HONOLULU — Wet, windy weather is expected to greet BYU and Hawaii on Tuesday afternoon when the former Western Athletic Conference rivals square off in the SoFi Hawaii Bowl at Aloha Stadium.
That’s definitely not good news for BYU’s kickers and punters, who have struggled in near-perfect conditions, let alone difficult ones.
“The pressure is mounting on all of us,” said special teams coach Ed Lamb.
Look no further than BYU’s 13-3 loss to San Diego State a little more than three weeks ago. Two missed field goals loomed large, as did a shanked punt.
Jake Oldroyd and Skyler Southam, who are both listed as sophomores on BYU’s depth chart, are also listed as co-starters for field goal chores against the Rainbow Warriors for the 6 p.m. MST game to be televised by ESPN.
Lamb was not ready to name a starter late last week, but he did acknowledge that Oldroyd had had “a slight edge” in the practices since Nov. 30.
“But they have both been up and down,” Lamb said.
Seeing as how the Cougars (7-5) are just 2-point favorites in their 32nd matchup with Hawaii (9-5), but first in a bowl game, and the contest could easily be decided by a late field goal, that’s not what BYU fans wanted to hear.
“I just think that going into the game, whoever gets that call has got to make it,” Lamb said. “I hate to put the guys in that situation, but that’s just where we are at in terms of what our team needs from those guys.”
Oldroyd is 14 of 21, with a long of 54, while Southam is 1 of 3, his only make a 24-yarder.
Lamb said one of the adjustments coaches have made was to install a new camera angle at practice to see if it reveals a flaw in either kicker’s form, much like a professional golfer’s swing.
“Overall, that’s produced a slight trajectory up,” Lamb said. “And we are practicing in a different way. We used to work in a separate period; Now we are working it right into the flow of practice.”
Having field goal attempts in the middle of practice supposedly gets the kickers more accustomed to pressure-packed situations.
“Sometimes we are putting some extra strain on a kick by creating things like extra exercises (for misses) and sometimes some extra rewards — exercises for the coaches if the kick is good, and that’s been a popular one,” Lamb said.
Extra points
BYU is the designated home team, although Hawaii has played eight games at Aloha Stadium already this season, and the Cougars will wear their royal blue home jerseys. … Both teams have a Zach Wilson on their roster. Hawaii’s Zach Wilson wears No. 20 and is a redshirt junior cornerback from Upland, California. BYU’s Wilson said that UH coach Nick Rolovich, who recruited him out of high school, mistakenly called his cellphone this season while trying to reach the UH player. … Former American Fork High star Boone Abbott is a freshman backup quarterback for UH but has yet to make an appearance in a game this season. … Dozens of BYU players have ties to Hawaii, but the only player on its roster who was born in Hawaii is Jared Kapisi, a redshirt junior from Pukalani on the island of Maui.
Cougars on the air
SoFi Hawaii Bowl
BYU (7-5) vs. Hawaii (9-5)
At Aloha Stadium, Honolulu
Tuesday, 6 p.m. MST
TV: ESPN
Radio: KSL 1160 AM, 102.7 FM