BYU offensive lineman Connor Pay doesn’t want to hear any excuses for bitter cold temperatures keeping fans away when the blue-wearing Cougars host the red-wearing Cougars from Houston at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday night.
Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN and temperatures are expected to be in the low 30s and dropping into the 20s.
“I mean, wear a coat. It is not going to be that bad,” said Pay, one of 20 outgoing seniors who will be honored before the game. “You can literally buy coats with batteries in them now. It is not that big of a deal.”
At least BYU (9-2, 6-2) will be somewhat accustomed to the freezing temperatures, having practiced in something close to them the past few weeks, and having played in a late-night game two weeks ago against Kansas.
Also, the Cougars could have something special to play for, depending on what happens earlier Saturday when Arizona State travels to Arizona and Kansas State travels to Iowa State. If ASU and ISU both win games they are favored to win, BYU will only be playing for that elusive 10th win and a piece of the Big 12 regular-season championship, and not a berth in the conference championship game Dec. 7 in Arlington, Texas.
Houston (4-7, 3-5) is only playing for pride, having been eliminated from bowl contention when it lost 20-10 to Baylor last week.
What’s more, the red Cougars will be in a totally unfamiliar climate. According to a school news release, the average kickoff temperature for Houston’s first 11 games has been 80.5 degrees. Houston has played in only one game this season — Nov. 15 at Arizona — when the temperature was below 65 degrees at kickoff. It was 58 degrees in Tucson that night.
“Shoot, this is our bowl game, in my opinion,” said Houston coach Willie Fritz. “This is a big one for us.”
For the blue Cougars, who will wear navy blue jerseys on Senior Night, if things don’t go their way earlier Saturday, it will still have plenty of meaning, coach Kalani Sitake said.
“You can’t really be concerned about what everybody else is doing. We just gotta be focused on this game and taking advantage of what we have, which is something great going into this last week,” Sitake said. “We get to finish at home. We have to find a way to get one for the seniors, and find a way to get to double digit wins, get that in our column. So really cool things to play for.”
Some of the seniors to be honored have only played a season’s worth of games at LES, while Pay, defensive end Tyler Batty, defensive tackles John Nelson and Blake Mangelson, offensive lineman Brayden Keim and tight end Keanu Hill have been in Provo for the duration of their careers.
“It has been a long time coming, so it is bittersweet,” Batty said. “It is a special place, man. Can I even say magical, on some occasions? We have had a lot of fun wins, and we have had some tough losses in there. … So having that opportunity to play one last game on that field, it means a lot.”
Among the other seniors on offense to be honored: receiver Darius Lassiter, running back Hinckley Ropati, offensive lineman Caleb Etienne and tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase.
Among the other seniors on defense to be honored: cornerbacks Mory Bamba and Marque Collins, defensive end Logan Lutui and cornerback Jakob Robinson.
For Collins, a Weber State transfer who has been a pleasant surprise, the night will be filled with gratitude.
“I think about it a lot — to be honest. Just understanding where I was a year ago, not even knowing where I would be, and then coming here to a place that believes in me, that trusts in me, that trusts in my ability,” he said. “I think about it a lot and I have a lot of gratitude for it.”
What will it take for BYU to snap its two-game losing skid and head into December on a more positive note?
Defensive coordinator Jay Hill said Tuesday the Cougars have to “stay the course” and get back to doing the things that got them off to a 9-0 start, things like being assignment-sound and tackling better.
“It is a one-game season right now. I think the guys have practiced well.
“That is the key. You gotta stick to the process,” Hill said. “You can’t make something up that is not really there. We gotta beat Houston. The other stuff that has happened in the past — win or lose — doesn’t really matter. Just put all our eggs in the Houston basket and find a way to win it.”
Houston, which is last in the nation in scoring, fired offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay on Tuesday and said quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Shawn Bell will take over play-calling duties on an interim basis.
Hill called that move “kind of a weird deal,” but he doesn’t expect any drastic changes in one week from a Houston offense that is averaging 13.6 points per game overall and 12.3 points against Big 12 opponents.
Houston changed quarterbacks in the middle of the season, and has been riding with Zeon Chriss that past six games.
“They will probably have a wrinkle or two new that maybe this guy did in his last jobs. But I just don’t think you can wholesale change in a week, especially late in the season like this,” Hill said. “I do think there will be a wrinkle or two we gotta be ready for.”
Offensively, BYU needs to eliminate turnovers, which proved to be costly in the 28-23 loss at Arizona State last week, and get more consistency from quarterback Jake Retzlaff.
“I think staying process-oriented is the key, and keeping the main thing the main thing,” Retzlaff said. “We can’t get distracted with whatever is going on, whether it is the Big 12 standings, or whatever is happening. Just keep the main thing the main thing. That’s kind of the deal.”
