WATCHING Hawaii's football game against BYU on television from Maui Saturday filled me with mixed emotions. UH letdowns let
Cougars off the hookOf course, I hate losing to BYU in any sport -- football most of all. But I was resigned to it this year.
After all, this was one of the Rainbows' three ''can't win'' games this season, Colorado State and Notre Dame being the other two.
But with their starting quarterback out with an injury and a less-than-explosive offense for a change, the Cougars looked vulnerable, especially after losing to Rice the week before.
They were ripe for the picking, even if the game was in Provo, Utah, where the Rainbows haven't won a game.
Maybe, just maybe, we thought, UH could win.
Alas, it was not meant to be. It was like asking Minnesota, a five-touchdown underdog, to beat Penn State, the No. 1 team in the nation. Well, it was No. 1 before the game.
The Rainbows couldn't pull it off, even though the Cougars played ''ugly'' according to their coaches.
THE Rainbows played uglier. There's no other word to describe their performance. The UH defense played well enough, giving up just one touchdown. But once again, the offense flunked the test. Making three out of 16 third-down conversions is a sure way to lose a game.
That sets up a lot of punting situations, which shouldn't be too bad. Hawaii has the best punter in the Western Athletic Conference, sophomore Chad Shrout.
Unfortunately, "punt" has become a four-letter word in Hawaii's vocabulary. Whenever the Rainbows punt, three things can happen, two of them bad. Either the punt will get blocked or the opponent will run it back for a touchdown. Who can forget the Colorado State game.
Sure enough, BYU ran one back for a touchdown, which turned out to be the defining moment in the Rainbows' 17-3 defeat. Never mind that the Cougars got away with two illegal -- but uncalled -- blocks in the back on the return.
Maybe Shrout outkicked his coverage. His 64-yarder was returned 83 yards for the touchdown. But it isn't his fault. You can't tell the guy to punt it short. The Rainbows' coaching staff needs to get guys downfield on the coverage. Where have you gone, Matthew Harding?
The special teams are very unspecial for the Rainbows. Eric Hannum missed a 20-yard field goal -- what is it about Provo when it comes to chip-shot field goal attempts by Hawaii? -- and when the Rainbows blocked a punt, they got called for a personal foul, negating the play.
Another dumb penalty -- 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct -- cost them another chance for a touchdown. Instead of first-and-10 on the BYU 16, the Rainbows found themselves on the Cougar 31.
They at least got a field goal for their only score of the game. No wonder the Rainbows are
0-19 in WAC games on the road. This was a BYU team waiting to be had. But the Rainbows blew their chances to pull off a victory on the road -- and in Provo. At least they were competitive, which is more than a lot of fans expected.
But it's of little consolation because a loss is a loss is a loss. Especially when it's to BYU.