Micah Simon and some Brigham Young football teammates were in search of kalua pork and teriyaki chicken.

Their Uber driver took them to a restaurant using the scenic route down Memory Lane.

“He asked what we were doing here, and I told him we were here for a game,” said Simon, referencing today’s SoFi Hawaii Bowl between the BYU and Hawaii football teams. “He told us about the rivalry. He told us about playing in the (Western Athletic Conference) together, and all that.”

The rivalry featured BYU quarterback Jim McMahon’s left-footed punt; a potential go-ahead scoring pass that was not caught by a UH receiver; Garrett Gabriel leading the Rainbow Warriors to back-to-back victories, including a blowout on the day Ty Detmer became the first Cougar to win the Heisman Trophy …

“I gave him five stars,” Simon said of his Uber driver.

The 32nd meeting between the teams has significance on both sides. UH coach Nick Rolovich was the quarterback when the Warriors beat the previously unbeaten Cougars in 2001 for their ninth victory … and no bowl to attend. The fallout resulted in the creation of the Hawaii Bowl.

BYU coach Kalani Sitake spent most of his youth on Oahu’s North Shore.

“I wish we played them every year,” Sitake said. “I grew up here. I grew up with Hawaii always playing BYU. There’s a lot of connections between the two programs. I was always rooting for BYU. When Hawaii wasn’t playing BYU, I always cheered for (the Warriors).”

For the Cougars, who will wear blue as the designated “home” team, a favorable outcome would cap a season in which they persevered through numerous health issues. For the Warriors, the longest season in the program’s history — 15 games — could provide a launch into spring training. The Warriors opened training in July in advance of their week-zero opener against Arizona.

“It’s definitely been an interesting experience,” UH quarterback Cole McDonald said. “I’ve played this long in length of season, but not as many games. … It’s been a long season. Guys have been beat up. But it’s been awesome, and it’s been fun.”

UH defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, who likened this to an NFL-length season, said the number of games enabled players to grow into a comfort level with the schemes.

“The guys were starting to see similar plays, similar formations (from opponents),” Batoon said. “They were getting comfortable. That helped us the last four weeks to settle down on defense. We’ve been fairly healthy the last four weeks. Toward the middle of the season, it was chaos for a while with the moving parts defensively.”

The Cougars, who compete as an independent, accepted their Hawaii Bowl invitation on Nov. 16. Sitake said the Cougars focused on four potential opponents, including Hawaii.

“We scouted them just to be safe,” Sitake said. “We scouted (the Warriors) and did some things that carried over with all the teams we were looking at. I think it worked out, and I’m glad we were able to bet on that a little bit.”

The Cougars did not even mind a flight delay to Hawaii nor the past weekend’s windy and rainy conditions.

“When the plane landed, it felt like home when we got off,” Sitake said.