You could call the announced renewal of the University of Hawai'i-Brigham Young football rivalry one of those rare "win-win" situations.

Except that the Cougars might just reap an added bonus out of the overdue resumption of hostilities.

As one high school official put it after the announcement, "You don't suppose this might help them (the Cougars) with Manti (Te'o) do you?"

Well, yes, we do. It is hard to see how it can hurt.

Te'o, a Punahou School linebacker, is the most heavily sought-after college football prospect out of Hawai'i since Mosi Tatupu in the 1970s, if not ever. Some recruiting services have him listed as the top linebacker in the nation.

Officially, BYU and Southern California are two of the five "finalists" for his services. UCLA, Stanford and Notre Dame are the others. UH was not included in the list announced by the family.

Speculation in some quarters is that USC and BYU are the leading two, though that may be premature since Te'o has yet to visit either school.

But UH and BYU resuming a series that has been allowed to go dormant for six years — the biggest lapse in more than 35 years — with games in 2012 and '13 sure doesn't hurt the Cougars' bid. In some quarters, in fact, it might be seen as an edge for the Cougars. A skillful bit of timely scheduling especially with USC head coach Pete Carroll and linebackers coach Ken Norton in town over the weekend.

Say, for example, that Te'o, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, signed with BYU. Assume also that, as has been his announced intention, he went on a church mission early in his stay. Under those circumstances he could be playing for the Cougars when they host UH in '12 and come here in '13. Two opportunities to play against the home team in front of family, friends and fans. No small factor in some decisions of past players.

Now, USC is also on UH's schedule, but the only currently listed date, 2010, could easily fall in the period when Te'o might undertake his mission since a lot of players choose to play as freshmen and then do their missionary work.

The return of BYU to UH's schedule works well for both schools and, as UH athletic director Jim Donovan likes to point out, is fan-popular. Moreover, UH gets a marquee draw for its future schedules and both schools, especially the Cougars who will enjoy an added 13th game, get help toward building up a Bowl Championship Series-worthy resume.

BYU was already recruiting here. But if the resumption of the series with UH tips Te'o to the Cougars, it would be a huge bonus.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.