BYU football vs. Hawaii: The matchups

HONOLULU — BYU Cougars renew an old rivalry as they take on the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at Aloha stadium Saturday night. Strange things have happened over in the islands during these games in past years, so what can we expect this Saturday?

Hawaii doesn’t look to have all that much on paper, but this is their bowl game and they’ve historically given BYU their best effort of the year whenever they match up. BYU, meanwhile, is locked into the Armed Forces Bowl and will be bringing back Riley Nelson at the quarterback position for the first time since his injury sustained against Idaho.

So what does all of this mean? We looked at the matchups, but more importantly, got the opinion of players leading up to the game.

BYU rushing attack vs. Hawaii

While Michael Alisa has emerged as a top running back option for the Cougars, it’s still old, reliable Bryan Kariya that they count on when they need to make critical yardage. Whether ii be third-and-short situation or near the goaline, it’s the veteran senior that will be getting the football.

“I don’t have the shake or the speed to go outside. I just know how to do one thing,” said Kariya. “I guess that’s served me well when the team needs to get one or two yards, and I’m happy to do it. I can’t do a lot of the other things the other guys can. But I know what I can do, and if it’s to get a critical yard, then I can do that.”

He’s done it very effectively so far this season as the Cougar ground attack has continued to thrive after the changes offensive coordinator Brandon Doman installed following the Utah State game. The run-blocking schemes have been stripped down and they’ve added the talents of Alisa to the rotation — all seen with success.

“You’re not able to do much of anything if you can’t run the ball and our offense has gotten better and better with us running it better and better in each game,” said Kariya.

They’ll be matching up against a Hawaii team that yields 140 yards per game on the ground on a 3.9 yards per carry average. They’ll present a 4-3 base defensive system that features its linebackers, most notably their two senior linebackers Corey Paredes, 6-0, 235, and Aaron Brown, 6-1, 225.

Paredes will man the middle, backing up the defensive line, with Brown playing out of the buck position. Both players lead the Rainbows in total tackles this season.