It's basically do or die time for Utah State. Needing four more wins in five games to become bowl eligible, every game needs to have a "must win" mentality, and even with all of the last four games after Saturday appearing to be winnable, to think a 4-0 finish is in the cards would be naive given the inconsistency so far this season.
What to make of Hawaii is a bit tough. They're 5-3 on the year, but three of those wins have come against UC Davis, New Mexico State and Idaho. So it's nothing to really get too worried about, and if this game were in Logan, USU would probably be a likely pick to win it comfortably (see Hawaii's 40-20 road loss to UNLV). But picks aside, given the man calling the plays for the USU offense, they can take a game where they look to easily be on track to score 50+ points, yet manage to completely shut down and go scoreless the rest of the contest. In other words, when it comes to an offensive shootout, Mr. Baldwin's neighborhood is not where you want to be shacking up.
Here's what we know... We know Bryant Moniz is one of the top passers in the nation. We know Hawaii's offense is going to get their points, even if the USU defense is on its A-game. Seeing as how the pass coverage could use all the help it can get, now would be a good time for the D-line to poke their heads out from wherever they disappeared to about a month ago and maybe spark some urgency into Moniz. At the very least, maybe get close enough to him where if they were to scream, Moniz might hear it and get a little frightened. If Nevin Lawson keeps things up, he's seemed to be in perfect position all season to pick off any under thrown balls his direction. Problem is when a QB has time, those passes are spot on, and Lawson has gotten a perception of being worse than he actually is (and what he is would be one hell of a cover cornerback).
Defensively, Hawaii dropped to the No. 2 spot in WAC rushing defense in the last two weeks, aided in large part by Louisiana Tech holding USU to just 166 yards on the ground, leapfrogging the Warriors with that performance.
It's going to be a different kind of day for the linebackers with all the time they'll spend in pass coverage, but it's a fast and tough unit, and if they can set a precedent early and take away the middle of the field, USU's chances of pulling out a win go significantly up in what looks to easily be the toughest remaining test of the season.
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