The easiest way to beat Hawaii is to not beat yourself. Hear that, Fresno?
The Warriors have feasted on mistakes and turnovers the past two weeks, and had either LaTech or Fresno State not blown it so many times, we might be looking at a 1-5 Hawaii team limping into Boise rather than a 3-3 squad with small dosages of hope.
The gameplan for the Broncos would appear simple then. Don't turn the ball over. Accomplish this (in addition to part two of the gameplan: just showing up) and a win should be in the bag.
Fortunately, there are signs that a turnover-fest would be nigh-impossible on Friday night.
For starters, Titus Young is suspended, so there go two or three turnovers right there.
Plus, Kellen Moore has yet to throw more than one interception in any game this season. Hawaii's defensive strength is its front seven and not its secondary, so Moore's stats don't seem likely to take a hit.
Fumbles, however, could be a different story. The Broncos have put the ball on the turf 11 times so far this year for an average of just over two per game. The fact that they have recovered over half of those fumbles is moot; fumble recoveries are as random as football stats get. There is just as good of a chance that the Warriors would recover a Bronco fumble as there is that the Broncos would. We'd prefer, for our stomach ulcer's sake, that BSU would just not put the ball on the turf at all.
The Broncos are dominant in virtually every aspect of this game, but turnovers are the great equalizer in football. If the Broncos can keep turnovers to a minimum or at least force as many as they give up, they should win going away.
But just to be safe, they might want to follow a few other banal football rules.
- Win the battle in the trenches.
- Keep your eye on the ball.
- Don't let them around the end.
- Tackle with your head up.
And most importantly...
- Score more than the other guy.
They've been pretty good at that last one so far this year.