BYU Dashes Hawaii’s Bowl Hopes

By Fred Guzman

It was, sadly, a fitting end to what has been a hugely disappointing football season for the University of Hawaii.  And, perhaps, marked the end of Greg McMackin’s run as head coach, as well.

In a game it had to win against long-time rival BYU in order to become eligible for the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, UH familiarly raised hopes early and led the Cougars 13-10 at halftime.

But Hawaii was overwhelmed after intermission. BYU scored 34 unanswered points, including 28 in the third period, en route to a 41-20 romp before less than 31,000 fans at Aloha Stadium and a national television audience on Saturday afternoon.

BYU quarterback Riley Nelson stole the show, throwing for 363 yards and three scores – including a pair of scoring tosses to Ross Apo.

The loss dropped UH’s season record to 6-7 and further raised speculation that McMackin’s job is in serious jeopardy.  McMackin has one year left on a deal that pays $1.1 million annually.  And there is serious talk about buying him out and signing a new coach as UH prepares to make the switch to the more competitive Mountain West Conference next seasons.

However, both of those moves will cost some serious money for an athletic program that is struggling to make ends meet financially.  It will require a cash commitment from boosters in order to execute both a buyout and the hiring on a new head coach at market value – probably something in the $800,000 annual range.

In four seasons as head coach at Manoa, McMackin has compiled a 29-24 mark and taken UH to a pair of Hawaii Bowls – both losses – as well as capturing a share of the WAC title last season.

Beset by key injuries, including a season-ending broken leg sustained by star quarterback Brynt Moniz, as well as extensive casualties along the offensive line and within its receiving unit,  Hawaii fell well short of pre-season expectations after being picked to win the title in its final season in the WAC.

With UH out of the picture, the Sheraton Bowl on Dec. 24 will feature Nevada of the WAC and Conference-USA champion Southern Mississippi, which ended Houston’s ubeaten bid over the weekend by upsetting the Cougars 49-28 in the conference title game.

Nevada closed out the regular season with a 7-5 record following a 56-3 rout of Idaho.  Southern Miss is 11-2 and ranked No. 21 in the latest Associated Press media poll.