 of the Brigham Young Cougars scores a 24 yard touchdown reception against the Arizona Wildcats during the second half of the college football game at Arizona Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Tucson, Arizona. The Cougars defeated the Wildcats 28-23. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ - SEPTEMBER 01: Tight end Matt Bushman #89 of the Brigham Young Cougars scores a 24 yard touchdown reception against the Arizona Wildcats during the second half of the college football game at Arizona Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Tucson, Arizona. The Cougars defeated the Wildcats 28-23. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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TUCSON, AZ – SEPTEMBER 01: Tight end Matt Bushman #89 of the Brigham Young Cougars scores a 24 yard touchdown reception against the Arizona Wildcats during the second half of the college football game at Arizona Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Tucson, Arizona. The Cougars defeated the Wildcats 28-23. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ – SEPTEMBER 01: Tight end Matt Bushman #89 of the Brigham Young Cougars scores a 24 yard touchdown reception against the Arizona Wildcats during the second half of the college football game at Arizona Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Tucson, Arizona. The Cougars defeated the Wildcats 28-23. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Hawaii will bring their high-powered offense into LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday night, and BYU Football has to do three things to send the Rainbow Warriors packing.

BYU Football’s Saturday night matchup with Hawaii may be one of the most important games of the season, and nobody would have expected that at the beginning of the year.

The Rainbow Warriors come to LaVell Edwards Stadium with a 6-1 record and one of the most dynamic passing offenses in the country.

If the Cougars play the way they’ve played the last two weeks they’ll drop to 3-4, including a 1-3 home record.

At that point the margin for error in reaching bowl eligibility becomes razor-thin.

But if the Cougars can win three key battles, they’ll be in position to give the Rainbow Warriors their second loss of the season.

1 – Start Fast

BYU’s offense hasn’t been great all season, but they’ve been particularly abysmal in the first quarter of games. They’ve only scored seven total first quarter points all season, and that touchdown came against Wisconsin.

It’s by far the Cougars’ worst-scoring quarter, and BYU has only scored first once this season (at Arizona).

The slow starts have killed the Cougars, especially the last two weeks. BYU hasn’t won a game under Kalani Sitake in which they’ve trailed by more than one score.

And if Hawaii jumps out to an early lead it’ll be even more difficult to pull out a win. The Rainbow Warrior offense is too prolific to get into a shootout with, especially with BYU’s propensity to shoot themselves in the foot on long drives.

The Cougars will have to control the clock and keep Hawaii’s offense off the field in order to win, and if they get behind early that will be all but impossible.

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