Hawaii ready to PROVO, Utah >> Big crowds can create little mistakes that lead to huge, game-swinging results. At least that's what Brigham Young coach Gary Crowton was hoping for going into today's football game against visiting Hawaii at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
fight the noise
The Warriors don't have much
experience in front of a loud crowdBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com"Miscues, communication. ... It can be as simple as the center telling a guard they're going to double-team a tackle. And if they miss that ... it turns out that big plays happen from those things," Crowton said.
The expected crowd of 65,000 at the stadium named for Crowton's legendary predecessor is one reason BYU is a 10 1/2-point favorite today.
The Warriors admit communication -- along with the 4,500-foot altitude and BYU's explosive offense -- is among their biggest challenges today. With its noise-retaining bowl and closed-off north end zone, the former Cougar Stadium is one of college football's loudest venues.
Hawaii left tackle Wayne Hunter -- a key to the protection of quarterback Tim Chang -- is dealing with something of this nature for the first time; even the high-decibel teaching style of UH offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh can't come close to this many people yelling with the intent of making you mess up.
"This is all new to me," Hunter said after practice Tuesday. "I really have to work at it. I went offsides a couple times today."
Hunter was a defensive lineman until last spring. D-linemen react to what the offense does, offensive linemen need to know what they're going to do before the ball is snapped, based on the defense's alignment. They constantly alter their assignments.
Until the day comes -- if ever -- when players talk to each other via earpieces that eliminate outside noise, they will have to find other ways to communicate when large, vocal crowds bring it.
Who: Hawaii (1-0) at Brigham Young (1-0) UH football
When: Today, 1 p.m. Hawaii time
TV: ESPN (live)
Radio: 1420-AM
Anticipating ears being useless today, the Warriors worked on alternatives throughout the week.
"We're doing a lot more pointing," Hunter said. "We do that anyway, point out who we're going to block. But now it's even more important."
But what about snapping the ball?
"We're working on a silent count," sophomore receiver Chad Owens said. " I think the noise will make us susceptible to offsides. We can't worry about it, we just have to prepare the best we can for it and play football."
Owens and Chang are like Hunter in that they've never been exposed to a situation like this on the road before. The closest for Chang was when he started at quarterback two years ago at Rice (with a much smaller crowd than today); he was intercepted five times in a 38-13 loss.
"We're expecting it to be loud and noisy," Chang said. "The key will be our non-verbal cues. There are other ways to start a play."
One unheard of aspect of crowd noise is how it can negatively affect the home team's defense. According to BYU cornerback Chad Barney, it can and does happen, especially with new players involved.
Last week, the Dixie College transfer played in his first Division I game, as 65,612 at Edwards Stadium saw the Cougars beat Syracuse 42-21.
"I was in a different coverage than the other side and we're both supposed to be in the same thing. Communication, hand signals, so forth, getting the call right. That's something we've been working on," Barney said.
"Bring out the loudspeakers (to practice); I don't know what you would do to prepare for that. Everyone knows what the hand signals are. With the run-and-shoot, we're not going to huddle a lot. We're just going to be out on the field and everyone's going to have to get the signal in so you can execute the defense and do the play properly."
Barney knows that, overall, the home crowd noise gives the Cougars a big advantage.
"We love it. I love it. It gets your adrenaline going. It gets you going when you're tired. When you hear those fans screaming and yelling it gives you a boost. It's a positive for us when Hawaii comes into town to have our fans up on their feet yelling."
At least 150 fans from Hawaii were expected today. But even in all their ti-leaf-waving glory, they will be outnumbered 400-1.
Nine months ago, the roles were reversed, and Hawaii won 72-45 at Aloha Stadium.
"I think the fans will help a lot," Crowton said. "I thought last year the Hawaii fans did a great job, pounding that drum, and screaming and yelling.
"Our fans have been good here. It gets noisy, it can be hard to audible. I want them yelling when they have the ball, screaming so they can't hear the audibles and quiet when we have it so we can hear ours. We've got great fans and hopefully they'll be a contributing factor to the outcome of the game.
"They (the fans) want it to be a revenge game," the coach said.
Hawaii coach June Jones is well aware of how a big partisan crowd can help a team. It can aid both teams.
"That kind of thing, it gets the juices going for everybody, and 75,000 people watching," Jones said. "But it makes communication, especially on our offensive line, even more important."
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