But you have to treat it like any other trip. It’s a business trip, and we’re there to win. We’re not there to sightsee. We’re there to win a football game, that’s it. – Utah State's Brian Suite
LOGAN — Traveling all the way to Hawaii to play a game against the Rainbow Warriors is a challenge for any football team.
And even though he’s never done it as an opposing player, Utah State’s Brian Suite does have a little insider knowledge as a native of Honolulu that the senior safety planned to share with his teammates before tonight’s game.
“The biggest thing that I see with teams going to Hawaii is the travel and the time delay,” Suite noted. “It’s a real advantage for Hawaii. When they have to come here, it’s a disadvantage for them, but when teams have to go to Hawaii, it’s an advantage for them because of the time delay, the extra travel, and then you put your team up in Waikiki, which is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
“But you have to treat it like any other trip. It’s a business trip, and we’re there to win. We’re not there to sightsee. We’re there to win a football game, that’s it.”
Win tonight at Aloha Stadium, and the Aggies (2-1 in the MWC, 5-3 overall) will become bowl-eligible for the fourth straight season. But if Utah State is to knock off the struggling Rainbow Warriors (1-2, 2-6), the Aggies will have to do so with a freshman quarterback making his first career start.
Kent Myers, USU’s fourth-string quarterback at the beginning of the season, saw limited action in last week’s win over UNLV after senior Craig Harrison went down with a partially torn ACL in his left knee. With first- and second-string QBs Chuckie Keeton (knee) and Darell Garretson (wrist) already out for the season, that leaves DJ Nelson, another true freshman, as Myers’ backup.
“As long as he takes care of the ball — he’s stingy with the ball, and he’s smart with his decisions — he’ll be fine,” Wells said of Myers, a dual-threat quarterback out of Rowlett, Texas. “He doesn’t have to win the game, he just has to not lose it.
“He has to distribute the ball, do what we need to do. And we need to find a way to run it, our wideouts have to play really, really good, and we have to keep playing championship defense and playing good on special teams. That plan hasn’t changed. There are no magic plans out there for a fourth-string quarterback.”
Adding to USU’s offensive woes is the potential absence of sophomore linebacker/running back Nick Vigil, who suffered a leg injury in the second half of the 34-20 win over UNLV, and the presence of Hawaii defensive coordinator Kevin Clune. The linebackers coach at Utah State for five years, Clune joined Norm Chow’s staff prior to this season, and thus far, the Warriors are surrendering 13.6 fewer points per game in 2014 than last year — the fourth-best improvement in the country.
“Those guys play with their hair on fire,” Wells said of the UH defense. “They play hard. They chase the football. They play with tremendous effort, and I know that’s something Kevin has instilled in them and demanded out of them.”
Chow, the offensive coordinator at BYU during much of the Cougars’ heyday under LaVell Edwards, has struggled so far in his return to his native state. The Warriors are 6-26 in Chow’s three years at Hawaii, including a 2-17 record in the Mountain West.
Hawaii nearly upended Washington in its season opener before falling to the Huskies, 17-16. The Warriors’ two wins both came at home against Northern Iowa (27-24) and Wyoming (38-28).
Starting quarterback Ikaika Woolsey has completed just under 50 percent of his passes this season while throwing seven touchdowns and five interceptions. Senior Jeremy Higgins, a former Aggie who was UH’s second-string quarterback heading into the season, is out for the season after breaking his hand at Colorado on Sept. 20.