BYU offensive lineman Connor Pay doesn’t want to hear any excuses for the bitterly cold temperatures that will keep fans away when the blue-clad Cougars host the red-clad Houston Cougars 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 fall into the 20s.

“I mean, wear a coat. It’s 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 now. It’s not that big of a deal.”

At least BYU (9-2, 6-2) will be somewhat accustomed to the frigid temperatures, having practiced at a nearby stadium in recent weeks and playing Kansas in a night game two weeks ago.

Plus, 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 win both games they are favored to win, BYU will play only for that elusive 10th win and a share of the Big 12 regular-season championship, rather than a spot in the conference championship game on Dec. 7 in Arlington. Texas.

Houston (4-7, 3-5) is playing only for pride after being eliminated from bowl contention with a 20-10 loss to Baylor last week.

In addition, the red cougars will be in a completely unfamiliar climate. According to a school press release, the average kickoff temperature in Houston’s first 11 games was 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,” Houston coach Willie Fritz said. “This is a big deal for us.”

For the blue Cougars, who will wear navy jerseys on Senior Night, it will still have a lot of meaning if things don’t go their way earlier Saturday, as coach Kalani Sitake said.

“You can’t worry about what everyone else is doing. We just have to focus on this game and take advantage of what we have, which is something great over the last week,” Sitake said. “We finish at home. We have to find a way to get one for the seniors and we have to find a way to get double-digit wins, read our column. So really cool things to play for.”

Some of the seniors being honored only played at LES for one season, while Pay, defensive end Tyler Batty, defensive tackles John Nelson and Blake Mangelson, offensive lineman Brayden Keim and tight end Keanu Hill were in Provo for the duration of their careers.

“It’s been a long time coming, so it’s bittersweet,” Batty said. “It’s a special place, man. Can I even say “magical” on some occasions? We had a lot of great wins, but also some tough defeats. … So it means a lot to have the opportunity to play one last game on this field.”

Other senior offensive linemen being honored include receiver Darius Lassiter, running back Hinckley Ropati, offensive lineman Caleb Etienne and tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase.

Other senior defensive players being honored include cornerbacks Mory Bamba and Marque Collins, defensive end Logan Lutui and cornerback Jakob Robinson.

For Collins, a transfer from Weber State who was a pleasant surprise, the evening 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 to a place that believes in me, that trusts me, that trusts in my abilities,” he said. “I think about it a lot and feel a lot of gratitude for it.”

What will it take for BYU to overcome its two-game loss and enter December in a more positive mood?

Defensive coordinator Jay Hill said Tuesday that the Cougars need to “stay the course” and get back to doing the things that got them off to a 9-0 start, like shooting. B. a good distribution of tasks and better duel behavior.

“Right now it’s a one-game season. I think the boys trained well.

“That’s the key. “You have to stick to the process,” Hill said. “You can’t imagine something that isn’t really there. We have to beat Houston. The other things that happened in the past – winning or losing – don’t matter. Just put all your eggs in the Houston basket and find a way to win it.”

Houston, which ranks last in the nation in scoring, fired offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay on Tuesday and said quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Shawn Bell would temporarily take over as game manager.

Hill called the move “kind of a weird deal,” but he doesn’t expect drastic changes in a week from a Houston offense that averages 13.6 points per game overall and 12.3 points against Big 12 opponents.

Houston changed quarterbacks midway through the season and played Zeon Chriss for the final six games.

“You’ll probably have a new wrinkle or two that this guy may have done on his last few jobs. But I just don’t think you can make a wholesale change in a week, especially this late in the season,” Hill said. “I do think there will be one or two issues that we need to be prepared for.”

Offensively, BYU needs to eliminate turnovers, which proved costly in last week’s 28-23 loss to Arizona State, and get more consistency from quarterback Jake Retzlaff.

“I think the key is to stay process-oriented and stick to the main thing,” Retzlaff said. “We can’t get distracted by whatever is going on, whether it’s the Big 12 rankings or whatever is going on. Just keep the main thing on the main thing. That’s kind of a deal.”