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PROVO — The 2017 BYU football team is not going to a postseason bowl game, having failed to qualify for the six-win plateau with a 3-9 record ahead of Saturday’s season finale at Hawaii.
But a final game on the islands is close enough to a bowl-game atmosphere, right?
Not exactly, BYU coaches and players say.
“The goal is to go win the game,” head coach Kalani Sitake said after the team’s 16-10 home loss to UMass. “This is a regular game, and it’s not a bowl game, where there is a lot of time to have a lot of entertainment.”
Of course, it’s one of the most popular vacation spots in the United States, and the Cougars plan to make good use of their trip. They’ll fly to Hawaii on Wednesday night, spend the Thanksgiving holiday in Honolulu and give the players a few extra hours to explore the sights and go to the beach, if they prefer, Sitake added.
“We’ll try not to have too much idle time, but everything is scheduled and we have great people with us with bed checks and regular practices,” the coach said. “But you’re in Hawaii, so we’ll let them have some time to enjoy the beach a bit.”
Make no mistake: The Cougars are about business.
“It’s really important that we don’t think Hawaii is a vacation. It’s a business trip,” said tight end Matt Bushman, the Cougars’ leading pass catcher with 468 yards and three touchdowns. “It’s obviously cool to go to Hawaii, but we need to do all that we can to show the seniors that we care for them and we want them to go out with positive memories.”
Like BYU, the Rainbow Warriors (3-8) also struggled in 2017 and are coming off a 38-0 loss to Utah State to end Mountain West play. Unlike the Cougars, the ’Bows are averaging 23.0 points per game—a touchdown more than BYU—and boast a win over UMass on their schedule.
“We know where we are at and the things we need to improve,” offensive coordinator Ty Detmer said. “We really want to win this one for the seniors, and to go into a long flight home feeling better about things.”
Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich is likely telling his players the same things the BYU coaches are telling the Cougars: The offseason feels a lot longer coming off a loss. For the Cougars, that means an offseason of uncertainty amongst position coaches and starting spots for the 2018 season.
“There are reasons to go out and just have fun—but that’s exactly what we can’t do,” Bushman said. “We have to prove to ourselves that we want to go out and win. It’s still the last game of the season.
“A win can do so much for us.”
Under pressure
Sitake hinted during his final pregame media briefing Monday that changes are likely coming to the BYU football program in the offseason.
Kalani has spoken with athletic director Tom Holmoe and associate athletic director Brian Santiago throughout the season about his squad. But he insists his focus is on finishing the Cougars’ current 13-game slate, an extra-game schedule made possible by the NCAA’s exemption for playing at Hawaii.
“I know where we sit and I know how to get the fix and how to improve. That’s the goal: to improve,” Sitake said. “But the main focus right now is to win this game—and that could help out a lot.”
Much of the criticism has fallen on Detmer and the BYU offense, which ranks 122nd in the Football Bowl Subdivision and has never scored more than 41 points.
“That’s coaching; you are judged on your results,” Detmer said. “I think people in the program understand the circumstances we’ve been in, with youth and injuries. I’m not worried about that—we’ll evaluate it after the season, with discussions with Kalani, and we’ll go from there.”
Tanner Mangum far from back
Mangum has been missing in action since suffering a season-ending Achilles’ tendon injury in a 20-13 loss Nov. 4 at Fresno State, and surgery has left him sporting an immobilization cast on the sidelines of BYU football games since then.
His return might not come early in the offseason either, Detmer admitted.
“It’s not known for sure. I think it might be a stretch with that injury,” Detmer said when asked if Mangum could return in time for spring football in March. “But I know guys have come back in 4-6 months; it depends on how aggressive you want to be. The risk of re-tear is the problem, so you have to be careful with those things.”
Mangum completed 147-of-257 passes for 1,540 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior in 2017. Since suffering an initial injury Sept. 9 in a loss to then-No. 23 Utah, the Cougars have played Beau Hoge, Koy Detmer Jr., Joe Critchlow and Austin Kafentzis at quarterback.
