Hawaii 44, Eastern Illinois 9

The Warriors made it look pretty easy. Except on their run defense, which is something I hope they work on some more. I also hope Tyler Graunke is okay. He didn't play at all in this game. Inoke Funaki looked pretty good in the second half, especially on that long bomb to Malcolm Lane! I hope C.J. Allen-Jones is okay as well. Here are some unofficial final stats:

• Colt Brennan was 30 of 41 for 409 yards with 5 touchdowns and 1 interception.


• Inoke Funaki was 5 of 10 for 120 yards.


• Nate Ilaoa rushed 9 times for 46 yards and a touchdown, and caught 4 passes for 29 yards and another touchdown.


• Ian Sample finished with 6 catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns.


• Jason Rivers had 6 catches for 106 yards.


• Davone Bess had 7 catches for 58 yards.

Next week is Nevada. GO WARRIORS!!!

LiveBlogging: Hawaii vs Eastern Illinois

All times Game Clock!

Before game: The Juggernaut, aka "Reagan Mauia" will not be playing because of a shoulder injury. That sucks! I guess they just announced it before the game.

1st Quarter:

15:00 - Hawaii will receive the kickoff.

15:00 - I believe Malcolm Lane is back to receive!

15:00 - Short kick is recovered by Desmond Thomas.

14:50 - From the 31, Colt Brennan passes to Davone Bess for a 6 or 7 yard gain.

14:00 - From the 38, Brennan passes to Ian Sample, who takes it to the 45 yard line for a first down!

13:45 - Brennan passes to Dickerson, who drops it.

13:35 - Brennan to Ross Dickerson to the EIU 43 yard line for a first down! Quick redemption!

13:30 - Brennan to Sample, who drops it. 2nd down.

13:25 - Brennan to Dickerson, who takes it to the EIU 29 yard line! 1st down!

13:03 - Brennan overthrows Ian Sample in the end zone.

12:55 - From 2nd and 10 from the 29, the pass is deflected and nearly intercepted. 3rd and 10.

12:50 - Brennan over the middle to Ian Sample for the TOUCHDOOOWWNNN!!!!

12:48 - On the PAT, Inoke Funaki holds, and Dan Kelly kicks it good! Hawaii 7, EIU 0

12:45 - Dan Kelly kicks it to the 5, and the returner is smacked by Michael Malala! UPDATE: Looks like Malala did a flip in the air on the play!

12:28 - From the 19 yard line, the EIU running back takes the pitch to the 21.

12:02 - Under pressure, EIU QB Mike Donato has to throw it away! 3rd and about 8.

11:50 - Adam Leonard drops the running back on the 23 yard line. 4th down!

11:15 - EIU punts to Myron Newberry, who is stopped immediately around the 28 yard line.

10:35 - From 1st and 10 on the UH 28, Brennan gains 2 yards on an almost sack, but there's a flag...

10:35 - It was a facemask on EIU, so 1st down on the 35.

10:20 - Brennan to Jason Rivers to the EIU 45 yard line!

9:50 - Brennan to Bess for a first down to the 34 yard line!

9:45 - Brennan to Dickerson, who takes it to the EIU 15 yard line!

9:40 - Brennan hands off to Ilaoa, who gets stuffed for a 1 yard loss.

9:05 - From 2nd and 11 on the 16, Brennan throws over the middle into the end zone. Incomplete.

8:51 - On 3rd and 11 on the 16, Brennan finds Ross Dickerson in the back of the end zone for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!!

8:51 - And the PAT is good! 2 for 2! Hawaii 14, EIU 0

8:47 - Dan Kelly kicks off, and the returner is whacked by Blaze Soares on the 13.

8:30 - The EIU running back Webb is stopped for a 1 yard gain.

7:55 - On 2nd and 9, the pass is complete to the 22.

7:15 - On 3rd and 1, Webb takes it for a 69 yard run. Nobody was in the secondary!. Finally he was stopped at the 10 yard line. Wow.

6:36 - Wow, and EIU scores on a rush from the 10. He had a HUGE hole.

6:31 - The PAT is no good. Wide right. Hawaii 14, EIU 6. There goes the shutout!

6:25 - Dickerson takes the kickoff to the 25 yard line.

6:00 - Brennan scrambles to the 28 yard line for a 3 yard gain. 2nd and 7.

5:15 - Brennan over the middle to Jason Rivers into EIU territory to the 44 yard line!

4:55 - Brennan overthrew Bess, but he had alllll day!

4:32 - Brennan is sacked back at the Hawaii 46 yard line.

3:44 - Brennan with a lot of time, and he finds Ian Sample crossing the field. Sample takes it all the way to the EIU 22 yard line!

3:15 - Shovel pass to Nate Ilaoa, who tumbles to the 10 yard line. Another first down!

2:45 - Brennan with a short pass to Ian Sample to the 4 yard line.

2:12 - On 2nd and goal, shovel pass to Nate Ilaoa for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!

2:03 - PAT is good! 3 for 3! Hawaii 21, EIU 6.

2:00 - On the kickoff, EIU tries a reverse, and they get to the 21 yard line.

1:35 - Short handoff to the 23 yard line. 2nd and 8.

0:55 - Mike Donato on the play action throws incomplete. 3rd down and 8.

0:50 - Donato with a short pass underneath to Vincent Webb, who takes it to the 31 for a first down.

0:25 - Vincent Webb takes it to the 34 yard line.

0:00 - End of 1st quarter. Hawaii 21, EIU 6.


2nd Quarter:

15:00 - On 2nd and 7, Webb takes it to the 41 yard line for a 1st down.

14:30 - Leonard Peters with the interception! But it might've been dropped, and there's a flag.

14:30 - Nevermind, Leonard Peters tried to lateral the ball, and then recovered it? I don't know. Anyway UH has the ball on their own 38 yard line!

13:55 - As Brennan is hit, he passes to Dickerson, who takes it to the UH 44 yard line.

13:12 - On 2nd down, Brennan to Bess for a first down to the EIU 49!

12:45 - Brennan's pass on 1st down is deflected.

12:40 - On 2nd and 10 from the EIU 49, Brennan's pass is deflected on a screen.

12:37 - Brennan to Ian Sample for a 5 or 6 yard gain. 4th down.

12:00 - They're going for it!

11:47 - From the EIU 43 yard line, Brennan throws incomplete over the middle. Turn over on downs.

11:30 - Wow, Vincent Webb just exploded up the middle and is stopped by Leonard Peters inside UH territory.

11:14 - Offsides on Lawrence Wilson. 1st and 5 from the 35.

10:52 - Two yard gain on a rush by Norris Smith.

10:20 - Smith to the 31 yard line, near a first down.

9:43 - Smith takes it to the 24 for a 1st down.

9:20 - Webb is dropped for a loss back at the 26 yard line.

8:38 - Donato throws it high and out of bounds. 3rd down and 12.

8:35 - Pass is dropped by the receiver. 4th down on the Hawaii 26 yard line.

8:30 - EIU kicks the field goal and it is good. Hawaii 21, EIU 9.

8:25 - Ross Dickerson and Malcolm Lane are back to receive. Dickerson takes it on a bounce out to the 20 yard line.

7:50 - Brennan to Jason Rivers on the 28 yard line, and there's a late hit from the EIU DB. What a BS hit.

7:49 - Ball on the 43 yard line, Brennan finds Bess, who muscles his way to the UH 49 yard line.

7:05 - On 2nd and 4, Brennan to Bess, who drops it!

7:03 - On 3rd and 4 from the UH 49, Brennan finds Chad Mock to the EIU 38 yard line! 1st down!!!

6:55 - On 1st and 10 from the EIU 38, screen pass to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the EIU 33.

6:16 - Shovel pass to Ilaoa, who takes it to the 30, but there's a penalty flag...

6:10 - The penalty is on Samson Satele. 2nd and 15 from the 43.

5:55 - Brennan finds Sample over the middle for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!

5:51 - Dan Kelly kicks it, but there was a bad snap or hold, and he just kicks a bloop over the players and EIU tries to return it, but is finally stopped. Damn! 3 for 4! Hawaii 27, EIU 9.

5:40 - On the kickoff, Dan Kelly kicks it and it's knocked out of bounds at the EIU 9 yard line.

5:35 - Purcell stops Webb for no gain!

5:00 - On 2nd and 10 from the 10, Donato pitches to Webb, who takes it to the 16. 3rd and 4.

4:12 - Whistle blows. EIU takes a timeout.

4:10 - Pass is incomplete. Gotta punt!

4:05 - EIU punts some weird line drive to the sideline. EIU downs it on the UH 49 yard line.

3:36 - Brennan swings it to Bess, who takes it into EIU territory for 5 yards.

3:00 - From the EIU 46, Brennan swings it to Aaron Bain, who takes it to the 39 for a 1st down!

2:53 - Brennan on a bubble screen to Chad Mock who takes it all the way to the 18 yard line!!!

2:45 - Brennan finds Chad Mock in the end zone for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!!

2:39 - All is silent before the PAT...

2:39 - The ball is set by Funaki, and the PAT is good. 4 for 5! Hawaii 34, EIU 9.

2:35 - Dan Kelly kicks off, and the returner is stuffed at the 14 yard line by Ryan Keomaka and a whole lot of other Warriors!!!

2:15 - EIU has a new QB, Cole Stinson, who hands off to Smith, who takes it for a short gain.

1:18 - Smith is stopped back at the 13 yard line on a pitch. Ikaika Alama-Francis breaking through the block!

1:15 - On third and 10, a gain by Smith to the 20 yard line. 4th down and about 3.

1:04 - EIU punts to Myron Newberry, who takes it on the UH 38, and he's tackled back on the 36 38 yard line.

0:56 - Brennan to Bess, who takes it to the 45 yard line.

0:24 - Brennan, after scrambling for about 10 seconds, is intercepted.

0:11 - EIU takes a timeout.

0:11 - EIU throws incomplete to the sideline.

0:03 - HAHAHA!!! Mel Purcell with the HUGE sack! Looked like EIU was trying to set up the hail mary!

0:00 - END OF HALF. Hawaii 34, EIU 9.

Halftime - Okay, let's get Graunke and Funaki in there for the second half! Let's get Malcolm Lane at receiver! Let's get David Farmer, Jazen Anderson and Khevin Peoples in there at running back! Anyway, we'll see. Here's some halftime stats:

• Colt Brennan is 27 of 38 for 369 yards with FIVE touchdown passes and one interception. In one half!


• Ian Sample has caught 6 passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns.


• Ross Dickerson has caught 5 passes for 67 yards and a touchdown.


• Nate Ilaoa has only one rush for -1 yards. They're pretty much passing on every down.

3rd Quarter:

15:00 - Dan Kelly kicks off to the 2 yard line, and EIU brings it back to the 12 yard line.

14:33 - Webb takes a hand off for about a yard. 2nd and 8.

13:50 - Long pass broken up by CJ Hawthorne!

13:50 - Stinson throws behind the receiver. Gotta punt!

13:43 - EIU punts and Newberry lets it drop.

13:30 - Brennan remains in.

13:20 - On 1st and 10 from the Hawaii 46, Brennan hands off to Ilaoa, who takes it to the 50.

12:45 - Handoff to Ilaoa, who runs to the EIU 31 yard line!!!

12:07 - Ilaoa takes it to the 29, but he fumbles and EIU recovers. Sheesh.

11:50 - From the EIU 33, Webb takes it 8 yards to the 41.

11:15 - On a wide receiver sweep, EIU advances it to the EIU 49 yard line.

10:45 - Webb takes into Hawaii territory to the 47.

10:10 - Stinson passes to the sideline for a first down to the Hawaii 37.

10:05 - On a deflected pass, C.J. Hawthorne with the INTERCEPTION!!!!

10:05 - Looks like they might be reviewing it.

10:05 - The play stands and Hawaii takes it back on their own 38 yard line.

9:49 - Handoff to Ilaoa who takes it into EIU territory to the 47! Quick redemption!

9:43 - Handoff to Ilaoa, who takes it to the 46 for a 1 yard gain.

8:57 - Brennan on the keeper to the 42 yard line. Looking like the Florida Gators on that play! 3rd down.

8:15 - Brennan to Chad Mock, who takes it to the 21 yard line for a 1st down!!!

8:10 - Ilaoa for no gain. 2nd down on the 21.

7:28 - Brennan with a short pass to Jason Rivers to the 17 yard line.

6:48 - On 3rd down from the 17, Brennan hits Davone Bess, who makes a great move!!! He takes it all the way to the 1 yard line!!!

6:38 - Handoff to Ilaoa, who walks into the end zone! TOUCHDOWN!!!!

6:35 - PAT is good!!! 5 for 6!!! Hawaii 41, EIU 9.

6:35 - Dan Kelly kicks off to the end zone. Touchback!

6:20 - EIU running back Ademola Adeniji finds a big hole and takes it to the 37 yard line.

5:45 - Adeniji takes it for no gain. 2nd down on the 37.

5:10 - Adeniji takes it for a 7 yard gain.

4:25 - On 3rd down from the EIU 44, Adeniji gets stuffed at the line. 4th down! Can't believe they're not passing.

3:38 - EIU punts and Newberry gets stopped immediately on the 21.

3:18 - Inoke Funaki is in the game, and he passes to Aaron Bain, who takes it to the 29.

2:38 - Handoff to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the 38 yard line for a first down!

2:01 - Funaki on the keeper and he is hit at the 39 yard line. 2nd and 9.

1:16 - Funaki to Jason Rivers and Rivers is knocked out of bounds. He takes out Jeff Reinebold! But he's okay.

1:05 - On 3rd and 1 from the 47, Funaki on the keeper to the 50 yard line. 1st down! But there's a flag.

0:59 - After the play, there was a personal foul on Nate Ilaoa. So it is first down, but it goes back to the Hawaii 35.

0:43 - Shovel pass to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the Hawaii 43 yard line.

0:00 - End of 3rd quarter. Hawaii 41, EIU 9.


4th Quarter:

15:00 - Funaki with a beautiful pass to Jason Rivers, who takes it to the 18 yard line!

14:25 - Rivers was shaken up on the play. Funaki throws incomplete to Michael Washington.

14:20 - Malcolm Lane is in the game. Funaki is almost intercepted. Wow!

14:17 - On 3rd and 10 from the 18, Funaki throws incomplete over the middle.

14:17 - On the 35 yard field goal attempt, the kick is GOOOOD!!! Funaki with the hold! Hawaii 44, EIU 9.

14:10 - Dan Kelly kicks to the 1 yard line, and it's taken out to the 26 yard line.

13:50 - False start on the first play. Ball goes back to the EIU 21.

13:20 - Handoff, and Adeniji has a pretty big run to the EIU 37.

12:59 - Adeniji takes it to the EIU 40.

12:10 - On 2nd down, pass is complete to the 50.

11:50 - Adeniji takes it to the Hawaii 42.

11:01 - Adeniji with a big run to the Hawaii 28 yard line.

10:35 - Stinson completes a pass to the 19 yard line.

10:30 - Adeniji takes it to the 14 yard line.

10:24 - Looks like a UH player is down. Timeout.

10:24 - C.J. Allen-Jones looked like he was in a lot of pain, but he gets up off the field.

10:04 - On 1st down from the Hawaii 19, Stinson throws incomplete.

10:00 - Adeniji is stopped. Well, it was whistled dead at the 16. Is there an "in the grass" rule in college?

9:12 - EIU takes a timeout.

9:05 - On 3rd and 12 from the Hawaii 16, Stinson throws it in the endzone and it is INTERCEPTED BY MYRON NEWBERRY!!!!

8:56 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 20, Funaki to MALCOLM LANE all the way to the EIU 22 yard line!

8:10 - Hand off to David Farmer, who takes it for no gain.

7:28 - Funaki on a bubble screen to Malcolm Lane, who drops it. Doh.

7:20 - Funaki throws it into the end zone, and it's batted away. 4th down and 10 on the 22 and it looks like they're going for it.

7:08 - Funaki is sacked back at the 33.

7:08 - EIU will have the ball back on downs after the timeout.

6:55 - Handoff to Adeniji back at the 31 yard line.

6:12 - Stinson passes complete to the 40.

5:34 - Adeniji takes it to the 44 for a first down.

5:15 - On first and 10 from the EIU 44, Adeniji takes it back to the line of scrimmage. Rocky Savaiigaea with the stop. Might've been a face mask on the play. Automatic first down.

4:30 - From the Hawaii 41, Stinson throws incomplete, and Dane Porlas is called for a helmet to helmet penalty on an incomplete pass. First down on the UH 26.

4:22 - EIU RB takes it to the 20 yard line.

3:45 - EIU RB Jordan takes it to the 18.

3:00 - Adeniji takes it to the 15. First down.

2:38 - Adeniji takes it to the 11.

1:55 - Stinson completes a pass for -2 yard. They're slowly running off the clock.

1:05 - Adeniji takes it to the 9 yard line. 4th down.

0:28 - On 4th down from the 9 yard line, Adeniji is stopped. Turnover on downs.

0:18 - UH has the ball back. Please down it.

0:00 - The clock just runs out after change of possession.

0:00 - END OF GAME. Hawaii Warriors 44, Eastern Illinois Panthers 9.

Ways to Follow the Hawaii vs EIU Game

In Hawaii:

Go to Aloha Stadium.

Watch it on Oceanic PPV.


Outside of Hawaii:

Streaming video from Hawaiian Tel Media.

Streaming audio from SportsRadio1420.com

Live stats from the UH Athletics football page.

And I hope to be liveblogging it!

GO WARRIORS!!!

Predictions for the Eastern Illinois Game

Once again, I shall make some predictions for the upcoming game. Last week I went 0 for 16, which I know gives you reason to doubt my psychic abilities, but I can tell you that is a foolish assessment! Apparently a lady warlock was using her mind waves to screw with my brain last week. It seems I spurned her advances one too many times. In any case, I purchased a mind wave deflector from the local apothecary, and so with that, here are this week's predictions:

UPDATED with results in RIGHT and WRONG next to the prediciton.

1. Colt Brennan will pass for 300 yards (RIGHT)
   


2. Tyler Graunke will pass for 120 yards and run for 30. (WRONG)
   


3. Inoke Funaki will rush for 50 yards. (WRONG)
   


4. Nate Ilaoa will rush for 100 yards in the first half. (WRONG)
   


5. Reagan Mauia will rush for 60 yards and score two touchdowns (WRONG)
   


6. Malcolm Lane will score a touchdown! (WRONG)
   


7. Jason Rivers will score two touchdowns! (WRONG)
   


8. Ross Dickerson will have 120 yards receiving (WRONG)
   


9. Ross Dickerson will have a kickoff return for a touchdown! (WRONG)
   


10. Amani Purcell will have a sack (WRONG)
    


11. Ikaika Alama-Francis will have a sack (WRONG)


12. Karl Noa will have a sack (WRONG)


13. Leonard Peters will have an interception! (RIGHT!)
    


14. Jacob Patek will have an interception! (WRONG)


15. The Hawaii defense will give up less than 10 points. (RIGHT!)


16. Hawaii will win! (RIGHT!)

GameDay: Hawaii vs Eastern Illinois

Stephen Tsai's gameday preview highlights the fact the Warriors have been fairly loose in practice this week.

On Thursday, the scout players — led by assistant coach Jeff Reinebold — renamed themselves the "Banditos," and declared a goal of making miserable the life of the starting players.

During a kickoff drill, Reinebold announced the Banditos were going after wideout Malcolm Lane, a former scout, who practiced with the first-string offense this week. After a nice return, and the Banditos closing in, Lane scooted toward the sidelines.

I hope Malcolm Lane gets to play today!

Dave Reardon's gameday preview talks about UH being wary of EIU.

When asked about the Panthers' defense, senior receiver Ross Dickerson said what a smart veteran player says regardless who the opponent is.

"Eastern Illinois is athletic. Real athletic," Dickerson said. "They look good on film. It's going to be a challenge, but we're looking forward to it."

Dickerson and the other upperclassmen might even truly believe it. They were around for that 35-28 loss to Florida Atlantic in 2004.

Oh God, what a horrible loss that was. I called it a scrimmage before the game! Well, I don't think this UH team will be overlooking EIU at all.

And Stephen Tsai writes about UH's bulletin board strategy that Dennis McKnight stole from Bama.

UPDATE: Here's Dave Reardon's other, more comprehensive gameday preview.

The ankle sprain to slotback Ryan Grice-Mullins caused a shuffle that will probably have Ian Sample starting at wideout replacing Ross Dickerson, who will either start in Grice-Mullins' spot or play a lot there in rotation with Aaron Bain. True freshman Malcolm Lane may also get some plays on the outside.

"I think he can play. He can go," UH receivers coach Ron Lee said of Lane.

Go Malcolm, go!

UPDATE 2: Here's a preview from the Eastern Illinois perspective.

Of course, an upset win could do wonders for the Panthers and perhaps lead to a I-AA at-large playoff berth in case they stumble and fail to win the OVC’s automatic berth.

Against a Hawaii team that stands 1-2 despite ranking second in NCAA I-A in passing offense and fourth in total offense, Eastern is not ruling out the possibility of beating a team that so far has lost to Alabama and the nation’s 22nd-ranked Boise State.

Right!

From yesterday's articles:

Dave Reardon writes about EIU, as well as the linebacker situation for Hawaii.

Freshman Brashton Satele has taken a lot of the first-team reps, but not necessarily the starting job from sophomore C.J. Allen-Jones, Glanville said. The coaches are leaning toward Satele, but the starter will be a game-day decision.

"We're looking at Brashton," outside linebackers coach George Lumpkin said.

Glanville said Amani Purcell, a former defensive end, is beginning to grasp the finer points of the position.

"All of them will play. (No.) 54 (Purcell) had a great day in practice today, maybe his best."

Waiting for Amani Purcell to have a monster game.

Stephen Tsai writes about C.J. Hawthorne, who will be starting at corner against Eastern Illinois. He also has an update on Ryan Keomaka.

McKnight encouraged Keomaka to write a letter of apology to Jones. The athletic department's academic officers also sent a letter confirming the mix-up.

"I told him to wise up and quit looking for an easy way out," McKnight said. "It's a privilege to be able to play. It's not a rite of passage because you can run 4.4 or you're 6-5, 300. What they should do every year for the first team meeting is bring back guys like Matt Wright, Jonathan Kauka, La'anui Correa, Joe Correia. Have them talk about what it's like to not be able to play anymore, and then hopefully it sinks in."

Another reason coach McKnight is a great coach!

And finally Kalani Simpson writes a great profile on Karl Noa and his emergence in the 3-4 defense. He also has an idea for a children's book.

On the first day of camp, Glanville said this: "You just never know. Until they play for you, you never really know what you have. Everything. If everybody was as good as you thought they were going to be there would be nobody playing second team."

Well, Noa would. But not now. He got in the game. Turns out he does have a position after all. Mad Stork.

Good column that praises former Warrior Kila Kamakawiwo'ole as well.

Escape from the Billy Goats

Those celestial billy goats are a crafty bunch. I was minding my own business yesterday morning, practicing my ninja moves in my magnificent kurogo-wear, when all of a sudden I found myself surrounded by a band of ancient billy ghosts -- dead billy goats with unfinished earthly business. Unfortunately, I had left my smoke bombs in my blue jeans, so I couldn't fake them out with my ninja smoke. They surrounded me and said I was disturbing their ancestral chewing grounds. I said this was my back yard. They said silence! Catching me off guard once again, they spirited me away to their land of bearded wonders.

Again, we feasted upon the finest scraps of paper. We also partook in some goat wine, made from fermented juices they find at the bottom of cans. It's very good if you don't know what it's made of. And I didn't, until afterwards. The wine loosened the normally stoic goats up, and they started talking and joking amongst themselves. It turns out that my "kid"nappers were not billy ghosts. They were regular old celestial billy goats who dressed up in the garb of the obake. Or in this case, the goat-bake. That normally would've made me mad, but by that time, I was happily drunk off the goat wine.

I've come to realize that the goats are smarter than I initially gave them credit for. I was unable to use indigestion as an excuse to make my getaway, as they were now wise to my scheme from the last time. The bastards made me whiz where I was standing too. Earlier this morning, I finally made my escape, but only because celestial billy goats don't handle hangovers very well.

I don't know why they like my company so much. I'm usually pretty quiet around them. It's not just those horns and those evil yellow eyes frightening me. And it's not just their penchant for "kid"napping me. And it's not just the smell of three dozen goats gathered around a fire suffocating me. It's probably more to do with not sharing any of the same interests. Oh well, so what if I don't like Grey's Anatomy.

Anyway, now I need to catch up on all the news stories I missed when I was gone. I shall quote them in subsequent posts, leading up to tonight's game vs Eastern Illinois! GO WARRIORS!!!

EIU Preview

Jaymes Song has a preview of the Eastern Illinois game.

"We obviously had a tough loss last week, so we're looking to bounce back strong, get a victory at home and play good football," said Brennan, who has thrown for 1,034 yards and nine TDs in three games.

Hawaii's offense should have some success moving the ball against Eastern Illinois, which allows 405 yards a game.

...

Receiver Davone Bess is starting to heat up, catching six passes for 104 yards and two scores last week. His eight receptions per game average ranks him fourth in the nation.

"We can't take any of these teams for granted," Bess said. "A whole bunch of Division I-AA teams have been spanking Division I teams, so we have to go out there and handle our business. We can't take this as if it were practice or something."

It should be an offensive explosion!!!

The Nasty

Dave Reardon profiles the greatness of the Nateness.

"I don't go to the beach at all. Not unless we're barbecuing or something," Ilaoa said. "I don't like the water. I think all humans should stay on land. When you see a shark walking around Dole Street, let me know."

That sense of humor is why quarterback Colt Brennan asked Ilaoa to be his roommate for road games.

"I kind of like the pressure being taken off me. I like to enjoy myself and be relaxed. He definitely brings that atmosphere," Brennan said. "You sit around laughing for a day-and-a-half and before you know it it's game time.

"My one goal is to tackle Nate," Brennan said. "I try, countless times, to tackle him when he's not looking. He said it only counts on the football field. When we're practicing I try to get him, and I haven't yet."

Brennan isn't alone. Opposing defenders have had their difficulties, too. Ilaoa's average of 8.0 yards per rushing attempt is among the best in the nation.

And Stephen Tsai reports Tyson Kafentzis has a fractured ankle.

Kafentzis said the injury makes it difficult to stand during practices — he skipped yesterday's workout to receive treatment in the training room — and to sit for long periods. "It's not good for the circulation," he said.

He said he hopes for a speedy recovery.

"Kafentzises are quick healers," he said. "Hopefully, this will be quick."

Best wishes to Tyson!

Tsai also reports that Brashton Satele may start at outside linebacker, while Solomon Elimimian has recovered enough from his injury that he may play this weekend. The coach is back on the field!

Away

I was consulting the hairy oracle early this morning when I was suddenly spirited away by a band of celestial billy goats. They took me to their enchanted land of bearded wonders and we feasted all day upon the finest pieces of paper. I must say it was a wonderful time. Alas, towards the end of the day I realized that I had not been able to read the finest pieces of newspapers as I normally am wont to do. I made an excuse to the billy goats that my bowels could not handle all this fiber, which was not entirely untrue, and it allowed me to make my way into the forest and slip off into the night.

And so now I am finally back. I won't promise that it won't happen again. Those billy goats are tenacious.

======

Stephen Tsai profiles Karl Noa and his emergence in the Boise State game, though it's mostly about Karl proposing to his sweetheart. Among other news and notes, Tsai writes about Inoke Funaki practicing at holder.

For more than 30 minutes yesterday, backup quarterback Inoke Funaki practiced as the holder on field-goal and point-after attempts. Funaki replaces punter Kurt Milne, who was involved in three bad snap-to-hold connections against Boise State.

"It was tough at first," Funaki said. "I'm still getting used to it."

Dave Reardon profiles slotback Aaron Bain, who gets the start this weekend because Ryan Grice-Mull(en)ins is injured.

It will be the first start for Bain, who has three catches for 14 yards this season and five for 88 with two touchdowns last fall.

The 5-foot-9, 185-pound muscleman, who can bench 435, said he's pumped.

"No matter who we're playing, I'm always excited to play. Even if I wasn't starting," Bain said. "We don't care who it is out on the field. We have to worry about ourselves."

Holy crap he's strong. Hope he has a great game.

And finally, here's an article on former Warrior punter Mat McBriar, who is booming it for the Dallas Cowboys, currently average a little over 50 yards a punt.

There's no need to read between the lines in this relationship, no reason to wait for Parcells to toss a caustic comment in McBriar's direction. It won't happen. The Cowboys punter is on firm footing with the man in charge.

Outstanding. That's the word Parcells uses for McBriar's performance to open the season. The Cowboys coach believes you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who is punting better right now.

Can McBriar feel the love?

"Somewhat," he said. "But I was told a long time ago by a punter that you're only as good as your last kick.

"If he's happy with me, that's terrific right now. But I also know once I'm lining up there at Tennessee, I'm starting with a clean slate."

Way to go Mat.

======

Just so you know, I may be "kid"napped again tomorrow. That's right. I said it.

Colt Can

June Jones has praise for Colt Brennan.

Jones -- who said he doesn't know whether an early jump to the pros might be a possibility for Brennan -- pointed to his command of the offense during the Warriors' rally as an indication of his improved grasp of UH's system.

"He made throws under pressure in critical situations when you have to have the throws," Jones said. "We're trying to fight to get it to a seven-point game, he has two touchdown passes dropped, doesn't even let it faze him, throws the next strike for a first down, then throws another one for a touchdown. That's the stuff the great ones have and I'm seeing those things in him now. That makes him different than everybody else."

Don't turn pro yet! You gotta stay around to beat Michigan State and win the WAC next year!

You can see June praise Colt, and discuss other things, in this video of Monday's press conference, posted by the Advertiser.

Stephen Tsai writes about how Brennan narrowly avoided injury after a Boise State player went for his knees.

"I didn't understand why a guy would go low like that," Jones said. "It's a good thing (Brennan) jumped in the air. ... (If not) he might have gotten hurt really seriously."

Defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville noticed immediately, and walked onto the field, screaming in protest.

"The ref came over to me and said, 'Wow, did you know the guy was coming?' " Brennan recalled. "I said, 'No.' I then said, 'Do you mind going over and telling him not to do that again?' That was kind of messed up. I know Glanville was furious."

Glad he came out of it okay. Unreal.

And Ferd Lewis has praise for Boise State's winning ways.

Holder

Stephen Tsai writes that Inoke Funaki will replace Kurt Milne as the holder. He also writes that Malcolm Lane, who is currently redshirting, may actually play this year, possibly because of Ryan Grice-Mullins' sprained ankle.

If Grice-Mullins can't play, the chain reaction might lead to Lane abandoning plans to redshirt. Lane has been impressive on the scout team, portraying UNLV quarterback Rocky Hinds two weeks ago and Boise State receiver Jerard Rabb last week.

Asked why Lane would be activated, Jones said: "Our whole purpose is to win games, and he's a good player."

Good reason.

Dave Reardon writes about the Warriors having to wait for their plane after 3 attempts by Aloha Airlines to send one to pick them up failed.

The 88-member UH traveling party spent most of yesterday in Idaho after two mechanical delays -- and a third precautionary one when the plane took off from Honolulu but had to return 2 minutes into its ascent after a bird flew into one of its engines.

It added up to a 6-hour overnight wait at the airport and a nearly 16-hour total delay for the Warriors before they could board a flight home.

That's just not cool.

And Ferd Lewis writes about the Warriors' slow starts against Bama and Boise which helped doom them in both losses. Despite that, UH finished strong in each, though it wasn't enough. On to Eastern Illinois!

Stats After Week 4

When you can't take comfort in a win, you can always look at stats!

Hawaii is 2nd in the nation in passing offense with 369 yards per game. New Mexico State is first with 420.7 ypg. That should be a great match-up later this season.

Hawaii is 4th in the nation in total offense with 477 ypg.

Hawaii moves up to 29th in the nation in scoring offense with 31 points per game.

Hawaii drops to 68th in the nation in rushing defense with 135.3 yards per game.

Hawaii is 88th in scoring defense with 26.3 points per game.

Hawaii is 97th in total defense with 388 yards per game.

I have a feeling this is the worst the defensive stats will get all year.

Colt Brennan is 1st in the nation in points responsible for with 21.33 points per game.

Colt Brennan is 2nd in the nation in total offense with 360.3 ypg. New Mexico State's Chase Holbrook is first with 390.7 ypg.

Colt Brennan is 12th in the nation in passing efficiency with a 163.1 rating.

Davone Bess is 4th in the nation in receptions per game with 8 per game, and is 9th in the nation with 100.67 receiving yards per game.

Nate Ilaoa is 31st in the nation in all purpose yards with 125.33 ypg. BSU's Ian Johnson is 3rd with 164.25 ypg.

Hawaii at Boise Newspaper Wrap-Ups

Stephen Tsai has a wrap-up appropriately titled "The Boise Blues", which goes over the many, many mistakes UH made last night.

"We just have a real bad tendency to do that to ourselves, especially in games on the road," said UH quarterback Colt Brennan, who completed 25 of 36 passes for 388 yards and five touchdowns.

"We put ourselves in such a hole. It kills us. The weird thing is, Boise State doesn't do that. They're so sound in what they do. They don't make mistakes, and we do, and that's why we were playing catch-up the entire game."

Dave Reardon's wrap-up also discusses the mistakes, turnovers and what could've been.

"It's too bad," Jones said. "That's life. If you don't win the turnover battle on the road, you give it away on the road, you don't give yourself a chance."

For the third time in three games this season, Hawaii turned it over more than its opponent. UH lost two fumbles and an interception, while the Warriors got just the one pick by Patton.

"I thought they threw up three interceptions in the first half and we didn't get any. Both games (Boise State and Alabama) we should be making interceptions on bad balls, ducks," defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said.

Ferd Lewis writes a column about all the errors. Here's a sad excerpt:

Just how tough of a night it became was underlined by UH players high-fivin' themselves after the first successful PAT kick. And, it didn't come until 5 minutes, 6 seconds were gone in the third quarter. Unfortunately, the celebration was short-lived because on the next opportunity things broke down again.

Ferd writes about the injuries UH suffered before and during the game. Ryan Grice-Mullins might be out a couple of weeks.

Grice-Mullins, who was helped from the field and finished the night on crutches, said he suffered a "high ankle sprain."

Under UH policy, medical personnel are prohibited from disclosing or commenting on an athlete's injury or prognosis.

Linebacker Tyson Kafentzis and defensive end Fale Laeli were also hobbled and their status is unknown.

Dave Reardon also writes about the injuries, including the one suffered by Kafentzis.

UH lost another starter to a sprained ankle last night, before the game even started. Outside linebacker Tyson Kafentzis was the victim.

"I never lost a guy in pregame warm-ups before," defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said. "He twisted his ankle on a real spongy spot warming up."

No mention of Mel Purcell, which probably means he's okay. Hopefully none of the other injuries are too serious.

Nick Jezierny writes for the Star-Bulletin about the great performance by the UH offense, which was all for naught. The article has these two somewhat condescending, back-handed, yet truthful quotes from BSU players.

"It was a little different from the past Hawaii teams," Boise State linebacker Colt Brooks said. "Usually you get 21 points up and they're done and want to go back to the island or whatever. They stuck through it, they kept fighting with us."

BSU quarterback Jared Zabransky agreed.

"This team didn't give up," he said. "They played hard until that last first down. We put it on them here two years ago and they just folded. That's a big compliment to their coaching staff."

Here's a reason why this loss hurts that much more. BSU is treating UH like their younger brother who just isn't as good as them, no matter how hard we try. "Good effort, Cody! You didn't suck as bad as last time!" Oh well, it's true though. Great game by BSU. I'm just looking forward to next year in No Aloha Stadium. It'll be a much different story. Mark my words, brother Brannigan!

To end on a happier note, Kalani Simpson interviews former UH baseball coach and living legend Les Murakami, who is set to be honored once more. Les talks about the start of his coaching career.

"When I couldn't play in the (AJA) leagues because I had played in a higher classification," Murakami says. "I had no choice but to coach."

And did he have a hard time?

"Well, not really a hard time," he says, "it's just that I didn't know what I was doing."

That changed, of course. Murakami calls himself a "history buff." He studied everything. Asked everyone. When he got to UH, when they played all the greats, he did the same. He asked the masters.

Coach Les, what a cool dude.

Game Stats: UH at BSU

Here are some game stats from this heartbreaking loss!

UPDATE: Numbers updated with official stats.

Colt Brennan was 25 of 36 for 388 yards. He threw for 5 touchdowns and 1 interception.

BSU's Ian Johnson carried the ball 29 times for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Nate Ilaoa rushed 12 times for 68 yards and caught 4 passes for 96 yards for a total of 164 all-purpose yards.

Davone Bess caught 6 passes for 104 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Jason Rivers caught 6 passes for 81 yards and 3 touchdowns.

What a great offensive performance. What in the world happened to special teams?!?! More stats tomorrow.

Hawaii 34, Boise State 41

Too many turnovers, too many mistakes. So close, but not enough. Another heartbreaking loss to Boise State. But UH fought it out to the very end. Not so sure that the Brennan fumble wasn't actually a forward pass. And not so sure that BSU completion was actually a completion, but in the end, Hawaii lost and BSU won. What a competitive game. BSU came out to play, especially in the early going, so UH had to play catch up the whole night. Unfortunately for the Warriors, it wasn't enough. Congrats to BSU. Let's hope the injuries on the UH side aren't serious.

LiveBlogging: Hawaii at Boise State

Game starts in a few minutes! All times Game Clock!

1st Quarter:

Hawaii won the toss and has elected to receive! Game starts in a few minutes.

15:00 - Kenny Patton and Ross Dickerson are back to receive. Dickerson takes a knee in the endzone. Ball will be on the 20.

14:55 - Colt Brennan airs it out to Jason Rivers, and it's either knocked away or dropped! Darn!

14:50 - False start. 2nd and 15 on the Hawaii 15. Come on guys.

14:33 - Nate Ilaoa is dropped for a 1 yard loss. 3rd and 16 on the Hawaii 14.

13:45 - Nate is dropped for no gain. Gotta punt.

13:08 - Kurt Milne punts it into Bronco territory and the returner takes it to the Hawaii 43.

12:45 - Jarad Zabransky completes a pass to Jerard Rabb to the Hawaii 19.

12:38 - Ian Johnson takes it from the 19 inside the 5 to the 3 yard line. Not a good start for the Warriors!

12:35 - Ian Johnson waltzes in untouched for the touchdown. Sheesh.

12:34 - Kick is good. Hawaii 0, BSU 7. That was three play drive. Come on Warriors!

12:30 - BSU kicks off and it's downed in the end zone. Warriors will have it on the 20.

12:10 - Brennan to Davone Bess, and he takes it into Bronco territory, but he FUMBLES!!! Broncos recovers. That's horrible.

11:55 - 1st and 10 on the BSU 43 and there's a flag on the play. Looks like pass interference.

11:50 - Replay first down because there were offsetting penalties.

11:41 - Jarad Zabranksy calls a timeout.

11:33 - Pitch to Ian Johnson and he takes it to the Hawaii 45. 1st down.

11:27 - Drisan James takes it to the Hawaii 39. He's pretty quick. 2nd and 4.

10:40 - Zabransky scrambles to the 19.

10:20 - A BSU RB takes it to the 11. It is looking way too easy for the Broncos.

9:39 - Ian Johnson takes it to the 5. 1st and goal.

9:20 - Zabransky passes to Naanee for the touchdown. HOLY CRAP.

9:16 - Ummmmm, what the hell. Broncos fake the PAT and the holder takes it in for 2. Hawaii 0, Broncos 15.

9:10 - Broncos kickoff and Kenny Patton takes a knee. Hawaii gets it on the 20. Come on! WARRIORS RESPOND!!!

8:50 - Brennan with a short pass to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the 29!

8:10 - Ilaoa takes a handoff to the 31 for a first down!

7:45 - Brennan to Ian Sample to the 42 for a first down! Let's go Warriors!!!

7:15 - Chad Mock takes a short pass to the Hawaii 48. Nice call! 2nd and 4.

6:38 - Brennan gets sacked back at the 46. 3rd and 6.

5:55 - Brenna pitches to Ilaoa and he takes it into Bronco territory! 1st down on the Bronco 43!

5:25 - Brennan to Ryan Grice-Mullins to the Bronco 8 yard line!!!

4:49 - Brennan fires it into the end zone and it's deflected by a Bronco. 2nd and goal. Whew.

4:43 - Ilaoa takes the handoff just inside the 5. 3rd down.

4:15 - Brennan fires it again into the end zone and it's deflected again.

4:03 - On 4th down, there's a bad snap on the field goal attempt. And Kurt Milne throws it away. This is not good at all.

4:03 - The play is under review to see if Kurt Milne fumbled it out of bounds or if it was an incomplete pass.

3:54 - The ruling on the field stands. Broncos get it on their own 4. Come on UH with the stop!!!!

3:44 - Ian Johnson takes it to the 9 yard line. 2nd and 5.

3:00 - Johnson takes it to the 15 yard line for a first down. Broncos are not being called for holds. Sheesh.

2:17 - Ian Johnson breaks a long run to the UH 20, but there's a penalty. So it's coming back to BSU territory. Replay 1st down.

2:13 - Ball on the BSU 32. On 1st down, Zabransky scrambles two yards to the 34.

2:09 - On the play action, Zabransky passes to Rabb, but he drops it. And then there's a personal foul on...... BSU. Good!

2:04 - So it'll be 3rd and about 23 on the 14 yard line.

1:58 - Zabransky finds a receiver to the BSU 36, but it's short of the first down. Gotta punt!!!

1:20 - Kyle Stringer punts to the Hawaii 12 yard line, and Myron Newberry takes it to the UH 24.

0:55 - Brennan with a short pass to Nate Ilaoa and he breaks a bunch of tackles and takes it to the Bronco 42 yard line!!!!!

0:16 - Reagan Mauia takes a handoff to the 40.

END OF 1st QUARTER.

2nd Quarter:

15:00 - On 2nd and 8, Brennan passes to Ian Sample, who takes it to the BSU 27!

14:34 - On 1st and 10 on the BSU 27, Mauia takes it one yard to the 26.

13:50 - On a bubble screen to Jason Rivers, he takes it to the HOUSE FOR A TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!

13:41 - FRICK!!!! On the PAT attempt, the hold is botched and Orlando Scandrick of BSU takes it back for a two point conversion. WTF!?!?!?! Hawaii 6, Broncos 17.

13:36 - Dan Kelly has a nice kickoff into the endzone for a touchback. Come on Warriors with the stop!!!

13:15 - Ian Johnson takes it and is stopped by Brad Kalilimoku for no gain. 2nd and 10.

12:35 - Zabransky is sacked at the line of scrimmage by KARL NOA!!!! Nice! 3rd and 10.

11:53 - Pass incomplete over the middle!!! Gotta punt!

11:46 - Myron Newberry takes it to the 42 yard line. Nice little scramble.

11:35 - 1st and 10 on the UH 42. Brennan to Rivers for a short gain to the 46. 2nd and 6.

10:38 - Incomplete to Nate Ilaoa. 3rd and 6. CONVERT!!!

10:34 - Fale Laeli is being carted off to the locker room. Brennan incomplete to Chad Mock over the middle. Gotta punt.

10:31 - Milne punts and a fair catch is called for on the 14 yard line.

10:14 - On 1st and 10 on the 14, Denton takes it to the 27 for a quick 1st down.

9:42 - Zabransky throws it deep and connects with Naanee to the UH 20. Come on Warriors!!!

9:15 - False start on BSU. 1st and 15 on the UH 25.

8:54 - Zabransky is tackled by Noa at the 23. 2nd and 13.

8:15 - Zabransky over the middle for a touchdown. He was WIDE open.

8:09 - PAT is good. Hawaii 6, BSU 24.

8:02 - BSU kicks off and Kenny Patton takes it to the UH 28 yard line.

7:55 - Shovel pass to Nate Ilaoa and he just motores inside the Bronco 40!!!!

7:24 - From the 39, Brennan to Bess to the 32.

6:37 - Brennan to Grice-Mullins to the 26 yard line. Ryan Grice-Mullins is down on the field. Hope it's not serious. It looks like his knee. Dammit.

6:30 - It looks pretty bad. He's taking a while to get off the field. Hand off to Ilaoa and he takes it to the 10 yard line!!!!

5:52 - Brennan to JASON RIVERS FOR THE TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!

5:52 - Hawaii takes a timeout before the PAT. Looks like UH is going for 2.

5:52 - Looks like Ryan Grice-Mullins ankle is injured, not his knee, which is a lot better.

5:52 - Brennan to Bess for the 2 point conversion!!!!! Hawaii 14, BSU 24.

5:45 - Leonard Peters tackles the returner on the kickoff at the 10 yard line. Good to see him doing well!!!

5:20 - Handoff to Ian Johnson is stopped for no gain!

4:40 - On a play action, the deep pass by Zabransky is off the receiver's hands!!! WHEW!!! 3rd and 10 on the BSU 10.

4:25 - Short pass to Rabb is stopped at the 10!!!! Nice pressure!!!! Gotta punt!

3:40 - Stringer shanks it to the BSU 42 yard line!!! Nice field position. Gotta capitalize!

3:35 - On 1st and 10, Brennan is intercepted. The BSU player takes it to his own 21. CRAP.

3:01 - Pitch to Ian Johnson and he's hit hard out of bounds to the 24.

2:51 - On 2nd and 7, there's a direct snap to the RB to the 26. 3rd down and about 4.

2:10 - From the BSU 27, the pass is incomplete, but there's a pass interference on Brad Kalilimoku. 1st down.

2:02 - Zabransky on the play action, and the pass is dropped by the BSU receiver. 2nd and 10.

1:55 - Pass complete to the 50 yard line. 1st down.

1:50 - Zabransky overthrows his receiver. 2nd and 10 on the 50.

1:45 - Zabransky scrambles into UH territory to the 43. 3rd down and 3.

1:35 - Zabransky completes a pass to the 29 yard line. 1st down.

1:15 - Pass incomplete on some sort of reverse screen. 2nd down on the UH 29.

1:00 - Zabransky on a draw to the 12 yard line. Geez. 1st down.

0:43 - Zabransky calls a timeout. COME ON DEFENSE!!!

0:35 - On some weird gadget play to Naanee, he's chased out of bounds. Mel Purcell is down on the play. Let's hope it's just cramps.

0:22 - 2nd down on the UH 17. Zabransky completes a pass to the 11 yard line. BSU calls a timeout with 0:22 left.

0:22 - On 3rd and 7, there's a false start on BSU.

0:22 - On 3rd and 12 from the 15, the pass is deflected by Ikaika Alama-Francis!!!

0:17 - BSU attempts a 32 yard field goal from the 15, and it is good. Hawaii 14, BSU 27.

0:13 - BSU kicks off and Patton takes it out to the 20 yard line.

0:00 - The clock winds down. END OF HALF. Hawaii 14, BSU 27. Come on Warriors! Show your heart in the second half!!! We're down by less than two touchdowns!!! I really hope Fale, Ryan and Mel will be okay for the second half.

3rd Quarter:

15:00 - Dan Kelly kicks off out of bounds. BSU will have it on the 35. Not sure if he was trying a squib kick or not.

14:42 - Ian Johnson takes it on a hand off to the UH 48.

14:15 - Zabransky on a wide receiver screen to the UH 41.

13:40 - Ian Johnson takes it to the 39 yard line. 3rd and 1.

12:55 - Johnson takes it to the UH 34 for the 1st down.

12:31 - Paretta takes it to the UH 7.

12:24 - Lawrence stuffs Ian Johnson on the UH 8 yard line!

11:50 - Adam Leonard tips a pass!!!! 3rd down and goal on the 8.

11:45 - Pitch to Ian Johnsn, and he takes it 8 yards to the end zone.

11:42 - PAT is good. UH 14, BSU 34.

11:42 - Sounds like Ryan Grice-Mullins is out for the game.

11:40 - BSU kicks off and Ross Dickerson takes it out to the UH 43!!!

11:06 - Brennan to Rivers into BSU territory! 1st down on the BSU 43.

10:59 - Ilaoa takes a handoff to the BSU 39 yard line.

10:30 - On 2nd and 3, Ilaoa takes a hand off to the BSU 18!!!!

9:54 - Brennan to Bess for the TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!!!

9:54 - Wow, the PAT is actually good. Hawaii 21, BSU 34.

9:50 - Dan Kelly kicks it into the endzone. The returner fumbles, but another BSU player recovers it! OH SO CLOSE!

9:25 - On the BSU 28, Ian Johnson takes it to the 36.

8:53 - On 2nd and 2, Zabransky scrambles to the 39 for a first down.

8:35 - On 1st and 10, Zabransky scrambles, and Noa gets a sack!!! 2nd and 12 on the 37.

7:49 - Ian Johnson takes it a few yards, but there's an offsides penalty.

7:35 - On 2nd and 8 on the BSU 42, Zabransky completes a pass just over the 50 for a first down.

7:00 - COME ON WARRIORS with a stop!

6:47 - Zabransky passes incomplete. Looks like Kenny Patton broke up the pass to the sideline!!!

6:30 - Zabransky completes a pass to James to the 34. 1st down.

6:00 - False start on BSU. 1st and 15 on the UH 39.

5:32 - Under pressure, Zabransky completes a pass to the UH 21.

5:19 - The previous play is under review. So I'll take a pee break!

5:19 - The play is NOT overturned. Still 1st and 10 on the UH 21.

5:00 - Zabransky to Johnson for TD, but there's holding against BSU. And there's a Warrior injured on the play...

4:57 - 1st and 10 on the 21. And BSU swings it out to the receiver, who takes it to the UH 10 for a first down.

4:45 - Holding on BSU, so the run is coming back.

4:44 - From 1st and 20 on the 20 yard line, Zabansky gets sacked by Michael Lafaele!!!!

3:48 - From the UH 29, Ian Johnson gets brought down by Karl Noa on the 27.

2:39 - On 3rd and 27, KENNY PATTON WITH THE INTERCEPTION IN THE END ZONE!!!!! He takes it out to the 19 yard line!!!!! YES!!!!

2:32 - On 1st and 10, Brennan scrambles to the 30 yard line for the 1st down!!! He was looking for the shovel pass on that play.

2:12 - Brennan passes to Aaron Bain, but he's stopped immediately on the 32.

1:30 - On 2nd and 8, Brennan hands off to Ilaoa, who takes it to the 34.

0:55 - On 3rd and 6, Brennan completes the pass to Davone Bess to the 41 yard line!!! 1st DOWN!!!!

0:35 - Brennan to Jason Rivers into BSU territory to the BSU 41!!!

0:29 - WR screen to Dickerson is incomplete.

0:25 - On 2nd and 10 from the BSU 41, Brennan to BESS to the BSU 19!!!!

0:00 - END OF 3rd QUARTER. UH will have the ball on the BSU 19 at the start of the 4th quarter.


4th QUARTER:

15:00 - On 1st and 10 from the BSU 19, Brennan has to throw it away.

14:50 - On 2nd and 10 from the BSU 19, Brennan overthrows Bain in the end zone.

14:45 - On 3rd and 10 from the BSU 19, Brennan scrambles to the BSU 13 yard line. Short of a 1st down.

14:15 - On 4th and about 5, UH is going for it! AND BRENNAN THROWS A TOUCHDOWN PASS TO DAVONE BESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

14:12 - FRICK. What the EFFF!!! Another mishandled or bad snap and Dan Kelly throws it into the ground. Nonetheless, Hawaii 27, BSU 34. Separated by 7 points. I won't say touchdown because the PAT is not guaranteed tonight. What the EFFFF!?!?!?!?!

We absolutely need a defensive stop on the Broncos next possession!

13:39 - Dan Kelly kicks it to the 1 and Quinton Jones takes it to the 21.

13:25 - On 1st and 10 from the BSU 21, Ian Johnson takes it a yard to the 22.

12:45 - Zabransky's pass is incomplete. 3rd and 9!!!

12:40 - Zabransky's pass is incomplete!!! GOTTA PUNT!!! Watch for the FAKE!

12:35 - Stringer punts it and Newberry fair catches at the 33. I think

12:14 - Hand off to Ilaoa who takes it to the 36.

11:33 - On 2nd and 7 on the UH 36, Ilaoa takes it to the 37. 3rd and 6.

10:40 - On 3rd and 6, the pass is incomplete, but it looks like roughing the passer.

10:37 - Roughing the passer AND pass interference.

10:17 - From the BSU 48, Brennan scrambles, and FUMBLES. BSU recovers. Is this reviewable?

10:17 - OK, June Jones is having the play reviewed.

10:17 - After review, the play stands. BSU has the ball.

10:12 - On 1st and 10 from the BSU 45, Ian Johnson takes it to the UH 49.

9:40 - On 2nd and 4, Johnson takes it to the 40 yard line. 1st down.

9:05 - Karl Noa with a big stop at the 40 yard line. Noa's having a great game. 2nd and 10.

8:30 - Ian takes it to the UH 32, but there's an offsides penalty.

8:26 - After the penalty, on 2nd and 5 on the 35, Ian Johnson FUMBLES!!!! Karl NOA recovers!!!!

8:02 - The ruling is being reviewed.

8:02 - Crap, the ruling is overturned. 3rd down and 5 on the 34.

7:55 - On third down, Ian Johnson takes it the 31. Short of the first down.

7:16 - On 4th and less than 1, Johnson gets the first down and more to the UH 21 yard line.

6:35 - On 1st and 10, Ian Johnson takes it to the 18. 2nd and 7.

5:55 - Zabansky on the play action to the tight end for the touchdown.

5:50 - PAT is good. Hawaii 27, BSU 41.

5:45 - On the kickoff, Kenny Patton takes it out to the 20 yard line. There's a flag on the play.

5:45 - Personal foul on BSU. So UH will have the ball on the 36.

5:18 - Shovel pass to Nate Ilaoa wo takes it to the BSU 46! 1st down!

5:00 - Brennan to Dickerson to the 35 yard line. 1st down!

4:50 - Brennan over the middle to Chad Mock, and he drops it.

4:40 - Ilaoa takes it to the 32 yard line for a few yards.

4:15 - From the 32 on 3rd and 7, Brennan to Dickerson to the 20 yard line for the 1st down!

3:40 - Brennan to Bain for a first down to the 8 yard line!

3:15 - Brennan incomplete over the middle to Dickerson.

2:59 - Brennan to Jason Rivers, who fights his way into the end zone for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!!

2:59 - UH takes a time out.

2:59 - Daniel Kelly kicks the PAT. HAWAII 34, BSU 41. This game is eating me alive!

2:59 - BSU takes a timeout before the kickoff.

2:59 - Dan Kelly attempts the onside kick, and BSU recovers at the BSU 47. CRAP.

2:36 - Ian Johnson takes it to the UH 48.

2:21 - UH takes a timeout with 2:21 left. 2nd and 5. COME ON DEFENSE!!!!

2:15 - Johnson takes it to the 45. 3rd down and about 2.

1:39 - They stop Johnson short of the first down. He fumbles, but he was already down. 4th and about 1.

1:30 - BSU is going for it on 4th and 1. This is it.

1:05 - Zabransky takes a time out.

1:00 - On 4th and 1, Ian Johnson takes it to the 27 yard line for the 1st down. That's it.

0:35 - Zabransky takes a knee. And the clock will wind down.

0:00 - FINAL - UH 34, BSU 41.

Hawaii Keys to the Game

These are pretty obvious and they've been pretty much said before by others, but kickoff is less than two hours away and it's something to do!

1. Minimize the turnovers! Hawaii has one of the worst turnover ratios in the nation while Boise State has one of the best. This can't carry over into this game. Like June Jones said, if we turn over the ball too many times, be prepared for a long night.

2. Don't give up the big plays, especially on special teams. No explanation needed.

3. Establish the passing game to open up the running game. Dave Reardon pointed this out. UH needs to keep the BSU defense off-balance. Either way, Nasty and the Juggernaut will pound it, but you can't have BSU keying on anything.

4. Force BSU to pass. Do this by containing the running games of Ian Johnson and Jarad Zabransky.

5. Don't give up the big pass! When BSU does pass, make sure no one gets deep because Zabransky is itchin to bomb it!

Five Hours to Kickoff - Hawaii at BSU

Are you excited! Of course you are! Here's an image from a dream I had last night.



I hope it comes true! Go Gargamel! GO WARRIORS!!!!

Game Day: Hawaii at Boise State

It's Saturday! It's game day! Time to pee in your Bronco blue toilet water to make it Warrior green! Haha!

Here are some news articles to flip through before the big game.

Dave Reardon has a gameday preview titled Warriors Willing to Run*.

Jones raved about the Warriors' offensive-line play last week, saying: "They pass-protected about as good as I've seen."

Starting center Sam Satele said the Warriors are looking forward to doing some more run-blocking, too.

"I want to see how they act when Nate Ilaoa runs for 200 yards," said Satele, who has dealt with a painful bruise to his collarbone area.

That would be something to see. As long as Colt still gets his 400 yards passing!

Stephen Tsai's gameday preview has a section about how Boise tries to prepare for Nasty.

In preparing for this game, the Broncos had difficulty casting a player to portray Ilaoa in practices. "We wanted to put a lineman in there, but the problem is no lineman can move like (Ilaoa)," Bronco defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox said: "You can't really simulate a guy like that. There aren't too many 250-pound guys who can run like him."

Ferd Lewis talks about the matchup between QBs Colt Brennan and Jarad Zabransky.

Kalani Simpson goes back to the well that is Jerry Glanville with another funny column, this time about life on the road.

"We got off the plane in Chicago," Glanville said, "and we're walking down the corridor to get on another plane and one of my best players says, 'Coach, this is the first time I've ever been in Michigan.'"

Um ... "We're in Chicago," Glanville said gently. Because, you know, Chicago is in Illinois.

"Yeah," the guy said without missing a beat, "I've never been in Michigan before."

At last, Glanville said, "Well, I think you'll like it here."

Stephen Tsai talks to BSU running back Ian Johnson and OC Bryan Harsin about getting ready for the game, and gives a pre-game Warrior injury update.

Inside linebacker Solomon Elimimian, who is suffering from a partially torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee, was wearing an ice pack. Backup outside linebacker Brashton Satele, who is suffering from a sprained acromioclavicular (A.C.) joint, participated in non-contact drills.

Right cornerback A.J. Martinez, who skipped Thursday's practice because of a groin injury, competed on the first team yesterday. Center Samson Satele, who has a bruised collarbone, also practiced without difficulty

We'll need everybody healthy for this game. Looks like Solomon will be out, but it's like having an extra coach anyway.

Dave Reardon writes about the growing rivalry between Boise and Hawaii, what with the heartbreaking close loss last year along with the blowouts. Here's a quote from a BSU fan:

"Close last year doesn't count, and we're ready to kick your (butt) this year," said Boise State student Heather Santos, who has relatives in Hawaii. "It's definitely a big game for us and we love the rivalry."

Grrr. But read the article for quotes from the Warrior players and coaches on how they're preparing for the game, along this quote from Jerry Glanville:

"The running back (Ian Johnson) is better than the guy at Alabama (Ken Darby). The left tackle (Ryan Clady) is better than the guy at Alabama (Andre Smith). And you can go on and on and on," Glanville said.

That should make Bama fans mad, but it's probably true. It'll be a tough, tough game, but I have confidence! GO WARRIORS!!!!



*I'd like to think Dave Reardon is playing off the title of this blog, but he probably doesn't even know it exists! Or maybe he does, but can't be bothered. Nonetheless, I must say Dave is a great writer and analyst and I think he could make a career in TV after watching him on that June Jones Show roundtable. If anything, hopefully this counterbalances the times I teased his fu manchu, which he doesn't even have anymore, which makes me doubly sad.

BSU Defense vs Colt

The Idaho Statesman has an article on how the Boise State defensive coordinator is preparing to stop Colt Brennan.

"There is not a magical formula," Wilcox said of defending the four- receiver, one-back offense. "... They're very difficult to stop. You don't really try to stop them. You try to make them earn everything."

...

The Broncos concede that the Warriors will rack up yardage tonight. They hope to stop drives the way they have so often against Hawaii in the past — with turnovers.

"The key is, when they get a drive going and they get on our 30 going in we need to make a play on one of those passes," junior safety Marty Tadman said. "We need to cause fumbles. ...

"Once we get up on them, I think we'll roll. But if they get ahead of us like last year, it's going to be a dogfight."

That's one of the major keys to this game. If Hawaii can minimize the turnovers, watch out!

Ways to Follow the Hawaii at Boise State Game

In Hawaii:

Watch it on K5!

Listen to AM 1420.

Go to a bar!


In Boise:

Go to the Smurf Turf!

Watch it on KTVB-TV.


Outside of Boise or Hawaii:

Streaming video on WAC.tv for $7.95

It's also supposedly on ESPN Gameplan, but I'm not so sure. It's not on either of the schedules below, but you can check to see if they've updated it. Let me know!

• http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/gameplan/schedules


• http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/schedules

UPDATE: This schedule has the game. When in doubt, call your cable company!

Sportshawaii.com will have a game thread in their football forum.

And I will probably be liveblogging it.

GO WARRIORS!!!!

Predictions for the Boise State Game

Once again, I shall make some predictions for the upcoming game. I got 5 out of 16 correct for both the Alabama and UNLV games. As the season goes on, my psychic powers will get stronger.

UPDATE: I got every one wrong! My psychic abilities have failed me!

1. Colt Brennan will pass for over 400 yards.

2. Jason Rivers will lead the team with over 100 yards receiving.

3. Ryan Grice-Mull(en)ins will score two touchdows.

4. The Juggernaut will have a 30 yard run.

5. BSU's Ian Johnson will rush for less than 100 yards.

6. Jarad Zabransky will be sacked three times.

7. Amani Purcell will have one of them.

8. Brad Kalilimoku will have one as well.

9. Ikaika Alama-Francis will have the final one.

10. Adam Leonard will have at least 12 tackles.

11. Leonard Peters will have an interception.

12. None of Dan Kelly's field goal or PAT attempts will be blocked.

13. Hawaii will turn over the ball only once.

14. Boise will turn over the ball twice.

15. The game will be close until the 4th quarter.

16. Hawaii will win!

GO WARRIORS!!!!

Bluuuue-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooowooooo

One day away from the battle on the smurf turf!

Stephen Tsai writes about the injuries on defense UH is having to deal with. He also has a short profile on Boise State running back Ian Johnson.

Johnson, who rushed for 240 yards and five touchdowns against Oregon State, is third nationally in scoring (14.0 points per game), fifth in rushing (149.33 yards per game) and eighth in all-purpose running (156.33 yards per game).

Let's hope the UH defense stays healthy because they will have their hands full with Ian. UH stopped Bama's Ken Darby and the UNLV rush, but then again, Darby is ranked 99th in the nation in rushing while UNLV is 92nd in rush offense. So this will be a test!

Kalani Simpson writes that it's time to finally get a WAC win over Boise. He starts off the column sounding like the Cat in the Hat.

IT'S time to erase the memory of 69-3. It's time to remove that taste.

It's time for this team to win this game at that place.

I thought he was gonna rhyme the column all the way through. But he goes on to write that this is the team to take UH to the next level.

Dave Reardon and Jason Kaneshiro write that defensive back Guyton Galdeira and offensive guard Laupepa Letuli made the trip to Boise.

Neither player accompanied the team to Alabama to open the season. They got their first action in last week's win over UNLV at Aloha Stadium.

Galdeira made the 60-player travel squad for his play on special teams. Letuli is the backup to starting left guard Hercules Satele and has also worked his way onto special teams as well.

Jason and Dave end the article with a tantalizing prospect.

A series of football games between teams with two of the most prolific passing offenses in recent college football history is being discussed.

Hawaii and Texas Tech officials are trying to set up games at Lubbock and at Aloha Stadium, UH athletic director Herman Frazier said.

That would certainly be some great games! But it's all about Boise State this weekend. GO WARRIORS!!!!

Trash Talking!

Ka Leo O Hawaii has a point-counterpoint article between Ka Leo's Keane Santos and The Arbiter's (a Boise student paper) Drew Mayes. Here's a part of what Drew has to say.

While former NFL head coach Jerry Glanville may be improving your defense, it doesn’t have near the playmakers BSU possesses, with linebackers Korey Hall and Colt Brooks and defensive back Quinton Jones.

And do we even need to go into special teams? If you only let us block kick this year, you have vastly improved.

Your defense, running attack and special teams are improving because there was nowhere else for them to go but up. You can’t stay at the bottom forever.

After you turn in your latest embarrassing performance on the blue turf this Saturday, remember to keep your chin up on the flight back home. After all, everyone gets ‘lei’-ed in Hawai‘i after they get off the plane — even losers like you.

Not that the Warriors need any additional motivation, but here's some additional motivation!

And KGMB has an article about the Warriors' vastly improved defense.

"Friday night we show the highlight film from the game before," Glanville said. "Last year our highlight film could be 13 or 15 plays. Against Alabama, we had 66 total plays and we had 38 highlights."

The highlight reel was even better after UH nearly shut out UNLV for nearly three quarters. There were a total of 78 defensive plays in that game and everything made the cut.

"Gosh we might as well put the game film on," Glanville said. "I can't find a play where there's not a highlight, and that's how much we've grown. We've come to the point now that it's fun to watch. Just sitting there watching the film, I think the players realize they know what their doing. What have we changed from last year? Nothing. Not one thing."

Can't wait to see how they do against BSU's offense.

Gearing Up for BSU

Warriors fly off today. Here's some stories.

Stephen Tsai talks about Ryan Keomaka's reinstatement, Solomon Elimimian still being injured, Dan Kelly, and the possibility of Brashton Satele and Clarence Tuioti-Mariner moving to running back.

Dave Reardon talks to Samson Satele, who wants his teammates to reduce penalties and turnovers vs Boise.

"Nobody can question the physical ability of this team," Satele said. "Everybody knows that we're tough. Mental mistakes like jumping offsides, holding, personal fouls, all that kind of crap, we have to cut out if we want to win."

Don't mess with Emperor Samson.

Dave also writes that Kenny Patton will get the start at left cornerback, Leonard Peters is dealing with the pain of his rib injury, and nose tackle Kahai Lacount probably won't play due to injury.

Ferd Lewis interviews Boise State quarterback Jarad Zabranksy.

"They play at a (higher) level of intensity and a lot more focus on the road now," Zabransky said in a telephone interview yesterday. "In the past it was fairly apparent that they were just wanting to get back to the island. Now, they're really wanting to win football games and it looks like they're flying to the ball, playing very hard and doing a great job right now."

Sort of a backhanded compliment. Hopefully the UH seniors will take that personally!

And finally, former Warrior Travis Laboy feels bad that Jerry Glanville thought LaBoy was insulting him, he writes in his "Life in the NFL" diary.

All's Well That Ends Well

Stephen Tsai with the good news.

Cornerback Ryan Keomaka Wednesday was reinstated to the University of Hawai'i football team, a day after being dismissed.

UH coach June Jones dismissed Keomaka for supposedly missing mandatory study sessions. But Jones learned it was a miscommunication. Keomaka believed he could choose his study period instead of attending only the team's nightly study hall.

I wonder how all this went down in the first place? Sounds like miscommunication all around. Anyway, I'm happy Ryan is back with the team!

Bess and RGM

The Idaho Statesman has a profile on UH slotbacks Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mull(en)ins.

Bess and Grice-Mullen combined for four touchdowns last year against Boise State. Brennan scrambled often, a scenario BSU coach Chris Petersen hopes to avoid this year.

"The way you keep track of (Bess and Grice-Mullen) is to not let Colt scramble around and have 10 seconds to throw the ball," Petersen said.

Though when Colt does scramble around for 10 seconds, it's always fun to watch! Especially when he finds Bess down the sideline, or takes off towards the end zone. But he probably won't be doing it as often since he and his receivers know the offense much better this time around. Can't wait for Saturday!

Mid Week

Stephen Tsai has more on Ryan Keomaka's dismissal.

Defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said Keomaka, who was the second-team left cornerback against UNLV last week, will be missed on special teams and in the secondary.

"He's a guy who has so much athletic ability," Glanville said. "He can play, and he's a good person, a really good person. He just won't do what he's told."

Good luck to Ryan.

From the same article, Solomon Elimimian vows to play against Boise after missing practice the past week and a half due to his knee injury.

"You never know what you have until you lose it," Elimimian said. "I remember (injured slotback Jason) Ferguson telling me how much he missed practice. I couldn't fathom that. Now I know how much it means to be out on the field. It felt good. Always count your blessings. That's what people forget. When you get injured, it gets you back to reality."

In the notes and updates section, Tsai writes that Brashton Satele has a shoulder injury and it looks like he's not practicing.

Dave Reardon writes that Leonard Peters missed practice to undergo therapy for his rib injury. He also highlights the versatile David Veikune.

The 6-foot-3, 258-pound Campbell alumnus was especially suited to play against UNLV's lighter, quicker offensive line. He even played nose tackle for the first time in his life.

"He played every position on the front," Reinebold said. "When we went to the five-man front, he played there.

"You give him a task and he does it to the best of his ability every time."

And finally, Ferd Lewis comes out with his own voting propositions and initiatives that he thinks should be on the ballot, including this one:

PROPOSITION A

Following the Oklahoma-Oregon game — not to mention Hawai'i's own misadventure at USC in 2003 — shall Pac-10 refs be prohibited from working UH football games?

Nice one. Poor Oklahoma!

Dennis McKnight

Dave Reardon profiles graduate assistant / special teams coach / offensive line coach Dennis McKnight and his work with the special teams. The article ends with what has to be the quote of the year!

(Desmond) Thomas said McKnight's presence awakened the Hawaii special teams.

"He brings intensity to the meetings. He's loud and people pay attention to him. He's a good teacher. He's loud, but you can go in his office and talk to him," Thomas said. "I believe we got a bunch of guys who are buying into what the whole special teams life is about."

And what exactly are the qualifications to play on a special team coached by McKnight?

"A big heart and a scrotum full of testicles."

That's too much!

Keomaka Off The Team

Cornerback Ryan Keomaka has been dismissed from the UH football team for missing study hall.

Keomaka said he mistakenly believed he needed to log a certain amount of time in study hall, and not attend nightly. The UH athletic department has study sessions throughout the day. The football coaches monitor the evening sessions.

"It's my fault because I didn't ask," Keomaka said. "I just, you know."

Asked if Keomaka could rejoin the team in the spring, Jones said: "Right now, he's not coming back. It's too bad."

He had previously been dismissed from the team in the spring because he missed class, but had then been reinstated and worked his way back into the depth chart this season. I'm glad UH is taking academics seriously, but I still feel bad for him.

The Greatness

Stephen Tsai has a cool blog entry today about the greatness, on and off the field, of Nate Ilaoa.

"Rocketman5000" from Bronco Country, Boise State's scout.com site, writes an article praising Colt Brennan. So much so, you'd almost think Rocketman5000 was a Hawaii football fan, except he refers to the team as the Rainbow Warriors. In any case, here's an excerpt:

Brennan nearly generated an upset of Boise State on the islands last season, as only two special teams’ touchdowns for the Broncos prevented that upset. With a year’s experience, Brennan is now the premier quarterback in the Western Athletic Conference, and he’s only going to get better.

I hope that doesn't upset Jarad Zabransky!

And finally, Dave Reardon has a column about the WAC's chances of getting some of that BCS scrilla.

This is the third of a four-year evaluation period at the end of which a conference not among the six behemoths (ACC, Big Ten, Pac-10, SEC, Big 12 and the Big East) can receive a battlefield promotion into the upper echelon ... and the automatic Bowl Championship Series bid that goes with it.

Or Boise State can go undefeated this season, but we don't want that. Even then it's not guaranteed that the BCS gods will deign to look down upon a team from the lowly WAC. So all we can do is Play UP! and hope someone notices. SIGH.

Sol and Nate and Jerry

Dave Reardon writes about Solomon Elimimian, who couldn't play due to a sprained knee, but still had a role during the UNLV game.

Elimimian -- who called the defensive signals while making 83 tackles as a true freshman last season -- was stationed in the coach's box Saturday, helping Glanville with substitutions in UH's 42-13 victory over UNLV.

"It was fun. It gave me a good perspective. I was like one of the coaches up there," Elimimian said. "It was fun, but it's much funner playing. I wish I was out there."

Hopefully he'll get to play against Boise.

Stephen Tsai writes about the "un ... be ... lievable" Nate Ilaoa.

"Nate makes that play because he has that unbelievable lateral quickness for a 250-pound player," head coach June Jones said. "You don't see that in a guy that size."

Mouse Davis, who coaches the running backs, said Ilaoa "is a little bit of a freak" — too big for a running back, too quick for a fullback.

He's really fun to watch. Hope he has a big game against Boise!

And finally, Kalani Simpson can write some really great columns. It doesn't hurt when your subject is Jerry Glanville. Here's a short quote from the DC.

On strategy: "Some of these college football coaches -- they try to trick you."

I hope Jerry sticks around for a long time.

POW!

Nate Ilaoa has been named the WAC Offensive Player of the Week!

Ilaoa, a senior from Stafford, Va. (North Stafford HS), had nine carries for 104 yards and scored two touchdowns in Hawai‘is 42-13 win over UNLV. He averaged 11.6 yards per carry and scored on runs of eight and seven yards. Ilaoa also caught three passes for 32 yards. It was just the second 100-yard rushing game for a Warrior back in the last 23 contests.

Congrats to Nasty!

And Ka Leo O Hawaii has a pretty cold title for their UNLV game wrap-up: Rebels sent back to Nevada “Loss” Vegas. Ouch!

The Warriors made a statement on Saturday night with their one-sided victory over the University of Nevada Las Vegas Rebels: Offense sells tickets but defense wins championships.

Actually, the offense didn't sell that many tickets, but maybe later this season!

Defense!

Dave Reardon writes about the improved performance so far of the UH defense, which will get a big test against Boise. But there's confidence from at least one player going into it.

Kalilimoku believes the Warriors can continue to climb the charts and win with defense, even at the blue turf of Boise, where UH has never won, where the Warriors allowed 589 yards and 69 points in 2004.

"It's a new team," he said. "And it's a great feeling."

This D is great to see on the field. Can't wait to see them against Boise.

Dave Reardon also has his cool game review called "Warriors Replay", in which he discusses five key plays in the game. I hope they're working on that video feature! Nonetheless, it's a good analysis, so go check it out!

Stephen Tsai also talks about the UH defense and their performance against UNLV. He also gets several great quotes from Jerry Glanville, including this precious one:

"They're better than most teams in the WAC," Glanville said of the Rebels, who are members of the Mountain West Conference. "I thought their coach was in shock when it was over. He didn't know what the hell we were doing to them. They'll be all right. They'll have a good year."

I hope Jerry's able to say similar things after every game this season!

And Ferd Lewis writes about the importance of the Boise State game in Hawaii's WAC title aspirations. GO WARRIORS!!!!!

Stats!

It's a little early in the season, but here are some stats, taken from the NCAA Stats Page.

How the team does against the rest of the nation:

26th in the nation in rush defense with 82 yards per game! This will definitely be tested against Boise.

45th in scoring defense with 19 points per game. Much better than last year! Hopefully we can keep this up! Ditto from above.

2nd in passing offense with 359.5 yards per game. NMSU is first with 419 ypg!

7th in total offense with 477.5 yards per game.

43rd in scoring offense with 29.5 points per game. It's still early! Future opponent Purdue is 3rd with 45.33 points per game.

119th (LAST) in the nation in penalties with 11 per game. I hope this is just an early season anomaly.


Individual stats:

Colt Brennan is 2nd in the nation in total offense with 338 yards per game.

Ryan Grice-Mullen(ins) is 5th in the nation with 110 receiving yards per game.

Davone Bess is 14th with 99 yards per game

Colt Brennan is 22nd in the nation in points responsible for with 15 per game.

Leonard Peters is tied for 2nd in the nation with passes defended with 2 per game.

Video of Post-Game Press Conference

I noticed that the Honolulu Advertiser just posted video of the post-game press conference. There a link at the top of this page, between the headline and Stephen Tsai's name.

UPDATE: The audio is really hard to hear. Sounds like they just used the on camera mic. Also, the Quicktime movie keeps cutting out for me. Oh well. Maybe it improves as it goes on.

Hawaii vs UNLV Newspaper Wrap-Ups

Dave Reardon writes about the Warriors' defensive "D-omination."

Stephen Tsai's article has this bit of information.

The Rebels' first touchdown came when the Warriors had only nine defenders on the field.

What?!?! I gotta go back and see that again.

And from the same article, there's this:

Inside linebacker Adam Leonard, who made UH's defensive calls, said: "Leonard Peters and the other seniors inspired us. We know the pain he's going through, and all of the things he's going through to be out there. For him to play through that, to play for us, he's a real hero. We fed off that."

Adam Leonard and Leonard Peters, the best Wheel of Fortune Before & After puzzle ever.

Speaking of which, Stacy Kaneshiro highlights Adam Leonard's performance. Sounds like Adam did a great job calling the defensive plays in place of Solomon Elimimian. The article also has this painful quote from Leonard Peters, who talks about jumping to deflect a pass:

"I think the angels were helping me on that," he said. "Every time I jumped up today, my rib was popping out. But I had two angels lifting me up on that play."

Man, I hope those angels can fix that rib problem too.

And Ferd Lewis has a great column on just how amazing LP is.

"If the whistle blows, I'm playing 'til they carry me out," became the Peters mantra.

When he picked off Rocky Hinds' pass in the third quarter, Peters said, "I thought about pitching it off (to a teammate). I mean, man, I was having trouble breathing and my ribs were aching. But the rest of the boys on the defense were throwing blocks for me and I just had to take it back then."

What a fighter! Get better Leonard!

Jason Kaneshiro writes about the great job the slotbacks did.

Nick Abramo writes about UNLV's overall performance.

Defensively, as is the case when most visitors come to Honolulu to play the Warriors, UNLV didn't have an answer for all of Hawaii's zigging and zagging receivers.

"Actually, we were prepared for that," linebacker Beau Bell said. "But our scout team couldn't simulate Hawaii's quickness. Hawaii looked quick on film and they really are that quick. We had to adjust to that speed and quickness and it took a while to do. And we just didn't rally to the ball."

Dayton Morinaga writes about Nate Ilaoa's great 104-yard rushing performance last night, with a quote from Reagan Mauia.

"The running game was awesome," Mauia said. "The o-line was blocking their butts off and Nate was awesome. That's the only word to describe Nate."

And what two words best describe Reagan Mauia?

The Juggernaut!

Jim Leahey actually called him "the bull" last night, while referring to the entire offense as "a juggernaut". That was close, but noooo!!! Reagan is "The Juggernaut!" Not the bull! And the offense can only be referred to as "The Awesome". Jim Leahey, you can do it!

The Star-Bulletin staff also writes about Nate Ilaoa's and Reagan Mauia's excellent performance. The article also highlights an incident where Jerry Glanville made Keala Watson apologize to the official after a personal foul penalty.

"I said, 'He's (Keala Watson) not that type of guy,' " Glanville recalled. "He's the nicest guy in the world. If he pushed a guy, I'll make him apologize."

Watson, who said he hit a man too hard and too high accidentally, and Glanville walked over to referee Al Novak.

"It was something that Glanville made me do," Watson said.

"The ref really seemed to appreciate it," Glanville said.

How did he react?

"He was like shocked that someone would actually do that," Watson said with a sheepish smile. "I learned from that mistake."

That's hilarious! But it's a pretty cool thing for Glanville and Watson to do.

Kalani Simpson analyzes the game in the way only Kalani Simpson can. He says bring on the Broncos!

Ferd Lewis and Leila Wai write that a lot of reserves played last night. Did Jazen Anderson play? Didn't see him.

And FINALLY, here's a quick wrap-up from the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Hinds was constantly on the run even though Hawaii (1-1) mostly used a three-man rush while flooding the defensive backfield. So when Hinds dropped back to pass, he often had no open receivers, and the Warriors were able to beat UNLV's offensive line without need of a blitz.

The Warriors flustered Hinds to the point where he even missed open receivers, and finished 13 of 37 for 166 yards with no touchdowns and an interception.

Let's bring this D to Boise! GO WARRIORS!!!!