PROVO — Taking on a winless FCS opponent in the home finale — on Senior Day — isn’t the ideal situation for BYU.
But as the Cougars host Savannah State Saturday (1 p.m. MST, BYUtv), senior linebacker Michael Alisa said it’s not about the opponent.
“I’m just happy to play at LaVell Edwards Stadium and have my family all there to watch,” Alisa said. “My mom just flew out from Hawaii. She’ll be there to watch me put on my blue uniform for the last time at LaVell Edwards Stadium.”
BYU’s 26 seniors will be honored and senior blankets will be handed out prior to kickoff.
Saturday’s game serves as a final tune-up before BYU ends the regular season next week at Cal.
It’s hard to imagine Savannah State (0-11), which has lost 20 consecutive games, putting up much of a fight.
The Tigers have been outscored by a lopsided 493-137 margin this year. In their season-opener at Middle Tennessee, they lost 61-7 (BYU beat Middle Tennessee, 27-7 earlier this month). The following week, Georgia Southern blasted Savannah State, 83-9. The Tigers are coming off a 34-0 home loss to North Carolina A&T last Saturday.
The Cougars say they want to have a good showing, particularly the seniors who will be running onto the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium for the final time. They also want to continue improving as the season winds down.
“We didn’t come out and play like we wanted to against UNLV,” said senior wide receiver Jordan Leslie. “We want to show how dominant our offense and defense can be. We want to come out strong and treat it like any other game. We don’t look at their record.”
“No matter who comes in here, we need to play our best football and execute,” said senior defensive back Skye PoVey. “It’s an important game. It’s important to keep building momentum to get better. We have Cal and postseason play up ahead. We need to play the best we can play. … We want to end on a high note and win out.”
Coach Bronco Mendenhall acknowledged there would be a tendency for players to look past Savannah State and focus on Cal.
“There’s temptation for every game, wondering who’s next and playing out those scenarios,” he said. “Certainly the outside world and our team, there will be a tendency to do that. I’m anxious to see how much we can improve our team this week in preparation for the other games that we have, not only this week. If we don’t, it will be wasted time, and we need it.”
“It might be easy for guys to look at their record and see that this isn’t the best team we’ve faced this year and maybe take them lightly,” Alisa said. “It will come down to leadership, to make sure that the guys keep after it.”