Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!

Even after returning to the islands on Sunday, the University of Hawaii football team still was carrying around the baggage of Saturday’s 49-23 road loss to Brigham Young at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Read more

Even after returning to the islands on Sunday, the University of Hawaii football team still was carrying around the baggage of Saturday’s 49-23 road loss to Brigham Young at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

“There’s a lot of disappointment throughout the program and throughout the fan base, probably, I would assume,” head coach Nick Rolovich said. “It’s not even losing a football game as much as losing to BYU at BYU with the history of the rivalry or the matchup.”

The Rainbow Warriors suffered their 10th loss in as many football games in Provo, Utah.

“Our kids really wanted to bring home that win more for all the fans who had never seen one there and all the alumni who never had the chance to do it,” Rolovich said. “That’s the disappointment. We could have played better. There’s no doubt.”

At 6-2, the Warriors need to win one more game to ensure a winning 13-game regular season and qualify for an automatic berth in the Dec. 22 Hawaii Bowl. Their five remaining regular-season games are against Mountain West opponents.

While the nonconference game was played in the middle of the MWC schedule, Rolovich noted, BYU “is a big game for a different reason.”

Both programs were Western Athletic Conference cohorts for 20 years through June 30, 1999, when BYU and seven other schools seceded to form the Mountain West Conference. In 2011, BYU moved to compete as an independent in football. A year later, UH joined the MWC as a football-only member.

“The meaning of (a game against BYU), I think, is equal to or above a conference game for our program,” Rolovich said.

The next time the teams meet, in 2024, the Warriors’ roster will consist of players who currently are in high school or middle school.

Rolovich acknowledged the Cougars received a boost from Zach Wilson, who became the seventh true freshman to start at quarterback in BYU’s football history. Wilson was 16 of 24 for 194 yards and three touchdowns.

In previous games, the Cougars used pre-snap motions and a variety of offensive formations. “I think somebody in that program — Kalani (Sitake, the head coach) or (offensive coordinator Jeff) Grimes — stopped all the window dressing and let them line up and play big-boy football and run the rock,” Rolovich said. “I think that gave them confidence and probably gave them more of a true identity offensively.”

The Cougars rushed for 280 yards, averaging 6.0 yards per carry.

The UH running backs were limited to 41 rushing yards on 15 carries.

“Their front did a nice job,” Rolovich said of the Cougars’ defensive scheme. “They filled. … They came downhill and made tackles. Usual 5-, 6-yard gains were 2-yard gains. They did a nice job with some pressures they had not shown. We had to adjust on the fly.”

The Warriors created new routes for slotback John Ursua, who caught nine passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. They also went to five-receiver sets several times “to neutralize and gain numbers back in our favor,” Rolovich said.

According to Rolovich, the game’s theme was “we lost the line of scrimmage on both sides. You lose the line of scrimmage and the turnover battle, you’re not going to win many games.”

The Warriors also lost a fumble on a punt return, resuscitating a BYU drive that led to a touchdown.

“A lot of people had a part in that (loss),” Rolovich said.