GameDay: Hawaii vs Nevada

Woo hoo! It's Saturday! Time for some football! The Warriors take on the Wolf Pack! Are you excited!?!? Anything other than a resounding "hell yes!" gets you a boot up the ass! And you don't want that because these are new boots, with a whole lot of tread! Ouch!

Dave Reardon and Stephen Tsai write that this game is do or die for both teams, with the loser losing any hopes of a shared WAC title. I really don't think Boise State will lose this year, unless they suffer from letdown-itis today against La Tech. Nonetheless, this is a big game for Hawaii and it is a must-win because there's always hope! Plus, we need to take momentum going into Fresno next week! But back to Nevada.

Dave Reardon's gameday preview talks about what the Nevada defense will bring.

"I think defensively they'll have some new wrinkles ... as they do every time we play them," UH coach June Jones said. "We didn't block 'em very well last year in the offensive line. I think that was our worst game."

And end J.J. Milan, Nevada's leader this year with five sacks, wasn't even playing because of injury

I read somewhere that UH's O-line had a few problems against EIU, which brings a similar attack, so hopefully that and this week's practice has prepared them for today's game.

Stephen Tsai's gameday preview discusses Nevada's pistol offense, the similarities of the UH and Nevada defensive schemes, and highlights an interesting aspect of Hawaii's kickoff coverage.

The Warriors will miss Ryan Keomaka, who serves as the "hawk" on kickoff coverage. He has a badly sprained ankle. The hawk and the arrow are the sprinters who run down the lane along the sidelines. Their job is to protect the outside lane, or obey the "21-man rule." The assignment is to keep any of the 21 other players from getting between the hawk and the sideline.

"The job of the hawk and arrow is to narrow the field," Reinebold said. "First you narrow the field, then you try to make the tackle. Ryan (Keomaka), Kenny (Patton) and Gerard (Lewis) do a good job in that role."

Keomaka's been through so much this year, a lot of that self-inflicted, but let's all hope he gets better so he can play next week in Fresno.

And finally, from the Lahontan Valley News, is a gameday preview from the Nevada perspective.

The Pack defense, which has allowed only 11.3 points a game in the past three weeks, faces its biggest test of the season when it meets offensive juggernaut Hawaii Saturday night in a Western Athletic Conference football game.

...

No doubt Nevada will play more five and six defensive back packages than it has all year, and Kenny Wilson, assistant head coach, said that Devon Walker, Jon Amaya or De'Angelo Wilson will be used depending on the down and distance situation.

"Running after the catch is a big part of what they do," coach Wilson said. "We have to negate the run after the catch. They are going to catch the ball, but we have to make the stops right away."

Coach Wilson said that Brennan is even better than he was a year ago.

"His (Brennan's) arm is stronger," Wilson said. "He is throwing the ball with more velocity. Since last year's game (at Nevada), he's playing with more confidence."

Sounds like it'll be a great game. Be there! GO WARRIORS!!!!