Hawai'i Warriors: Looks like a repeat of the 1998 season

Warrior fans, actually back in 1998 they were the Rainbow Warriors, dwell on a time they wish they never witnessed. A 0-12 season with two shut out losses. Now 14 years later it almost parallels to a similar feeling. Embarrassment. That is what the Warriors looked like last night when they took on a re-energized offense and stout defense in the BYU Cougars.

Keys to a Hawaii victory over BYU: win turnover battle and challenge secondary

Hawaii takes on BYU at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Open Thread: Hawaii Warriors at BYU Cougars, Sep 28, 2012 6:00 PM MST

Hawaii takes their offense on the road where they look to reverse their struggles.

BYU vs. Hawaii: A Q&A with Academically Ineligible

Our very own Brandon Tamas answered a few questions regarding the Hawaii vs. BYU game this Friday over at Academically Ineligible. The questions that were asked were what to be expected as describe the team this team on offense and defense, in addition who the play makers are, so check the site for those answers.

The one question I will highlight is the question that was asked about how the Hawaii community has taken to Norm Chow:

Academically Ineligible: How have the players and the community embraced Norm Chow as the head coach on the Islands?

Brandon Tamas: The players have bought into Coach Chow's philosophy to play hard every down till the last whistle. He doesn't want to see any players going half speed no matter what the score is. A few plays from the Nevada game had some players not going full speed and that might lead to some changes in the starting rotation for both the offense and defense. Everything he says is a "game time decision" even with the reinstated punter for our team Alex Dunnachie who served a four game suspension for a DUI charge over the summer and we really need him if Hawaii cannot move the ball on offense.

As far as the Hawaii community, it may seem small to the mainlanders but Hawaii football is king in all sports statewide. No matter whom the coach was, we were going to embrace him with open arms and support him 100%. We don't expect much this year from him because it will take time for the players to understand and execute the pro-style offense. Once he gets his recruits here we should expect more from Coach Chow.

Make sure to head over to Academically Ineligible for more on this game, as well as the rest of the Q&A.

VIDEO: Norm Chow Looks Back At Nevada, Looks Forward To BYU

At the Hawaii Warriors weekly press conference for Norm Chow, he briefly discussed how they struggled against Nevada where they lost 69-24. He talked about the difficult turn around time for a road game on Friday night against the BYU Cougars.

They had a practice on Sunday, which he said they never do, and went hard on practice on Tuesday to get ready for their long trip out to Provo, Utah. Chow also briefly touched on how great the BYU defense is and that their zone coverage can cause confusion if they are not ready. His offense must be on their best game if they want to pull off the upset.

Chow also shrugged off the return to BYU since this is his fourth time heading back to the place where he made his name as an amazing offensive coordinator.

The main thing at the end of the press conference was that his team is a young team, and mistakes will happen. However, this game against BYU the offense can not afford to play young if they want to move the ball and score some points against BYU.

AUDIO: BYU Players, Coaches Discuss Quarterback, Offensive Woes, Plus Offensive Line Issues

The BYU Cougars had some issues last week when the lost to the Boise St. Broncos 7-6, they had five turnovers -- three by starting quarterback Riley Nelson -- which prompted bringing in true freshman quarterback Taysom Hill. Hill moved the ball well and was able to score the only offensive touchdown for the game.

With a quarterback change mid game there was bound to be some controversy at BYU practice this, and lucky for readers here I cover BYU for another job. So I was able to be at both practices this week to see what was going on.

First off, Nelson has back issues and has been limited in practice both days, and there are reports that he has a cracked vertebrate, but that has yet to be confirmed and is denied by Nelson.

With Nelson limited in practice, and Hill performing fairly well in his action against Boise State, it is likely that Hill will start on Friday against the Hawaii Warriors. On Monday's practice, Hill stayed late to take extra snaps under center and to learn a bit more from Nelson by practicing pitching the ball down the field in an option style toss. Not sure why BYU is continually doing more option stuff, but Nevada did it well in their big win on Saturday that BYU is going to try to exploit that.

Another reason why I doubt Nelson will suit up is that on Monday he was wearing a long sleeve shirt under his jersey, it was somewhat cool out, but it was not a workout style shirt. Rather it was like a loose long sleeve tee, and he had a play card hanging out of his shorts. So, not sure if even really practice in 11-on-11, or 7-on-7 drills.

For Hawaii, the difference between Nelson and HIll are really negligible, both are running style quarterbacks and their throwing is questionable. Hill more so because he is a true freshman, and is still learning the playbook and his receivers tendencies.

There was also issues along the past two weeks for BYU with multiple false start penalties, but with this game being at home, Hawaii can not bank on having BYU have too many false start penalties.

Here is the audio from BYU practice from Sept. 24 and Sept. 25:

BYU RT Braden Brown 9.24

Bronco Mendenhall 9.24

BYU OC Brandon Doman 9.24 BYU QB Taysom Hill 9.24

Taysom Hill 9.25

Bronco Mendenhall 9.25

Riley Nelson 9.25

A quick look at Hawaii's game against foe BYU Cougars

Hawaii travels to the main land to go up against a formal WAC rival.