#1 vs #1

Dave Reardon profiles Purdue defensive lineman Anthony Spencer

The Warriors are aware that Spencer is probably the best defensive lineman they'll face this season. His linemates aren't bad either, UH coach June Jones said.

"They're very athletic and they have some very good individual pass rushers," he said. "They do a lot of different looks. A lot of zone blitzing, a lot of different things. We've seen a lot of that stuff all (season). This is just better athletes doing it."

Hawaii tackles Tala Esera on the left and Dane Uperesa on the right will likely both be tested by Spencer, since the Purdue coaches will shift him if they think they can find a weak spot in the blocking.

"Throughout the year I moved around a lot, but it just depends on the game plan," he said.

Spencer also has 10.5 sacks among his 85 total tackles, plus four forced fumbles and five pass breakups.

Spencer leads the nation in tackles for loss with 26.5. He'll be going up against a Warrior offensive line that leads the nation in fewest tackles for loss allowed. Should be a great matchup.

Stephen Tsai writes that some Warriors are suffering from the flu. Somehow Joe Tiller's gonna spin that into another excuse for Purdue, I just know it. And Dan Kelly says he's corrected a flaw in his kicking motion.

Earlier in the year, Kelly had thought he figured out his accuracy problems, using a new approach before making contact. But then the Warriors went four games in a row without attempting a field goal, and Kelly's accuracy went on hiatus.

"I thought I had it figured out, but the way I had it figured out wasn't very consistent," he said.

During Wednesday's practice, Kelly noticed his aim improved when he kept his shoulder and hips square to the goal posts.

"I wasn't pulling (the right leg) across (the body)," Kelly said. "All I had to do was to go straight through the ball. I seemed to get a lot better height (on the kicks)."

He'll be a great one by the time he finishes his career at UH.

Today's edition of Dave Reardon's "Colt Following" has three excerpts from Heisman pundits around the land. Here's an excerpt from those excerpts.

BOB MATTHEWS

Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

"The No. 2 and No. 3 spots on my Heisman Trophy ballot are up for grabs, but Ohio State QB Troy Smith has clinched the No. 1 spot. Hawaii probably never will have a Heisman Trophy-winning QB, but Colt Brennan's 2006 passing line is fun to look at: 303 of 419 (.723) for 4,155 yards, with 48 TD passes, 8 INTs and a best-in-the-nation 189.6 passer rating in 11 games. Ohio State's Smith has a fifth-best 167.9 passer rating."

USA Today has a mini-preview of the UH-Purdue game at the tail end of their Weekend Preview.

Closing out the weekend will be No. 25 Hawaii, with its WAC campaign concluded, hoping to earn some stripes against some BCS conference visitors. First to venture to the islands is Purdue, the last Big Ten team to wrap up its regular season. Warriors QB Colt Brennan has thrown at least four TD passes in nine games this season. WR Davone Bess is his favorite aerial weapon, and RB Nate Ilaoa is a dual threat with 1,348 all-purpose yards and 15 TDs. The Boilermakers have firepower themselves, with WR Dorien Bryant 109 receiving yards from the 1,000 mark. But QB Curtis Painter can't afford to add to his 16 interceptions. He'll try to control the pace of the game with TE Dustin Keller and RB Kory Sheets.

And finally, if you couldn't read enough praise for Colt Brennan, and I'm sure even he's probably sick of it by now, here's yet another pundit's opinion.

While nobody is more qualified than my man Nobody, shouldn't Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan deserve some consideration? All he's done to this point is chuck the pineapple for 4,155 yards and 48 touchdowns, against only eight interceptions. Even more impressive, he's completing more than 72 percent of his passes in coach June Jones' run-and-shoot offense.

The problem with Brennan is purely geographical. He plays out there in the middle of the Pacific Ocean while most of the nation is asleep. The Heisman Trophy is first and foremost a popularity contest and voters are not going to vote for what they can't see. 'Tis a pity.

Could do without the "chuck the pineapple" line. Oh well, some mainland writers think pineapple references are clever. Besides that, pretty good analysis. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

GO WARRIORS!!!!