Sunday, December 9, 2001
[ UH WARRIOR FOOTBALL ]
Brigham Young could have blamed it on last week's Bowl Championship Series snub. Not having big-play man Luke Staley is certainly a good excuse. BYU gives Hawaii its due
By Paul Arnett
parnett@starbulletin.comComing to Hawaii for a week of fun in the sun might have contributed to the 72-45 thrashing as well.
But the No. 9 Cougars would have none of it after the Warriors ruined their perfect season yesterday at sold-out Aloha Stadium. They gave credit where credit was due.
"Hawaii came out and played well," BYU head coach Gary Crowton said. "They came out with a lot of energy just like I knew they would. This was a big game. They were excited and there was a lot of noise.
"I felt like we were going to have to do a good job early with all that excitement. And we didn't. I give them a lot of credit. It's a travesty these guys aren't in a bowl game at 9-3. They're a very good football team, especially over here in the islands. But we had some injuries that hurt us."
BYU was without Staley, who broke his ankle late in last week's win over Mississippi State. Then top quarterback Brandon Doman went down with broken ribs in the first quarter of yesterday's 264-minute affair. He tried to come back, but was injured again on a goal-line stand by Hawaii on the last play of the half. Wideout Reno Mahe also suffered a knee injury, leaving the Cougars with few offensive weapons.
"Any time you lose a player like Luke, you're going to notice it," Crowton said. "We didn't have Luke and we didn't have Brandon for half the game. But you know what? I don't want to make any excuses. I just want to give Hawaii a lot of credit and for us to learn from it, and get ready for our bowl game."
BYU will face Louisville in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 31. The Cougars are hopeful Staley will be back. He won the Doak Walker Award on Thursday, which is given to the nation's top running back. Doman is hopeful he'll be back as well. He will have X-rays done on his ribs this week to see how badly they are broken.
Coming into the game, Crowton threatened to sue the BCS for not including BYU in its plans. It's the second time in six seasons that the Cougars had a chance for a major New Year's Day bid, only to be passed over for higher-profile teams.
That had to be a distraction because the players had worked so hard to put themselves in position to be considered one of the top teams in the country. Senior offensive lineman Jason Scukanec said as much after the loss.
"Hawaii ended our Cinderella season by playing hard and well," Scukanec said. "It's very hard to go undefeated through 13 games. Maybe that's why there's only one unbeaten team (Miami) left. We were a little down being passed over by the BCS. But that's no excuse. Hawaii came out and kicked our butts. It's that simple."
Crowton echoed those sentiments.
"I felt we might have been down a little bit emotionally at the start, but again, I don't want to make any excuses," Crowton said. "The turnovers (nine fumbles, six lost) and the touchdowns we gave up early on special teams were the real differences in the game."
That, and maybe BYU taking Hawaii a little lightly.
"We thought we were going to come in here and win without too much trouble," senior running back Ned Stearns said. "Give Hawaii a lot of credit. They came out with their guns blazing and put it to us."
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Ka Leo O Hawaii
