Utah State

The Herald Journal of Utah has a preview of this Saturday's game.

“Hawaii is on quite a roll right now,” (Utah State coach Brent) Guy said. “It is amazing how many yards they are leading the country with right now.”

Yes, the Warriors are. They have won five straight by an average of 30 points. Their last loss came at No. 14 Boise State, 41-34.

“We have definitely got to be ready,” Aggie linebacker Paul Igboeli said. “Hawaii has an explosive offense to say the least. ... What have they been averaging, 48 or 50 a game? I know they scored 68.”

The Warriors did that at Fresno State back on Oct. 14, and again last Saturday at home in a 68-10 win over Idaho.

USU has allowed 48 points twice, including its last outing. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 17-0 lead after the first quarter and went on to win 48-35.

I hope the Warriors can quickly get used to the cold weather. The forecast for Logan, Utah on Saturday is a high of 54 degrees and a low of 35 with a chance of showers. Brrr!!! Luckily, the game is in the middle of the day, so it'll be more towards the high end.

Also, Rich Miano was the guest on The Warrior Beat today. I won't post my question because it was silly, but go here to read the whole thread.

D-Line

Stephen Tsai writes about the actions being taken to replace Renolds Fruean, Amani Purcell and Keala Watson along the defensive line.

Laupepa Letuli, a second-year freshman, was moved from offensive left guard to defensive end. Victor Clore, a freshman who was not enrolled in school last year, was told he would receive extended practice time.

...

Watson suffered a torn meniscus, an injury that might require arthroscopic surgery. He will miss at least four weeks.

Fruean suffered a high sprain in his right ankle. He incurred a similar injury last year. He said he will miss at least four weeks.

Amani Purcell has a partial ligament tear and a hyperextension in his right knee.

"I'll probably be out two weeks at least," Purcell said.

Hope they're back for the Purdue, OSU and Hawaii Bowl games. Speaking of which, the Hawaii Bowl is getting ready to invite the Warriors to itself. And it looks like UH won't play OSU twice on national TV.

Since UH closes its regular season with a Dec. 2 game against Oregon State, a Pac-10 spokesman said it is unlikely the Beavers would end up in the Hawai'i Bowl, even if eligible.

ESPN is expected to announce today that it will pick up the UH-Oregon State game on one of its networks. A WAC official said the network has been "leaning to Oregon State" and he would be "shocked" if ESPN chose UH's Nov. 25 game against Purdue instead. ESPN is supposed to decide between the two by tomorrow.

Dave Reardon has more about the changes to the defensive line.

Left end David Veikune (6-3, 258) will likely get more playing time, too. Undersized but scrappy Victor Clore (6-2, 230) is a project who needs to gain weight, but he might be needed.

The Warriors finished the game Saturday with nose tackles Rocky Savaiigaea and Lawrence Wilson at the ends and Kahai LaCount at nose.

"I think everybody in this group has the mentality they have to pull on the rope a little harder now," Reinebold said. "Other guys are going to have to step up. Young guys are going to have to mature faster than maybe we anticipated they were going to have to mature."

Ferd Lewis writes about the possibility of Colt passing for 4500 yards and Nate running for 1000 yards. Even if that happens, he's not voting for Hawaii to be in the top 25. I'm just kidding.

And finally Kalani Simpson writes a profile on rarely used punter Kurt Milne.

"I thought about going for it on that fourth down and we would have finished perfect for the game," June Jones said. "But I didn't think that was quite right."

(Whew!)

"It was nice to get A punt," Milne said. "I think that was only my 12th punt all year, in eight games."

(He was right. Of course he was. He's had so few he cherishes each one. Does he remember the last time he punted? "Yeah," he said quickly. "Fresno.")

Odds and Ends

Coach Rich Miano will be the guest live chatter on The Warrior Beat tomorrow (Tuesday) at 9:45am HST!

June Jones has some Monday quotes. Here's one:

On the consistency of the offense...
"I think I'm more critical now than before. I get on guys more during games now. I mean, our players are playing extremely well, but I guess it's part of demanding perfection. When you see them do things in practice, you want to see them do it in the game, and when they don't I get on them."

Irse has posted the June Jones Show online, which he does every week. Really really cool of him. That's actually a link to his Sportshawaii.com post rather than a direct link to the video. It may be his last post reminding people of it.

Irse also taped the haka before the Idaho game. Here's the direct link to that video, because I like to mix it up.

CFN's Pete Fiutak really likes Colt Brennan.

And I promise, you won’t have to endure any TV ad spots for this campaign …
Since the University of Hawaii isn’t promoting QB Colt Brennan, let me be the one to get the ball rolling: he’s really, really, really, really, really good. As the only mainland American who watches Hawaii football on a weekly basis, what Brennan is doing with the attack is scary. I know, the negative campaigns will complain that he’s averaging 367 passing yards per game with 33 touchdowns, five interceptions, with no picks in the last four games, while completing 74% of his throws because he plays in the WAC. It helps, but he also threw for 350 yards and two touchdown against Alabama. In his last six games he has thrown 5, 5, 4, 5, 5, and 5 touchdown passes.

Colt's also getting some recognition in ESPN's Heisman poll.

In the national polls, Hawaii is:

Ranked 34th in the BCS poll

Ranked 31st in CFN's own poll

Ranked 34th in the CBS Sportsline poll

Ranked 31st (17 votes) in the Harris Interactive Poll

Ranked 32nd (18 votes) in the USA Today Coaches Poll

Ranked 36th (2 votes) in the AP Poll

Injuries

Yikes, Stephen Tsai writes that Renolds Fruean, Keala Watson and Amani Purcell, who all took turns subbing for the injured Ikaika Alama-Francis, all got injured themselves during the game and won't make the trip to Utah State and may not be playing for a while.

Watson had said he believed he suffered a chipped meniscus in his right knee. If so, he would require arthroscopic surgery to clip the affected area. The recovery period for such a surgery is at least four weeks.

Fruean said he suffered a severe sprain to his right ankle. He suffered a right high-ankle sprain last year.

"Same ankle, probably the same injury," Fruean said.

...

Purcell suffered what is believed to be a tear to the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He was scheduled to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging, a procedure in which magnetic fields are used to create a picture of the body's interior.

Head coach June Jones said he is hopeful Alama-Francis will be available to play this week.

That's insane. Let's hope their recovery goes smoothly.

In Dave Reardon's article, Coach Jeff Reinebold talks about the injuries.

"Ikaika was down, Mel (Purcell) was dinged. Fale was out. And we had guys playing all new positions," defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold said. "I give those guys a lot of credit because they came out and competed their butts off. I don't know how many yards they rushed for but it wasn't very many (Idaho finished with 141 of its 334 yards on the ground). We hit the quarterback and we did all the things good defensive lines do, and we did it with everybody."

Reinebold refuses to blame chop blocking by Idaho for UH's injuries.

"I don't know if anything can be directly attributed to that," he said. "I have a lot of respect for Dennis (Erickson, the Idaho coach), and that's a philosophical difference, not a rule. It's part of the game and it's a dirty, nasty game."

Dave goes on to write about Colt Brennan's amazing season.

Because he plays in a mid-major conference and his home games are six time zones away from the East Coast, Brennan hasn't received much national recognition. That will change if he continues on his current pace, as early as this week, Jones said.

"This game will probably do it," the coach said.

The Associated Press plans to produce a feature on Brennan this week, and that might provide a little more exposure.

What will help Brennan's profile is if he's still playing at this level when Hawaii hosts Purdue and Oregon State a month from now. Of course that's around the time Ohio State's Troy Smith will be playing against Michigan and Notre Dame's Brady Quinn against USC.

Pretty cool. I'll link to the AP article whenever it comes out. Because linking is what I do best!

Dave Reardon also has his Warrior Replay post-game feature. Here's an excerpt:

5. Knock out

The Setup: Hawaii 41, Idaho 10; 6:33 remaining, third quarter; Idaho ball, fourth and 10 at Hawaii 36.

The Play: Idaho QB Steven Wichman drops back, but quickly decides his best chance for a first down is to scramble. Strong safety Jake Patek, sitting in a deep zone, sees Wichman cross the line of scrimmage. Patek rushes forward, avoids a blocker and crashes into Wichman with a high but clean hit that puts the quarterback on his seat and knocks the ball out of his hands. UH linebacker Micah Lau recovers at Hawaii's 27.

The Impact: Patek's hit took away Idaho's last chance to make a game of it. Ian Sample scored on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brennan four plays later, and Wichman never returned, becoming the sixth quarterback Hawaii's defense has knocked out of a game this year.

Patek: "The quarterback tried to cut outside. I changed directions and hit him and it felt great."

And since someone posted the video of Patek's hit online (which I linked to yesterday), here's a taste of what Warrior Replay would look like if it had video clips to go along with it:



Ouch! Wouldn't that be a great addition to Dave's excellent breakdowns?

And finally, Ross Dickerson is the WAC Special Teams Player of the Week for the second straight week!

You know why he won the award? Oh my goodness, take a look!



Pretty cool. I hope people post more highlights like this. For example, Michael Malala's kung fu tackle from a few weeks ago:



GO WARRIORS!!!!

Stats After Week 9 - It's Getting Ridiculous

From the NCAA and ESPN

Hawaii is 1st in the nation in scoring offense with 45.38 points per game.

Hawaii is 1st in the nation in passing offense with 421.9 yards per game

With all that passing, Hawaii is tied for 13th in the nation in passes had intercepted with only 5.

Hawaii is 1st in the nation in total offense with 529.25 yards per game

Hawaii is 78th in the nation in scoring defense with 24.9 points allowed per game.

Hawaii is 105th in the nation in total defense with 399.50 yards allowed per game.

Hawaii is 8th in the nation in tackles for loss allowed with 3.88 per game.

Colt Brennan is 1st in the nation in passing efficiency with a rating of 185.0.

Colt Brennan is 1st in the nation in total offense with 391 yards per game.

Colt Brennan is 1st in the nation in points responsible for with 27.00 points per game.

Colt Brennan is 1st in the nation in completion percentage with 74.0%

Colt Brennan is 1st in the nation in touchdown passes with 33.

Davone Bess is 4th in the nation in receptions with 7.38 per game.

Davone Bess is 14th in the nation in receiving yards with 82.88 per game.

Ross Dickerson jumps to 5th in the nation in kickoff returns with 32.87 yards per return.

Ross Dickerson also jumps to 21st in the nation in all-purpose yards with 126.38 yards per game.

Nate Ilaoa is 31st in the nation in all-purpose yards with 121.5 yards per game.

Nate Ilaoa is 32nd in the nation in scoring with 7.5 points per game.

NOTE: These aren't permalinks, so as the week changes, so will the stats.

Videos

Cool cool cool! First off, I forgot to post a link to a video of the post-game press conference, which was produced by the Honolulu Advertiser.

And secondly, somebody posted a video of Jacob Patek's hit last night! Here it is:

Hawaii vs Idaho Newspaper Wrap-Ups

Stephen Tsai's wrap-up highlights how the Warriors set up Ross Dickerson's opening kickoff return for a touchdown. It also has this passage about Dickerson being numbah one supa cool.

Dickerson also showed his leadership before the game. Dickerson started the first three games at right wideout, but moved to right slotback as an injury replacement for Ryan Grice-Mullins. With Grice-Mullins prepared to return last night, Jones decided to rotate Grice-Mullins and Dickerson. But Jones had difficulty coming up with an order.

Grice-Mullins wanted Dickerson to start, but Dickerson refused, and ordered Grice-Mullins to open at right slotback.

"I wanted him to go in there, but he kept insisting and insisting," Grice-Mullins said. "I had no choice. He took the leadership role and made me go in."

Brennan said: "Ross gave up his starting position to let Ryan play. I'm a big karma guy. I believe what goes around comes around. I think when Ross did that, he set the tone for us. He showed we're a team. He made a personal sacrifice to help us reach our team goals. That means a lot."

After that, the Warriors could not be stopped.

What a great guy. Jason Kaneshiro has more on the kickoff return.

The touchdown return was UH's first since Dickerson went the length of the field in his debut as a Warrior against Appalachian State in 2003.

"We've been close all year," UH special teams assistant Dennis McKnight said. "The kids up front have been busting their butts and we were fortunate tonight. Every guy got their guy and Ross made a great run.

Advertiser writer Kalani Takase writes about it as well.

His only regret was not getting another chance. "I was feeling it," he said. "If they had kicked it to me, the way my team was blocking for me, we would have had another one."

He admitted the unit may have fed off the pre-game introductions. "It made the team recognize that the kickoffs and kick return and everything on special teams is important," he said. UH usually introduces either the starting offense or defense.

McKnight recognized the importance of the return as well. "There's an invisible guy out there on the field: Mr. Momentum, and it's up to special teams to get him on the sideline, then the offense and defense to keep him there," he said.

I just hope that teams don't avoid kicking to him the rest of the year!

Leila Wai writes about the beneficiary of Dickerson's generosity, Ryan Grice-Mullins, who was grateful to be back.

Returning to the field for the first time in more than a month, Grice-Mullins scored two touchdowns as Hawai'i defeated Idaho, 68-10, in a Western Athletic Conference game at Aloha Stadium last night.

Grice-Mullins scored touchdowns of 18 and 34 yards, catching five passes for 83 yards. His two scores doubled the amount of touchdowns he had previously this season.

"Words can't explain it right now. And getting the win on top of that? I can't explain it," he said. "Just being back with the boys, playing around, out there playing and running around and scoring and celebrating, I can't explain it."

Good to see him speeding towards various end zones like normal.

Dave Reardon's wrap-up has a pretty funny quote from Colt Brennan, along with praise from his coaches:

"We're going to take what we can get. We're not going to try to force big plays," Brennan said. "We come into every game worried and ready for whatever they're going to throw at us. We're not walking into every game expecting a blowout and getting 35 or 40 at halftime. We walk in thinking its going to be a four-quarter battle and then we find ourselves sitting in the fourth quarter kind of bored."

Jones and UH quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison both said they've never seen anything close to Brennan's performance over the course of this many games.

"I think consistency's the main thing for him," Morrison said. "It's very rare to have a guy be that consistent for that long. He's very special."

I hope Colt Brennan gets bored in the 4th quarter the rest of the season. The good news is that would mean more of The Graunke. The bad news is that Colt won't be throwing for 600 yards and 8 touchdowns a game. The UH defense is hurting Colt's statistics!

Wai, Takase and Ferd Lewis write about last night's defensive performance, including Jacob Patek's big hit.

The defense gave up 334 yards of total offense and limited the Vandals to just 10 points.

In addition, UH knocked out its sixth opposing quarterback this season.

On fourth-and-10 from the Hawai'i 36-yard line, Idaho signal-caller Steve Wichman scrambled out of the pocket to his left before being crunched by Hawai'i strong safety Jake Patek.

"All I remember is seeing him scrambling and in my peripheral vision I saw the receivers, I guess, trying to cut block me. Then (Wichman) cut outside, I had to change directions and I got him," said Patek, a junior from Victoria, Texas.

"It's not like we're trying to knock him out," Patek explained. "We're just full speed to the ball and everybody's trying to get in on a tackle."

It was a great hit from out of nowhere. I hope someone posts it online.

The article also talks about the debut of kicker Briton Forester.

Fans weren't the only ones surprised when freshman kicker Briton Forester marched out on the field for the extra-point following Ross Dickerson's 100-yard opening kickoff return.

"(The coaches) were contemplating it during the week, but I just found out before the game," said the San Diego native.

The Warriors have had problems with PATs throughout the season and Forester was called upon as a solution.

"Coach just likes to get the ball up on the PATs and I guess I get a little bit more height on it than (Dan) Kelly does," Forester said.

Well, judging from the past few weeks, I'm not sure if any game the rest of this season will be close, but just in case, UH definitely needs to get some consistency in the kicking game. Snappers, holders and now kickers have been replaced or shuffled around this season. And there were two missed or muffed PATs last night. I hope the breakdowns will be eventually wiped out. Otherwise, 2 point conversions from here on out!

The Star-Bulletin's Football Notebook has more on the Patek hit as well as Forester's debut as well as injury reports on Keala Watson and Renolds Fruean.

Defensive end Keala Watson was helped off the field after he was down for about 5 minutes with what appeared to be a left knee injury late in the third quarter.

The sophomore from Nanakuli was optimistic with the early diagnosis.

"It's cartilage, so it might not be so bad," he said.

He was scheduled to undergo an MRI today.

Watson was replaced by Renolds Fruean, who re-injured an ankle he'd sprained earlier this season two plays after Watson left the field.

Watson had started in place of Ikaika Alama-Francis, who did not practice during the week due to back spasms. Alama-Francis could have played if necessary, defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold said.

Sounds like it's better news for Keala Watson than it looked. He was down for a long time and couldn't even put any pressure on the leg when he was helped out. Hope the MRIs turn out negative.

Nick Abramo writes that Idaho coach Dennis Erickson came away from the game impressed with Hawaii.

"That's an awfully good football team," Vandals coach Dennis Erickson said. "And we played terrible. It wasn't so much about getting hit as getting beat.

"(UH defensive coordinator) Jerry (Glanville) has done a nice job. They're a lot better on defense than they've been. It's the defensive side that makes them a good football team, a balanced team."

Erickson didn't try to explain the Vandals' poor performance against the UH offense. That's because he couldn't explain it.

"If I knew what was going on, it wouldn't have happened," Erickson said. "I don't have an answer for 68-10. If someone does, please let me in on it.

"We knew they were a good football team, but we made them awfully good. (Colt) Brennan was on all the time. In all my years of coaching college football, I don't know if I've seen an offense as productive as this one."

That's some high praise. I hope teams won't be too scared to play us down the road. And that leads us to a great column from Ferd Lewis, entitled "Secure the '07 foes now"

"I mean, with the way we've been playing lately, I don't think anybody is going to want to come out and play us next year," said UH quarterback Colt Brennan said after tossing five touchdowns for the fifth time in six weeks and the Warriors (6-2) claimed sole possession of second place in the Western Athletic Conference at 4-1. "Especially here, at home."

UH's eight-game WAC schedule for 2007 is a given. And Nevada-Las Vegas is signed on for one non-conference game, but with four more non-league games still to be announced for the 13-game schedule, you hope UH is sitting on a stack of signed, sealed and already-delivered contracts for next season and just hasn't gotten around to publicizing it.

God, I hope Herman Frazier has some games already under contract. And I hope it's against good teams. But like Ferd goes on to write, Michigan State is already trying to weasel their way out of next year's contracted game. But then again, it's MSU. Let's hope we don't end up having to play multiple Division I-AA games next year! Bring on BYU, bring on Texas Tech, bring on Alabama, bring on Washington, hell, even Stanford or Temple!

Well, Herman's supposed to make an announcement in the next couple weeks, so we'll see what the news is. In any case, there is the rest of this season to play, and Kalani Simpson, like many UH fans nowadays, thinks the Warriors are on a roll. Kalani, how hot are they?

They're so hot, if you find any typos it's because I looked directly at it, instead of using one of those eclipse-watching things. (My corneas!)

Hawaii opened the game with a kickoff return for a touchdown -- 100 yards!

They're so hot the special teams guys are stars now, sticking people, earning aaaahhhs!, all but taking bows after plays. The kickoff team is so hot kicker Dan Kelly is out there talking trash, too.

UH was so hot Idaho can have the play snuffed out -- stuffing a would-be shovel to Nate Ilaoa -- only to see Colt Brennan pull the ball back, and gallop for 23 yards. (They're so hot Brennan comes out of the game because he's tired from all that running, and Tyler Graunke goes in to complete two straight -- the second a 20-yard pass to Ryan Grice-Mullins, which causes assistant coach Dennis McKnight to sprint 20 yards onto the field for a high five.)

Hawaii is so hot you have to wear SPF 30 if you sit in the front row.

Nice. Right now, this team is unstoppable. Let's run the table the rest of the way! GO WARRIORS!!!!

Hawaii 68, Idaho 10

My apologies for Blogger crapping out at the end of the game. The liveblog was stuck at "Current Score: Hawaii 61, Idaho 10" with 3 minutes left to play for like 6 hours. Not that the game was in any doubt at that point.

Anyways, this offense is unstoppable. The defense played great as well. Tyler Graunke gotta be one of the better back-up QBs around. I hope he gets to play more, which means more blowouts like this! I'll put the newspaper wrap-ups up a little later.

UPDATE: Here's some final stats...

Colt Brennan was 31 of 38 for 333 yards with 5 touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed 5 times for 64 yards.

Nate Ilaoa caught 7 passes for 48 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 3 times for 7 yards and another touchdown.

Nate, Ian Sample, Jason Rivers and Davone Bess all caught a touchdown pass. Ryan Grice-Mullins caught two.

Adam Leonard led the team with 7 tackles. But Jacob Patek had the biggest hit of the night.

Ross Dickerson ran back the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. Idaho never kicked to him the rest of the night.

LiveBlogging: Hawaii vs Idaho

If Blogger craps out during the game, you can always follow live game stats here, or follow the game through one of the ways listed two posts ago.

Final Score: Hawaii 68, Idaho 10

All Times Game Clock!

1st Quarter:

15:00 - Hawaii is back to receive.

14:42 - Idaho kicks off and Ross Dickerson takes it out of the end zone and RUNS IT ALL THE WAY IN FOR A TOUCHDOWN!!!!

14:42 - Dan Kelly Briton Forester kicks the PAT and it's good! Hawaii 7, Idaho 0

14:32 - Dan Kelly kicks it off, and Idaho runs it out to the 27, but illegal block in the back on Idaho.

14:11 - On 1st and 10 from the Idaho 13, Steve Wichmann completes a short pass to the 20.

14:00 - On 2nd down from the 21, Brian Flowers takes the hand off out to the 34 for a first down.

13:55 - On 1st down from the Idaho 34, Wichman scrambles out to the 40 yard line.

13:20 - On 2nd and 4 from the Idaho 40, hand off is taken to the 42. 3rd down.

12:37 - On 3rd down, a timeout is called by Idaho.

12:35 - On 3rd and 2, Wichman overthrows his man. 4th down!

12:24 - Idaho punts and Myron Newberry takes it from the 25 to the UH 36 yard line.

12:15 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 36, Colt Brennan swings it out to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the UH 38. Looked like a face mask, but wasn't called.

11:45 - On 2nd down from the UH 38, Colt Brennan swings it out to Davone Bess, who takes it to the UH 43. 3rd down and 3.

10:50 - On 3rd and 3 from the UH 43, Brennan finds Bess on the left side to the UH 49 for a first down!!!

10:20 - On 1st down, Brennan swings it to Ross Dickerson to the Idaho 45 yard line.

9:45 - On 2nd down from the Idaho 45, Brennan to Jason Rivers on a bubble screen to the Idaho 34 yard line. 1st down!!!

9:28 - Illegal motion on UH nullifies the last play. Not a first down.

9:10 - On 2nd and 8 from the Idaho 49, Brennan swings to Ilaoa, who takes it out to the Idaho 41 for a first down! For real this time.

8:40 - On 1st and 10 from the Idaho 41, Colt Brennan's pass is deflected to the ground. 2nd down.

8:32 - On 2nd and 10 from the Idaho 41, Brennan shovels to Chad Mock after getting nearly sacked. Mock is down at the 40. 3rd down.

7:45 - On 3rd and 9 from the Idaho 40, Brennan finds Ian Sample crossing over the middle all the way to the 19 yard line for a first down!!!

7:10 - On 1st down from the 19, Brennan finds Sample on the sideline for a 9 yard gain!

6:35 - On 2nd and 1 from the Idaho 10, Brennan overthrows Bess on a corner route in the end zone. 3rd and 1.

6:26 - On 3rd and 1 from the Idaho 10, Brennan finds Jason Rivers in the back of the end zone for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!

6:26 - Briton Forester kicks the PAT and it's good. Huh. Gotta check the last PAT, see who kicked it. UPDATE: Briton kicked the first PAT as well. Hawaii 14, Idaho 0

6:20 - Dan Kelly kicks it off into the endzone, Idaho brings it out to the 26.

6:05 - On 1st down from the Idaho 26, Wichman finds Luke Smith-Anderson over the middle for a quick first down.

5:35 - On 1st down from the 40, Brian Flowers is dropped by Adam Leonard, but not before gaining a couple.

5:00 - On 2nd and 7, Wichman finds a receiver on the sideline for a first down into UH territory.

4:50 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 35, Wichman scrambles and is nearly sacked, but he gets back to the line of scrimmage, possibly a one yard gain.

4:05 - On 2nd and 9 from the UH 34, Wichman over the middle to Smith-Anderson for a first down to the UH 24.

3:40 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 24, Wichman throws incomplete over the middle.

3:30 - On 2nd and 10 from the UH 24, Wichman hits Flowers on a screen, he takes it until Leonard Peters smacks him out of bounds at the 4 yard line.

3:22 - On 1st and goal from the 4, Flowers takes the hand off and is stopped at the 3 yard line.

2:50 - On 2nd and goal from the 3, Leonard Peters breaks up a pass in the corner of the end zone!!! 3rd down!

2:35 - On 3rd and goal from the UH 3, Wichman finds Wendell Octave in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.

2:34 - PAT is good. Hawaii 14, Idaho 7

2:30 - Idaho kicks a squib to avoid Ross Dickerson and it's downed at the UH 38.

2:15 - On 1st down from the UH 38, Colt Brennan finds Jason Rivers on the left sideline to the UH 44.

2:05 - On 2nd and 4, Brennan throws incomplete on the sideline. 3rd down.

2:02 - On 3rd and 4 from the UH 44, Brennan finds Ian Sample on the right sideline for a first down!

1:40 - On 1st down from the Idaho 49, Brennan shovels to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the Idaho 39. First down!

1:20 - On 1st down from the Idaho 39, bubble screen to Chad Mock, who takes it to the Idaho 30.

0:35 - On 2nd and 1 from the Idaho 30, Brennan finds Davone Bess, who takes it to the 17 yard line!

0:10 - On 1st and 10 from the Idaho 16 yard line, Brennan to Jason Rivers to the 8 yard line.

0:00 - End of 1st quarter. Timeout.


2nd Quarter:

15:00 - On 2nd and 2 from the Idaho 8, Colt Brennan hands off to Nate Ilaoa, who is dropped back at the 11 for a 3 yard loss.

14:25 - On 3rd and 5 from the Idaho 11, Brennan finds Ian Sample on the sideline and he's knocked out of bounds at the 2 for a first down!

14:12 - On 1st and goal from the Idaho 2, Brennan incomplete in the endzone to Davone. Just off his hands.

14:10 - On 2nd and goal from the Idaho 2, Brennan to Davone Bess on the left side for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!

14:08 - PAT is good. Hawaii 21, Idaho 7

14:05 - Dan Kelly kicks it to the 1 yard line and it's taken out to the 25 yard line.

13:40 - On 1st down from the Idaho 25, Wichman throws it too low. Incomplete!

13:25 - On 2nd and 10 from the Idaho 25, Wichman finds Octave to the Idaho 40.

13:05 - Hand off to Flowers for a 3 yard gain.

12:25 - On 2nd and 7 from the Idaho 43, Wichman to Luke Smith-Anderson into UH territory for a 1st down.

11:55 - On 1st down from the UH 48, Wichman to LSM on a sideline pattern all the way to the UH 10 yard line.

11:48 - On 1st down from the UH 10, Wichman overthrows on the sideline. 2nd down.

11:46 - On 2nd down from the UH 10, Wichman incomplete on a slant. 3rd down.

11:45 - On 3rd down from the UH 10, false start on Idaho.

11:45 - On 3rd down from the UH 15, UH calls a timeout.

11:45 - On 3rd and goal from the UH 15, Wichman throws into the end zone. Incomplete! 4th down!

11:41 - Idaho attempts a 32 yard fiel goal and it's wide left, but there's a flag on the field.

11:37 - It was a personal foul on Keala Watson because he hit the center before one second had elapsed. And on the replay it looked like nothing. What the hell. Automatic first down.

11:28 - So 1st and goal from the UH 7, Flowers is dropped for a 2 yard loss.

10:55 - On 2nd and goal, Wichman overthrows his receiver.

10:50 - On 3rd and goal from the 9, Wichman misses his target in the back of the end zone. INCOMPLETE! 4th down!

10:48 - On the 26 yard field goal attempt, this time it's good and there are no penalties. Hawaii 21, Idaho 10

10:44 - Idaho kicks off. It's another squib that's taken by Bully Fergerstrom at the UH 29.

10:25 - On 1st down from the UH 28, Brennan finds Ian Sample on a short sideline pattern to the UH 37.

9:40 - On 2nd and 1 from the UH 37, Brennan is caught from behind as he was scrambling out of the pocket. 1 yard loss.

8:50 - On 3rd and 2 from the UH 36, bubble screen to Jason Rivers and he takes it to the UH 46 for a first down!

8:20 - On 1st down from the UH 47, Brennan to Chad Mock on the left sideline for an 8 yard gain.

7:50 - On 2nd down from the Idaho 47, Brennan scrambles and breaks free and runs all the way to the Idaho 21!!!

7:25 - On 1st down from the Idaho 21, shovel to Nate Ilaoa, but Idaho was right on it and drops Nate for a loss. 2nd down.

6:45 - On 2nd down from the Idaho 27, Brennan shovels to Ilaoa who scrambles to the Idaho 10 for a 1st down!!!!

6:18 - Hawaii takes a timeout.

6:16 - On 1st and goal from the Idaho 10, Brennan throws incomplete into traffic. 2nd down.

6:10 - On 2nd and goal from the Idaho 10, Brennan hands off to Nate, who takes it into the ENDZONE FOR A TOUCHDOWN!!!!

6:07 - Before Briton Forester attempts the kick, the officials will review the play to see if Nate wasn't down before he got in.

6:07 - After review, the officials rule that Nate was down at the 1 yard line. 3rd down.

6:07 - On 3rd and 1 from the Idaho 1 yard line, Colt Brennan options to Nate Ilaoa who just walks on in for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!

5:46 - Whistle before the kick. Are they reviewing this again?

5:46 - Nope, it was a false start.

5:46 - After being moved back a few yards, Briton Forester kicks the PAT. Hawaii 28, Idaho 10

5:42 - Dan Kelly kicks it way back into the end zone for a touchback. Dan Kelly angry!

5:25 - On 1st down from their own 20, Brian Flowers takes it 12 yards to the Idaho 32.

5:00 - On 1st down from their own 32, Wichman is sacked by a bunch of Warriors!

4:12 - On 2nd and 10 from the 32, Wichman completes a sideline pass to the 40. 3rd and 2.

4:07 - On 3rd and 2 from the Idaho 40, Flowers is dropped by Mel Purcell for NO GAIN. 4TH DOWN!

3:30 - Idaho punts and Myron Newberry lets it go, where it bounces out of bounds at the UH 19. Some extra-curricular after the play, but no flags.

3:10 - On 1st down from the UH 19, Colt Brennan runs it out to the UH 28.

2:25 - On 2nd and 1 from the UH 28, Brennan runs it all the way to the Idaho 48 yard line! 1st down!

1:52 - Tyler Graunke is in the game after that long run by Brennan. He passes to Ilaoa, who bobbles it but hangs on. He's dropped for a short loss.

1:10 - On 2nd down and 12, Tyler Graunke completes a beautiful pass to Ryan Grice-Mullins to the left sideline to the Idaho 36!

1:05 - Brennan is back in the game and he hits Ian Sample on a bubble screen. Sample breaks a couple tackles and takes it out to the Idaho 18 for another first down!

0:35 - On 1st and 10 from the Idaho 18, Brennan's throw is batted in the air and falls to the ground. 2nd down.

0:25 - On 2nd and 10 from the Idaho 18, Brennan shovels to Nate, who takes it all the way in for another TOUCHDOWN!!!!

0:21 - PAT is good. Hawaii 35, Idaho 10

0:18 - Dan Kelly kicks off out of bounds, but into the endzone for another touchback.

0:03 - On 1st down from the 20, hand off is taken to the 35, but it's the end of the quarter.

0:00 - END OF 1ST HALF. Hawaii 35, Idaho 10

Halftime - Some stats at the half:

Colt Brennan is 24 of 30 for 201 yards and 3 touchdowns. He's also rushed 4 times for 57 yards.

Nate Ilaoa has 3 rushes for 7 yards and 1 touchdown. He also has 7 receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown.

Briton Forester has kicked all 5 PATs.

Ross Dickerson has returned 1 kick for a 100 yard touchdown. All other kicks by Idaho have been squibs.


2nd Half:

3rd Quarter:

15:00 - Dan Kelly kicks off and Idaho takes it out the 25 yard line.

14:30 - On 1st down from the 23, Steve Wichman completes a pass to Wes Williams to the 42 yard line.

14:02 - On 1st down from the Idaho 42, Wichman throws incomplete.

14:00 - On 2nd down and 10 from the Idaho 42, Wichman's pass is dropped. 3rd down.

13:55 - On 3rd and 10 from the Idaho 42, Wichman throws incomplete over the middle and there's a flag on the play. Holding on Idaho, but UH will decline. 4th down!

13:50 - Idaho punts out of bounds to the UH 25 or so.

13:40 - On 1st down from the UH 25, Brennan swings it to Davone Bess who breaks a tackle and takes it to the UH 37! At the end of the play, roughing the passer. 15 yards added to the end of the play.

13:05 - On 1st and 10 from the Idaho 48, Brennan swings it to Ryan Grice-Mullins, who scampers to the Idaho 43.

12:20 - On 2nd down and 4, Brennan scrambles and completes a pass to Jason Rivers, but there's an ineligible player downfield. Replay the down.

12:15 - On 2nd down from the Idaho 48, Brennan finds Ross Dickerson way down field and the pass BOUNCES OFF HIS CHEST! 3rd down.

12:02 - On 3rd and 10, Brennan, after scrambling for a few seconds, finds Chad Mock over the middle for a first down!

11:30 - On 1st down from the Idaho 34 yard line, Brennan finds RGM on the sidelines and he speeds his way into the end zone for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!

11:30 - Errr, PAT is no good. Hawaii 41, Idaho 10

11:28 - Dan Kelly kicks off to the 4 yard line and it's taken out to the 28 yard line.

11:05 - On 1st down, Flowers takes it to the 30 yard line for a short gain. Adam Leonard with the stop.

10:30 - On 2nd and 8 from the Idaho 30, AJ Martinez with the nice stop on another short gain. 3rd down.

9:50 - On 3rd down from the Idaho 31, Wichman completes a pass to the 40 for a first down.

9:30 - On 1st down from the 40, Flowers takes it to the 45. He nearly fumbled on the play.

8:50 - On 2nd and 5 from the Idaho 45, short 2 yard gain, but there's a flag on the play. Holding on Idaho.

8:38 - On 2nd and 15 from the Idaho 35, Wichman, under pressure, throws it away. 3rd and 15.

8:18 - On 3rd and 15 from the Idaho 35, Steve Wichman completes a pass to the UH 47. Man, Adam Leonard nearly sacked him on the blitz.

7:50 - On 1st down, short rush to the UH 44.

7:15 - On 2nd and 6 from the UH 44, Wichman scrambles for a first down.

6:50 - On 1st down from the UH 36, Wichman throws incomplete over the middle.

6:40 - On 2nd down, pass bounces off the receiver. 3rd down.

6:36 - On 3rd and 10 from the UH 36, Wichman completes it out of bounds. 4th down!

6:31 - On 4th and 10 from the UH 36, Idaho is going for it. Wichman scrambles and GETS NAILED BY JACOB PATEK AND FUMBLES!!! Micah Lau recovers!!! HAWAII BALL! WOW!

6:25 - Sorry, I've calmed down. That was a nice hit from out of nowhere.

6:22 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 27, Colt Brennan finds Ross Dickerson over the middle! Dickerson nearly breaks one into the end zone but is tackled from behind. Man.

5:40 - On 1st and 10 from the Idaho 23, Colt Brennan scrambles for a few yards.

4:50 - On 2nd and 4 from the Idaho 17, Brennan finds RGM over the middle to the 11 yard line. 1st down!

4:20 - On 1st and 10 from the Idaho 11, Brennan rifles it into the end zone and finds IAN SAMPLE FOR THE TOUCHDOWN!!!!

4:20 - Briton Forester kicks the PAT and it's good. Hawaii 48, Idaho 10.

4:15 - Dan Kelly kicks it off and Rustin Saole drops the returner at the 19! Nice!

3:50 - On 1st down from the Idaho 19, ball is taken to the 26. Idaho has a new QB.

3:10 - On 2nd and 3, Idaho breaks off a run out to the Idaho 41. UH player is down on the field.

3:05 - Looks like it's Keala Watson and it looks like his knee. The UH trainers are taking their time with him. Hope he's okay.

3:05 - Watson is being helped off the field and he's not using his right leg at all. Doesn't look good.

2:55 - Idaho's RB takes it into UH territory to the 47. Another Idaho first down.

2:22 - Before the next snap, Idaho's QB Brian Nooy calls for a timeout.

2:18 - On 1st and 10, the Idaho RB is dropped back at the 49. Another nice stop by Elimimian and Patek, and another UH player is down....

2:05 - It looks like Renolds Fruean was injured on the play. And now he's being helped off the field.

1:55 - On 2nd and 12, a lateral is bobbled and taken back out to the UH 48.

1:15 - On 3rd and 10 from the UH 48, the pass is incomplete. 4th down!

1:08 - Idaho punts out of bounds and UH will get it at their own 28.

0:50 - Tyler Graunke is back in! He completes a short pass to Bess for little or no gain.

0:15 - On 2nd and 10 from the UH 28, Graunke throws incomplete and there's a late hit on Ian Sample, but there's no flag. You gotta call that! BS.

0:05 - On 3rd and 10, Tyler Graunke completes a pass over the middle to Ian Sample. 1st down at the 40!

0:00 - End of 3rd Quarter. Timeout.


4th Quarter:

15:00 - There was a penalty on Idaho, so UH has the ball on the Idaho 45.

15:00 - On 1st and 10 from the Idaho 45, Tyler Graunke is sacked and fumbles. Idaho recovers back on the UH 40.

14:42 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 38, the Idaho RB is stopped for a short gain.

14:00 - On 2nd and 9 from the UH 37, pass is incomplete.

13:45 - On 3rd and 9 from the UH 37, screen pass is incomplete. 4th down.

13:42 - Idaho punts and it lands in the end zone. UH ball on the 20.

13:32 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 20, Tyler Graunke completes a beautiful bomb to Jason Rivers all the way to the Idaho 18 yard line!

12:50 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 18, Graunke throws it to Chad Mock and the refs rule it incomplete. But it looks like they may review it.

12:38 - The replay definitely looks like Chad Mock caught it. The refs look pissed because it was June Jones' challenge! Let's see what they say...

12:38 - After review, the play stands. Hahaha! You pissed off the refs June!

12:35 - On 2nd and 10 from the UH 18, Tyler Graunke swings it Ryan Grice-Mullins who speeds his way and DIVES INTO THE ENDZONE FOR A TOUCHDOWN!!! I guess Ryan is fully recovered from his sprained ankle.

12:31 - PAT is good. Hawaii 55, Idaho 10

12:29 - Dan Kelly kicks off and it's taken out to the 27 yard line. Media timeout.

12:20 - On 1st down, Idaho runs it to the 32 for a five yard gain.

11:40 - On 2nd and 5 from the 32, pass is incomplete under pressure from Blaze Soares.

11:32 - On 3rd and 5 from the 32, Nooy passes incomplete to the sidelines. Another punt!

11:25 - Idaho punts and they down it at the UH 35.

10:52 - Tyler Graunke completes a pass to Jason Rivers to the UH 47. Nice grab.

10:20 - On 1st down, Khevin Peoples takes the hand off for a 9 yard gain! There he is.

9:50 - On 2nd and 1 from the Idaho 44, Malcolm Lane drops the bubble screen.

9:40 - On 3rd and 1, Graunke completes a pass to Chad Mock for a first down!

9:22 - On 1st down from the Idaho 29, Khevin Peoples gets dropped for a loss.

8:50 - On 2nd down from the Idaho 36, Tyler Graunke completes a beautiful pass to Aaron Bain for a first down all the way to Idaho 10. Graunke can throw some pretty passes.

8:07 - David Farmer takes the ball to the Idaho 5.

7:30 - Tyler Graunke on the QB keeper for a touchdown!

7:27 - Snap is bobbled and the PAT is not attempted. Anyway, Hawaii 61, Idaho 10

7:24 - Dan Kelly kicks it away deep into the end zone, and the Idaho guy takes it to the 10 yard line where he's stopped.

6:50 - Idaho 3rd string QB Chris Joseph (?) is in. Running back takes it out to the 14 yard line. Flag on the play. Personal foul on Kahai LaCount, I think.

6:35 - On 1st down from the Idaho 30, the Idaho RB takes it out to the 34.

5:45 - On 2nd down from the Idaho 34, pass is incomplete.

5:30 - On 3rd and 6, ball is completed on a screen, but short of the first down to the Idaho 35. Gotta punt.

5:00 - Idaho punts and Myron Newberry takes it out to the 26.

4:30 - Siave Seti takes the hand off for no gain.

3:50 - Inoke Funaki takes it on a keeper for a couple of yards. 3rd down.

3:05 - On 3rd and 7 from the UH 29, Funaki throws incomplete over the middle. 4th down. Could this be the first UH punt of the game?

2:57 - Kurt Milne punts and CJ Hawthorne makes an immediate stop on the punt returner.

2:40 - Idaho runs a play and loses a yard.

1:50 - On 2nd and 11, Ryan Keomaka intercepts the pass and takes it into the endzone for a TOUCHDOWN!!!! Pick six!

1:46 - PAT is good. Hawaii 68, Idaho 10

1:43 - Dan Kelly kicks off into the end zone where it is downed.

1:26 - On 1st down from the 20, hand off is taken to the Idaho 27.

0:45 - On 2nd down and 3 from the 27, ball is taken to the 29.

0:15 - On 3rd and 1, the ball is taken to the 33. The clock winds down...

0:00 - END OF GAME. FINAL SCORE - HAWAII WARRIORS 68, IDAHO VANDALS 10

UPDATE: Blogger actually did crap out in the final 3 minutes of the game, so here's the final score, about 6 hours too late.

Bloggered

Blogger is being a bastard once again. So updates may be intermittent during the game, which starts in a little over an hour. Hope the issues clear up before then!

Ways to Follow the Hawaii vs Idaho Game

In Hawaii:

Go to Aloha Stadium!

Watch it on Oceanic PPV.

Listen to it on 1420 AM


Outside of Hawaii:

Watch it on ESPN GamePlan


In or Outside of Hawaii:

Streaming video from Hawaiian Tel Media

Streaming audio from Sports Radio 1420.

Live game stats from CSTV

And I'll probably be liveblogging it (if Blogger isn't screwing up) GO WARRIORS!!!!

GameDay: Hawaii vs Idaho

For the second straight Saturday, Blogger is acting strange. Anyways, here's a post I wrote 4 hours ago:

It's homecoming! Sorry Idaho, but you have to lose by 30 points or else everyone will be disappointed. Stephen Tsai's gameday preview opens with a funny conversation with Jerry Glanville, like the start of a TV show, before going into the breakdowns. And here's a quote from Dennis McKnight, which must mean he's not mad at Stephen anymore. Maybe.

"I think Idaho's front seven, and I'm not saying this just sucking up, is one of the best we've seen — them and Nevada," UH offensive line coach Dennis McKnight said. "It's a great defense. They play like the University of Miami used to play. They run to the ball. Everybody shows up and gets there. Everybody gets a piece of the ballcarrier."

It will be interesting to see how Nate does against them. Lot of good quotes in that article.

Dave Reardon's gameday preview highlights this key match-up:

Hawaii QB Colt Brennan vs. Idaho CB Stanley Franks

One of the biggest reasons Colt Brennan leads the nation in quarterback efficiency is his ridiculous touchdown-to-interception ratio of 28 to 5. Brennan has not thrown a pick in 120 passes, a span covering the past three games.

But he faces a serious threat to that streak tonight. Stanley Franks is second in the nation with seven interceptions in eight games.

Franks, a 5-foot-11, 167-pound JC transfer from Long Beach City College, has only been a Vandal since January. But he's already the school's career interception return leader after just eight games with 220 yards on his seven runbacks. He's also credited with defending three other passes and forcing a fumble.

Every celebrated DB Hawaii has played against this year hasn't done so well against Colt. But they are confident. Here's what another Idaho corner is saying.

Quarterback Colt Brennan is a big reason for Hawaii's success this year.

The junior has a 73 percent completion rate while throwing for 26-hundred yards and an N-C-A-A leading 28 touchdowns this season. Vandals cornerback Kiel McDonald says Idaho will be ready for Hawaii's passing game.

He says he expects Hawaii to go deep, to go short, to run screens and draws.

McDonald says Idaho's whole defense is excited. He says defensive backs love quarterbacks who throw the ball.

Well I like candy canes, but that doesn't mean I like them shoved up my butt. In any case, I hope the Idaho DBs are all super confident. It makes for great football. Or maybe he was being ironic. Can't really tell. Or maybe it's all misinformation and they'll be keying on Nasty. Either way, one will open up the other.

Dave Reardon writes about Dennis Erickson and what he brings to Idaho. Here's a quote from Leonard Peters:

"They're mostly known for being a running team. But last week against Boise they passed the whole first half. You never know what they're going to do, but they're a great team. They almost beat Boise," UH safety Leonard Peters said. "I remember (Erickson) as an NFL coach. It's going to be a good game for him and Coach Glanville (defensive coordinator Jerry) to out-chess each other."

And finally, Kalani Simpson reads quotes from the Idaho media guide. Must've been a late night!

That's Nasty

Kalani Simpson writes a column about Nate Ilaoa and the way he makes the UH offense go.

And make no mistake. Colt Brennan is in a Rolo zone and Hawaii's receivers are both good and plenty, and the line is playing out of its mind (this line is incredible). This offense would get a lot of yards and a lot of points even without a running threat, that's true. But Ilaoa is the X factor -- he gives it that next-level gear. He's the guy who makes it all go.

Doubt it? Why is it that it looked like those New Mexico State guys looked like they actually wanted to hit him, for once?

"I think they did a better job," Ilaoa says. "I feel like they were spying on me, both linebackers were spying on me, so not that I knew anything, but the ends were kind of two-gapping it, looking in the backfield, waiting for those little screens."

Think about that. That's four guys looking at one guy. You think you have a shot to stop Colt Brennan if that's your defensive scheme?

Stephen Tsai writes that Ikaika Alama-Francis will likely be out for tomorrow's homecoming game due to a lumbar strain. If he is out, Keala Watson will start in his place. Stephen also profiles back-up QB Tyler Graunke.

"My time will come," Graunke said. "I can't complain. I can't take away anything from what Colt's done. I'm waiting, being patient. I'm going to take it where Colt leaves it."

Brennan said: "We're great friends. We're good buddies. We lived together last year. We root each other on. I'm one of his fans when he goes in. He's really a good kid. I always like seeing him go in. He obviously has a bright future here, along with Inoke."

He's gonna rip it up when he gets his chance.

Ferd Lewis writes to the fans who think UH is too good for the Hawaii Bowl.

Those who forget that UH went 9-3 in 2001 and, as its reward, got to watch the bowl games on TV.

Just this month a writer of a letter to the editor of your favorite morning newspaper suggested "playing in UH's own bowl (the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl) is not acceptable anymore."

Judging from calls, e-mails and radio callers, it is a widely held sentiment. And, also a flawed one.

Fact is UH — and its fans — should thank their lucky stars that they have the game in their backyard. Because without it bowl appearances would be few and far between. And those that did manage to come UH's way would otherwise be in Boise, Idaho, or Albuquerque, N.M.

Good column. Nothing's wrong with the Hawaii Bowl. And UH gets to play another game in front of the home crowd. And I'm sure all the tourism officials like it when ESPN shows shots of Waikiki, since half the audience is probably freezing their butts off.

Dave Reardon writes that the internet is changing the way June Jones recruits. But there's this section towards the bottom of the article which I'm most excited about:

(Herman) Frazier also said he expects to make an announcement "within the next two weeks" regarding next season's football schedule. The Warriors have only one (at UNLV, Sept. 15) of a possible five nonconference games set.

Well maybe excited is not the word. Maybe it's anxious. Or maybe a mix of the two that I'm going to call anxcited. Let's hope it's a good announcement. Ideally, we're still playing Michigan State along with a couple big name schools. I hope we're not playing any Division I-AA teams and I definitely hope we're not playing TWO Division I-AA teams. Next year is gonna be a HUGE year for UH, and I hope we play some great teams. Let's do it Herman!

Vandal Preview

Matt Dessert of Vandalvenue.com has a good preview of this Saturday's Hawaii vs Idaho game.

Dennis Erickson does not like to lose. He has repeatedly said that. The Vandals played well in their loss, but also made costly mistakes, and Erickson has probably made his players aware of this. Most likely, he Vandals will show up ready to play. Considering the short period of time the offensive coaching staff has known these players, and the head coach has known this team, the progress at Idaho has been amazing this season.

In a short, while Erickson has instilled a fight in the Vandals the fans haven’t seen for years, his team has played better each week and has shown no quit in their play. Even in last week’s loss, the Vandals showed periods of dominance on offense and defense, including impressive defensive stands, long touchdown passes, etc. The Vandals are coming together and playing some solid and exciting football.

This is all good for the conference. They'll probably be a really good team next year. This year however, I think UH will win by at least 4 touchdowns. GO WARRIORS!!!!

Patek

Ka Leo's Kiyomi Ueda writes an article on safety Jacob Patek.

Defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville feels Patek has exceeded the expectations set for him by the coaches.

“For a guy that has played junior college linebacker,” Glanville said, “to play that well and change positions to safety, he’s done a real good job. He plays harder [and] he plays better than what he is.”

Glanville also feels Patek does not have potential — in a good way.

“Potential means you’ve got something and you’re not using it,” Glanville said. “[Patek] is the opposite; he’s using more than he has. We gave him a gallon of gas, and he burns up two gallons.”

Here's a profile on Jason Rivers from yesterday, written by Rebecca Gallegos.

Cal Lee, currently an assistant coach on the UH football staff, was Rivers’ head football coach at St. Louis. Lee has seen the young receiver mature over the years into a veteran Division I contributor.

“When you’re young, you try to take shortcuts,” Lee said. “He had so much talent that he didn’t have to work very hard. Lately, he’s realized that had he worked harder in high school, he would have been better now in college.”

Lee believes that Rivers has always had a lot of potential and has been doing some unbelievable things this season as a result of his redefined work ethic.

Gallegos also has a preview of the Idaho game.

KITV also has a preview, which is courtesy of sportsnetwork.com

Texas

Stephen Tsai writes a profile on the starters in the secondary who happen to be from Texas: Jacob Patek, Myron Newberry and Gerard Lewis.

The three have bonded — with one another and their teammates. Newberry, the only child of a single mom, said: "All of these guys are my brothers."

Patek said it's difficult to live far away. Last week, his parents traveled by plane for the Warriors' road game against New Mexico State. He said his aunt, uncle and a high school friend made the 13-hour drive from Victoria, Texas, to Las Cruces, N.M.

"They really showed how much they love me," he said. "They could have been doing better things back home, working, making money, whatever. But they sacrificed their time to come out and watch me play."

Jones said the Texas players "are very respectful. They're really, really good kids. There's a lot of similarities between the aloha spirit and Southern hospitality."

Lewis said: "That's the way we were raised. It's 'yes, sir," or 'no, sir.' We're taught to mind our manners. On the field, we play with a lot of heart. There are a lot of guys who are taller, but they don't have the same sized heart."

Tsai also has injury updates on RGM, Ikaika and The Juggernaut.

Dave Reardon writes about Al Noga hanging around practice, an RGM update, more on Vaughn Meatoga, and an update from yesterday that Samson Satele will be going to the Senior Bowl.

"Hopefully we got more guys. Leonard (Peters), Mel (Purcell), Ikaika (Alama-Francis). I hope Nate (Ilaoa) gets invited because I'd feel honored to block for him," Satele said.

It's more likely the other Warriors standouts will get invitations to either the East-West Shrine Game, the new Border War game in El Paso (Texas vs. the rest of the country) or the Hula Bowl (if it is played).

I think there's gonna be at least 10 UH players in All-Star games this year.

And finally "Can't Let It Go" Joe Moore is being whiny again. I think he secretly desires to coach Hawaii. But I think he's more suited for Michigan State. Anyways, whatever JOE! Just support the team. You boto.

D-Lineman Commits

Vaughn Meatoga, a Kamehameha defensive lineman, has committed to become a Warrior.

"I want to play at home," said Meatoga, who was born on Kaua'i and has boarded at Kamehameha since the ninth grade. "As a kid, I always wanted to play for UH. Now I'll get the chance."

Meatoga, who is 6 feet 2 and 274 pounds, plays defensive tackle for Kamehameha. He is projected to compete at defensive end in UH's 3-4 alignment.

Rivals.com, a respected scouting service, rated Meatoga as the nation's 43rd-best defensive tackle. He also is listed as the state's No. 7 overall football prospect.

"That was nice, because I never went to the Nike combine or anything like that," Meatoga said.

Right on. Hopefully a lot of Hawaii guys decide to stay home. With the loss of Mel Purcell and Ikaika Alama-Francis at the end of this year, UH will definitely need people to fill their shoes. Who knows, maybe Vaughn will start as a freshman!

Speaking of Ikaika, Stephen Tsai writes in the same article that he's still hurting.

Alama-Francis experienced back spasms Friday night following a walk-through practice in El Paso, Texas. He indicated to the medical staff that he did not know if he would be able to play against New Mexico State the following night.

But Alama-Francis started at right end, helping to contain the Aggies' prolific passing attack, in the Warriors' 49-30 victory. He was used for 51 plays, the most among the UH defensive linemen.

After the game, Alama-Francis appeared to be in discomfort, again complaining of back spasms.

Monday night, he underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine the condition of his lumbar. An MRI uses magnetic fields to create an image of the body's interior.

Let's hope he's okay. Colt Brennan on the other hand, should be good to go.

An MRI showed quarterback Colt Brennan has a "curvature" in his back that can cause tightness in his hamstrings but is otherwise harmless.

He said he does not have any nerve problems, and his condition — classified as a "lumbar strain" — is not a concern.

"It's all good," he said, adding he had his best "Tuesday practice of the season" yesterday. On Tuesdays, the Warriors practice against the scout team, which portrays the upcoming opponent's defense.

Brennan said he underwent the MRI because he has had recurring tightness in his hamstrings during practices.

Dave Reardon writes that Idaho is here to win! Too bad they won't win. But they are a good team and UH is not overlooking them. Dave also writes that Tyson Kafentzis and Ryan Grice-Mullins practiced and may play on Saturday, and another player has committed to become a Warrior.

Casey Purdy, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound offensive lineman, plans to join the Warriors. Purdy, a Word of Life graduate and former Pac-Five player, is back from Western Montana, where he was on the team for a week before he suffered an ACL injury.

Idaho coach Dennis Erickson is giving UH some respect.

"You’re playing against a football team that is, in my opinion, as good as Boise State, and they proved that week in and week out," said Idaho coach Dennis Erickson, whose Vandals travel to face Hawaii on Saturday.

Of course all coaches say stuff like that before the game, but it's still pretty cool.

And finally, Ferd Lewis profiles and praises Dennis Erickson.

When the 49ers let Erickson go, Spear, on a whim in 2005, said he asked Erickson over dinner if he might consider returning to coaching some day. When Erickson said he was done with the NFL, Spear persisted. Would Erickson consider a non-Bowl Championship Series school? One like Idaho, perhaps? "Sure,'' Spear said he was told.

Still, when Nick Holt was preparing to resign as Idaho's coach in January, Spear said caution told him Erickson had probably just been polite. Common sense told him not to get his hopes too high. "When I called him and reminded him of the conversation we'd had eight months prior, I said, 'well, I think the job is going to open up, coach, what do you think?' "

Spear said, "The exact words out of his mouth were: 'I'll take you to the next level.' "

That's right Dennis Erickson, Play UP! While that slogan still sounds lame, it's great that the WAC has all these great coaches, and that can't help but to improve the entire conference.

Glanville Fills In

Today's Warrior Beat Dennis McKnight chat suddenly turned into a Jerry Glanville chat because McKnight is mad at Stephen Tsai about something. About what, I don't know. I do know I wouldn't want McKnight mad at me! In any case, it was really cool of coach Glanville to fill in at the last minute. You should definitely read the whole thread, but as always, I am selfishly excerpting my question and the answer to it:

Comment from: Tombo [Visitor]
hi coach glanville,

how valuable is it having solomon elimimian (41) on the field as a "player/coach"? do you think it helped him later on the field to be up in the coaches box when he was injured?

Comment from: jerryglanville [Member]
Tombo:
I think we would have had an entirely different game against Boise State if he played. He would have helped us more than anyone realized. He would have received and "F" in the box. Tyson Kafentzis did a better job in the coaches box. I was disappointed in 41 in the box, because they call out substitutions based on the color: red, blue, white, green, and I think we were in the fourth quarter when 41 finally said "White." It took him three quarters to say a color.
Last year, I can remember 41 as a freshman had some difficulty in the Wisconsin game, but other than that he's way past his years in getting us in the right spot.
We were playing San Jose State last year, and we were at the night before the game's dinner, and they took a cake over to 41, and I foolishly asked him how old he was. He was turning 18. I realized when I first started in pro football, every player was at least 10 years older than me as a coach. And then I realized I was at least 10 years older than him.

Clever as ever. You forget how young some of the players are. Just gotta say thanks again to Stephen and his crew for putting it together for the fans, and thanks to Jerry Glanville for filling in and answering questions. Maybe Dennis McKnight will be by later after all is forgiven.

Lumbar

Stephen Tsai writes that Colt Brennan and Ikaika Alama-Francis are suffering from lumbar strains, but aren't expected to miss the Idaho game.

Brennan and Alama-Francis were scheduled to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures last night to determine the extent of the conditions.

Brennan said the condition causes tightness to both hamstrings, and makes it difficult to run "at full speed" during practices. Fueled by adrenaline, Brennan said, "I can run during games." He called the condition an "annoyance."

Hope they're both good to go.

In the same article, Tsai also profiles Ross Dickerson and talks about the problems he's causing!

Last week, head coach June Jones said Grice-Mullins, if healthy, would regain the right slotback job. Dickerson was the starting right wideout before moving to become Grice-Mullins' replacement. Ian Sample is now the starting right wideout.

Yesterday, Jones softened his stance, and said if Grice-Mullins were available, Dickerson would play extensively at both slot positions.

Dickerson said he welcomes Grice-Mullins' eventual return, insisting, "it'll make our team that much more dangerous, another weapon for us in our offense."

As for his role once Grice-Mullins returns, Dickerson said: "I don't think one of us will have to sit. We'll split the reps. Starting doesn't mean a lot to me. Winning games means a lot to me."

Indeed, Dickerson enjoys being healthy enough to play the sport he first embraced in the fourth grade. "I played for the Waipahu Jackrabbits," he said, proudly.

It's a good problem to have, and Ross has a great attitude about it. He's gonna rip it up in these final 7 games!

The article also has news that John Estes got the game ball, The Juggernaut has a lot of injuries and is undergoing an MRI on his knee. Argh, that pains me. Not as much as the pain he's going through I'm sure. And Amani Purcell and Karl Noa have moved from OLB to defensive end.

Dave Reardon writes about the Warriors' hard-hitting defense.

New Mexico State rolled up 448 yards in UH's 49-30 victory Saturday. The game tape, however, shows Jerry Glanville something else: correct assignment and alignment, swarming to the ball and crunching tackles.

"We look at the assignments. Richie (defensive backs coach Miano) just said they went 13 plays in a row in the secondary where everybody did everything exactly the way they were supposed to. With their techniques, their assignments," Glanville said yesterday after his daily jog with Miano. "We look for people who do it the right way, who give us 100 percent hustle and go hit. It ain't that hard to figure out."

UH's style is to collect rent on the massive territory it yields with bruising physical play, often causing turnovers while demoralizing opposing players, sometimes knocking them out of the game.

In its current four-game winning streak, Hawaii has gathered 11 fumbles and interceptions and scored seven touchdowns after them.

I think the defense is playing great. The stats are misleading because the Warriors offense scores so often and so quickly, that the defense has to be on the field more. That's my theory anyway. As of this week, UH is 90th in the nation in time of possession. So maybe I'm not talking completely out my arse.

Reardon also writes that the OLB and corner positions are set for this weekend, with the starters being Gerard Lewis and Myron Newberry at corner, and Brad Kalilimoku and Micah Lau at OLB.

And finally, Kalani Simpson has a great column on how football coaches like to steal from each other.

"One of the things that I've been noticing is that the other teams, the last four games, every team has copied things that (Jerry Glanville's) doing to other teams. And now we're having to block that stuff," Jones said earlier this month.

Yes. That's right. Glanville is coming up with all these great new blitzes, and their teams are taking Hawaii's secrets and turning right around and using these very same plays against UH!

"We've had to block everything Jerry has invented this year," Jones said yesterday. "Jerry's doing a lot of things that we didn't do last year and nobody's done. We had to block 'em, after the other teams haven't showed them all year. All of a sudden they watch our tapes and put them in."

The whole column is a good read, so definitely check it out!

And finally again, don't forget to visit The Warrior Beat for an online chat with Dennis McKnight today at around 9:30am HST!

Coach McKnight Chats

Tomorrow, The Warrior Beat will be hosting a chat with Coach Dennis McKnight. Think of a good question! Chat starts around 9:30am HST!

Ross and Melila with the Awards

Mel Purcell and Ross Dickerson were named WAC defensive and special teams players of the week. Woo hoo!

Purcell, a senior from Pago Pago, American Samoa (Leone HS), recorded seven tackles (5 solo), including three for a loss – two of which were sacks – in the win at New Mexico State. He also forced two fumbles including one that was picked up by a teammate and returned 20 yards for a touchdown.

Dickerson, a senior from Waipahu, O‘ahu (St. Louis School), returned four kickoffs for 158 yards, including a long of 64, in the win over the Aggies. The Warriors scored touchdowns after three of the four returns while driving to the New Mexico State one-yard line before fumbling on the fourth return. Dickerson finished the game with 283 all-purpose yards after also catching six passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns.

Man, it's gonna be tough to move Ross from the slot when Ryan Grice-Mullins comes back from injury. Congratulations to Ross and Mel!

Running of the Tables

Dave Reardon writes about the possibility that Hawaii may just win every game from here on out.

At first glance, it looks relatively easy for the team with the nation's most productive offense, including an O-line that one NFL scout called the best in the nation. We're looking at 12-2 and the best record in school history, right?

Not so fast, says the most efficient quarterback in the country.

"One thing I learned from this week is that anyone you play has a chance to step up and have a great game and give you a run," said Colt Brennan, after passing for five touchdowns for the fourth time this season. "On our schedule right now, it may look like we have a great chance to run the table, but we can't expect anything.

"We gotta work hard and go get it. Next week we have Idaho at home and they've actually been doing real well. I think they played Boise pretty tough. We've got another turnaround, another big game."

Glad we're not overlooking anybody.

Dave Reardon also has another installment of Warrior Replay. Here's one of the replays:

2. Hot route

The Setup: Hawaii 7, New Mexico State 0; around 6:30 remaining, first quarter; Hawaii ball, first and goal at New Mexico State 34.

The Play: New Mexico State comes with a blitz. Hawaii receiver Ross Dickerson reads it and breaks off his route as a safety valve and quarterback Colt Brennan dumps it off to him. Dickerson slips out of a tackle and goes 34 yards for his first of two touchdowns on the night and Brennan's first of five scoring passes.

The Impact: Brennan's eighth consecutive completion to start the game gives Hawaii a 14-0 lead and serves notice it will be a long evening for New Mexico State's defense.

Brennan: "It's great when you're a quarterback and throw a 5-yard pass and Ross goes and gets you a 40-yard touchdown."

Great breakdowns. Now alls we needs is accompanying video!

And as for rankings, Hawaii:

is ranked 37th in the BCS poll

received 2 votes in the AP poll

received 7 votes in the USA Today poll

remains 30th in the CFN poll

Any other poll I missed?

UPDATE: Yes, I did. Thanks to Anonymous, here are two more.

Hawaii is ranked 36th in the CBS Sportsline Poll.

And Hawaii received three votes in the Harris Interactive Poll, which is included in the BCS formula.

Stats After Week 8

From the NCAA and ESPN

Hawaii is 1st in the nation in total offense with 522.71 yards per game

Hawaii is 2nd in the nation in scoring offense with 42.14 points per game. Clemson is first with 42.25 points per game.

Hawaii is 87th in the nation in scoring defense with 27 points allowed per game.

Hawaii is 108th in the nation in total defense with 408.86 yards allowed per game.

These defensive stats are a little misleading since UH scores so quickly that the opponents get the ball back more. And then they have to throw it to try to come from behind all the time. That's my theory anyway!

Hawaii is 6th in the nation in tackles for loss allowed with 3.71 per game. That's mostly due to the great offensive line!

Colt Brennan is 1st in the nation in passing efficiency with a rating of 183.1

Colt Brennan is 1st in the nation in points responsible for with 26.57 points per game.

Colt Brennan is 1st in the nation in completion percentage with 72.9%

Colt Brennan is 1st in the nation in touchdown passes with 28.

Davone Bess is 2nd in the nation in receptions with 7.57 per game.

Davone Bess is 11th in the nation in receiving yards with 89.14 per game.

Nate Ilaoa is 54th in the nation in rushing with 74.86 yards per game.

Nate Ilaoa is 18th in the nation in all-purpose yards with 131 yards per game. Ross Dickerson is 29th with 122 yards per game.

Ross Dickerson is 13th in the nation in kickoff returns with 28.07 yards per return.

Adam Leonard is 45th in the nation in tackles with 8.57 per game.

Melila Purcell is tied for 6th in the nation in forced fumbles with 3 total, or 0.43 per game.

NOTE: These aren't permalinks, so as the week changes, so will the stats.

Hawaii at NMSU Newspaper Wrap-Ups

Stephen Tsai's wrap-up has this quote from June Jones:

"I knew it would come down to hitting and turnovers," UH head coach June Jones said. "We out-hit them, and we got some turnovers."

And this quote from Colt Brennan:

"We're going to drive this race car as far as we can, and get as many victories as we can," Brennan added, "and hopefully by the end of the year we'll be sitting there proud of what we've done."

As well as this amazing quote from Ross Dickerson:

Two plays later, Brennan and Dickerson teamed on a 36-yard scoring play. Dickerson ran a streak pattern along the right sideline, but "the ball got lost in the light. Colt threw it in such a perfect spot that I caught it in my hands. I lost it in the lights, and then it reappeared."

That's crazy. They should be all kung fu and go out on routes blindfolded.

Dave Reardon's wrap-up has this quote from NMSU coach Hal Mumme.

"I think they are the best team in our conference. We've played all the top teams now and those guys are road warriors," Mumme said. "You realize they've been on the road four out of the last eight weeks and with who've they had to play, June has done a real good job."

Here is a link to video of Hal Mumme's post-game comments, praising the Warriors. It's in Windows Media format.

NMSU's website also has more post-game comments, not in video though.

Dave Reardon highlights Ross Dickerson's performance last night.

"Ross has played outstanding football the last couple weeks," UH coach June Jones said. "Kickoff returns, making big plays, run after the catch."

The 5-foot-10, 198-pound senior didn't shy away from contact last night, as he went right after Aggies defenders if it meant extra yards or reaching the goal line.

"That's the weightroom, getting in the weightroom, getting stronger," he said. "Some guys want to take me on, I'll take 'em."

Rivers has known Dickerson since eighth grade, when both were at Saint Louis School.

"He's tough. He's a hard runner. He has a passion for the game and he shows it every time he's on the field," Rivers said. "He's always aggressive. He used to play running back."

Stephen Tsai writes that Ross Dickerson is making it hard for the coaches to put him back on the bench when Ryan Grice-Mullins comes back from his ankle injury.

Meanwhile, Dickerson has been amassing quite a resume for the job with 28 receptions for 362 yards and five touchdowns in the last four games.

"I hope Ryan is able to come back soon and help the team," said Dickerson, who caught 34- and 36-yard TD passes last night. "I'll play wherever they put me, inside (slots) or outside (wide receiver). Whatever it takes to win."

The article has a bit on the Warriors' "human timeouts" that may or may not have taken place during the game.

KGRT radio announcers — and not a few NMSU fans — wondered about UH nose tackle Michael Lafaele's recuperative powers after he went down several times with apparent injuries and was able to quickly return to the game.

Lafaele was apparently one of UH's designated "human timeouts," players who help the UH defense get a breather.

However, Lafaele wasn't owning up to it.

"My hamstring was bothering me," he said.

But observers noted that UH trainer Eric Okasaki had trouble suppressing a smile.

Well, it's good to hear that Lafaele, Renolds Freuan, Keala Watson, Ikaika Alama-Francis and whoever else was down on the field doesn't appear to have serious injuries...

Ferd Lewis writes about Nate Ilaoa's busy night.

He carried a career-high 18 times for 94 yards and a touchdown in the Warriors' fourth consecutive victory of a 5-2 season.

It was the most carries by a UH running back in the last five seasons.

Twice in the game he carried the ball on three consecutive plays. "Yeah, a couple of times Nate came back (to the huddle) trying to get his breath," quarterback Colt Brennan said.

Probably because of the altitude! Nate should've gone down with "cramps" too.

Ferd Lewis marvels at Colt Brennan's performance this season.

"He's got such good vision and such a great feel for the windows (of opportunity) that I wouldn't put anything past him," quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison said. "He's to the point where the receiver is over there, the defenders are here and he sees the window and lets the ball go real tight to where the window will be."

UH coach June Jones, never one to spare the superlatives on his quarterbacks, might also be in the window when it comes to Brennan.

"He's been playing phenomenal and I can't imagine there's a quarterback playing better in the country," Jones said. "He's just getting better every week and getting a better grasp of what we're doing. He's got it all."

Stay Colt, stay! No stay go! GO WARRIORS GO!!!!

Hawaii 49, NMSU 30

Another good road win by the Warriors. There were a couple mistakes, but nothing game-changing as it turns out. Let's hope there were no serious injuries. Glad UH can play back at home next week. Idaho actually played a pretty good game against Boise today, but UH will just have to destroy the Vandals nonetheless. Here are some unofficial stats from today's game:

Colt Brennan was 22 of 31 for 330 yards with 5 touchdowns and NO interceptions.

Nate Ilaoa rushed 18 times for 94 yards and 1 touchdown. He also caught 2 passes for 41 yards for a total of 135 all purpose yards.

Ross Dickerson caught 6 passes for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Ross also returned 4 kickoffs for 158 yards for a 39.5 yards per return average.

Solomon Elimimian had 14 tackles.

Adam Leonard had 11 tackles with a fumble recovery taken in for a touchdown!

LiveBlogging (Not Really): Hawaii at NMSU

Okay, Blogger was being a bastard and did not work at all during the game. Despite that, I just had to keep a liveblog anyway. In MS Notepad. So without further ado, below is the liveblog I did in Notepad while Blogger was down. I know, it's not really a "live" blog anymore. But oh well, I already typed it and here it is:

FINAL SCORE: Hawaii 49, NMSU 30

1st Quarter:

PreGame - Hawaii wins the toss and will receive!

15:00 - NMSU kicks off and Ross Dickerson takes it out to the UH 36 yard line! Nice return.

14:27 - Colt Brennan passes to Jason Rivers, who is tackled out of bounds at the UH 48 for a first down!

14:15 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 48, Brennan scrambles to the UH 47 where he is sacked.

13:55 - On 2nd and 11 from the UH 47, Brennan hits Bess on a crossing route to the NMSU 48.

12:45 - On 3rd down and about 6, Brennan hits Ian Sample, who wrestles his way to the NMSU 43.

12:07 - On 4th and 1, Brennan on the keeper takes it to the NMSU 39 for a FIRST DOWN!!!

11:35 - On 1st and 10, Brennan hits Ross Dickerson on a crossing pattern, and he takes it to the NMSU 30, but there's a penalty on NMSU. And they're measuring for a first down... And it's a bit short. Ball on the 30.

11:34 - On 2nd and 1 from the NMSU 30, hand off to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the NMSU for the first down!

10:50 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 27, CB passes to Davone Bess, who catches it on the sideline at the NMSU 4 yard line!!!!

10:42 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 4 yard line, Nate Ilaoa takes it in for the TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!

10:39 - Dan Kelly attempts the PAT, and it is WIDE. For goodness sake. Hawaii 6, NMSU 0

10:35 - Dan Kelly kicks off out of bounds. NMSU will have it on their own 20.

10:18 - On 1st and 10 from the 20, a sweep end-around or whatever takes it out to the NMSU 39.

9:50 - Short run is stopped back at the 36 yard for a loss. Looked like Solomon Elimimian was in on the play.

9:20 - On 2nd down, short pass, which is stopped at the line of scrimmage.

8:39 - On 3rd down and 13 from the NMSU 36, Chase Holbrook throws over the middle to nobody. GOTTA PUNT!

8:33 - NMSU punts and it is taken by Myron Newberry at his own 8. He's dropped at the UH 11.

8:10 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 11, Colt Brennan shovels to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the UH 35!!!

7:40 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 35, Brennan finds Dickerson over the middle to the NMSU 43.

7:05 - Ilaoa takes the handoff to the NMSU 34 yard line! 2nd down.

6:30 - On 2nd and 1 from the NMSU 34, Brennan finds Ross Dickerson on the sideline and he breaks 2 or 3 tackles and takes it into the ENDZONE!!!!!! TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!

6:17 - UH is going for 2.

6:17 - Brennan passes to Davone Bess, and the refs aren't sure if Bess caught it in the end zone. And now they say he CAUGHT IT!!! And on the replay, it looks like the right call! Hawaii 14, NMSU 0

6:13 - Dan Kelly kicks off and NMSU takes a knee in the end zone.

5:53 - NMSU hands off, and Adam Leonard makes the tackle at the 24.

5:30 - On 2nd and 6 from the NMSU 24, they hand off and the running back takes it to the 32 for a first down.

4:50 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 32, handoff is taken to the 37 for a five yard gain.

4:25 - On 2nd and 5, Holbrook finds a receiver over the middle for a first down. Their hurry up offense is making it hard to keep up!

4:08 - On 1st down, Holbrook gets off a short crossing pass, but Solomon Elimimian makes a nice tackle on the UH 44.

3:29 - On 2nd and 9, incomplete pass over the middle.

3:30 - On 3rd and 9 from the NMSU 44, Holbrook completes a pass to the UH 44. First down.

3:00 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 44, pass complete over the middle for a first down.

2:20 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 32 yard line, Holbrook scrambles to the UH 29 yard line for a 3 yard gain.

1:55 - On 2nd and 7 from the UH 29 yard line, Holbrook scrambles to the UH 14 yard line. 1st down.

1:25 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 14, Holbrook passes incomplete over the middle.

1:14 - On 2nd and 10, Holbrook passes over the middle to the 3 yard line. 1st down. Yikes.

1:00 - On 1st and goal from the UH 3, Holbrook passes out of the end zone. 2nd down.

0:38 - On 2nd and goal from the UH 3, handoff, and #35 takes it in for an NMSU touchdown.

0:35 - PAT is good. Hawaii 14, NMSU 7

0:32 - NMSU kicks off and they try an onside kick... but there's a flag on the play...

0:15 - Errr, NMSU gets the ball back on the onside kick because the penalty was on UH.

0:10 - Holbrook completes a pass to the UH 27 yard line.

0:01 - And then Holbrook completes a sideline pass and the receiver takes it in for a touchdown. WOW!

0:01 - PAT is good. Hawaii 14, NMSU 14

0:00 - NMSU kicks off and Ross Dickerson takes it to the 25 yard line.

0:00 - End of 1st Quarter. Hawaii 14, NMSU 14


2nd Quarter:

15:00 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 25, Colt Brennan passes to Ian Sample, who jukes to the UH 45 yard line!

14:30 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 45, Brennan passes incomplete to Jason Rivers on the sideline. Looks like a drop.

14:20 - On 2nd and 10 from the UH 45, Brennan hands off to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the NMSU 48 yard line. 3rd and 3.

13:40 - On 3rd and 3, Brennan tries throwing deep to Davone Bess, and it's incomplete, but there's a lot of contact on the play, and there's interference on NMSU! 1st down!

13:35 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 33, shovel pass to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it all the way to the NMSU 17 yard line!

13:25 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 17, Colt Brennan rifles a pass into the end zone to Davone Bess for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!

13:24 - Okay, will Dan Kelly make the PAT? Right down the middle, son! Hawaii 21, NMSU 14

13:20 - Dan Kelly kicks off into the end zone and it is downed in the endzone.

13:19 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 20, Chase Holbrook with a shovel pass, but it's incomplete.

13:04 - On 2nd and 10 from the NMSU 20, Chase Holbrook completes a pass to the sideline. The receiver is run out of bounds at the NMSU 30. First down.

12:55 - Shovel pass on the next play and it's taken out the the NMSU 45. Biters!

12:52 - Looks like Renolds Freuan is down on the play. Let's hope he's okay.

12:44 - Another shovel pass to the UH 45, and that's another NMSU first down. What the hell.

12:20 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 45, handoff takes it to the UH 43. Adam Leonard and Solomon Elimimian with the stop.

11:40 - On 2nd and 8, Holbrook completes a pass to the 35, but there's an incidental facemask on UH. Crap.

11:10 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 29, Holbrook completes a short pass to the UH 23.

10:12 - On 2nd and 4 from the UH 23, Holbrook completes a pass to the UH 13 yard line.

9:40 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 13, Renolds Freuan sacks Holbrook back on the 16!!! Guess he's okay!

9:05 - On 2nd down from the UH 16, short pass to the UH 8 yard line. 3rd down.

9:00 - On 3rd and 5 from the UH 8, JACOB PATEK breaks up a pass in the end zone!!!! NICE!

9:00 - On the NMSU field goal attempt, NMSU makes it. Hawaii 21, NMSU 17

8:50 - NMSU kicks off and Ross Dickerson takes it out to the 33 yard line. And there's a flag after the play...

8:43 - Unsportsmanlike conduct on NMSU. 15 yard penalty.

8:27 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 49, handoff to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it into NMSU territory to the NMSU 42!

8:16 - On 2nd and 1 from NMSU 42, Nate takes it 1 yard to the NMSU 41 for a 1st down!

7:52 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 41, hand off to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the NMSU 39.

7:20 - On 2nd and 8 from the NMSU 39, hand off to Nate who takes it to the NMSU 36. 3rd down.

6:30 - On 3rd and 5 from the NMSU 36, Brennan throws out of bounds.... What will they do?

6:24 - They're gonna punt!

6:24 - Kurt Milne gets back to punt, but NMSU takes a timeout.

6:24 - UH ends up going for it and Colt Brennan completes a pass to the sideline to Jason Rivers to the NMSU 25 yard line! 1st down!!!!

6:05 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 25, Brennan hands off to Nate Ilaoa, who spins his way to the NMSU 17!

5:20 - On 2nd and 2 from the NMSU 17, Brennan passes to Davone Bess and it is intercepted, but there was an inadvertant whistle on the play, so UH retains possession. WOW.

5:10 - ON 2nd and 2 from the NMSU 17 again, handoff to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the 12. Penalty flag on the play. Personal foul on UH. 1st down after a 15 yard penalty.

4:50 - On 1st down from the NMSU 27, bubble screen to Jason Rivers, who takes it to the NMSU 20.

4:15 - On 2nd down and 3 from the NMSU 20, hand off to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the NMSU 9 yard line!!! 1st down!

3:55 - On 1st and goal from the NMSU 9 yard line, Brennan finds Ian Sample in the back of the end zone for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!

3:41 - Dan Kelly hooks it but makes the PAT. HAWAII WARRIORS 28, NMSU 17

3:37 - Dan Kelly kicks off into the endzone and it is downed. NMSU ball at the 20.

3:30 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 20, Chase Holbrook passes a bubble screen to the 24.

2:50 - On 2nd and 6 from the NMSU 24, Holbrook scrambles and he's tackled by Mel Purcell for a 1 yard loss! But Michael Lafaele looks like he's down on the play... Looks like he's okay as he walks off the field.

2:20 - On 3rd and 7 from the NMSU 23, Gerard Lewis WITH THE INTERCEPTION!!!!!

1:50 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 42, hand off to The Juggernaut aka "Reagan Mauia", who takes it to the NMSU 36.

1:20 - On 2nd down and 4, sideline pass to Jason Rivers to the NMSU 30 for a first down!

1:05 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 30, the ball is not really snapped, and there's a flag on the play. It was an illegal snap with a 5 yard penalty. 1st and 15 from the 35.

0:55 - Quick pass to Ross Dickerson, who takes it to the NMSU 31. 2nd and 11.

0:50 - On 2nd and 11 from the NMSU 31, Brennan scrambles and throws incomplete. 3rd down.

0:42 - On 3rd and 11 from the NMSU 31, Brennan throws to the 1 yard line to Ian Sample, and he drops it! DOH!

0:42 - UH takes a timeout. Don't tell me they're going for it.

0:42 - On 4th and 11 from the 31, UH is going for it! Brennan throws out of bounds in the back of the end zone. NMSU gets the ball back.

0:25 - On 1st down, NMSU with a quick pass to their own 35 yard line.

0:17 - On 2nd and 6, Mel Purcell knocks the ball out of Chase Holbrook's hands! But it's recovered by an NMSU receiver.

0:02 - On 3rd down and 9 from the NMSU 32, Holbrook throws it deep, but it is incomplete.

0:00 - Crazy 1st half. Hawaii 28, NMSU 17


2nd Half:

3rd Quarter:

15:00 - UH kicks off out of the end zone. NMSU ball at the 20 yard line.

14:51 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 20, Chase Holbrook completes a pass to the NMSU 26.

14:25 - On 2nd and 4 from the NMSU 26, Holbrook with a shovel pass to the 30 yard line for a first down.

14:15 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 30, Holbrook scrambles and completes a 9 yard pass to the sideline under pressure. And there was holding on Brad Kalilimoku.

13:50 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 40, Holbrook passes deep but incomplete under pressure.

13:30 - On 2nd and 10 from the NMSU 40, Holbrook hands off, and the runner is dropped back at the NMSU 39 by Adam Leonard!

12:50 - On 3rd and 11 from the NMSU 39, Holbrook scrambles, and scrambles, and completes a touchdown pass to Chris Williams, who is WIDE OPEN, and he takes it in for a TOUCHDOWN.

12:39 - PAT is good. Hawaii 28, NMSU 24 Yikes.

12:35 - NMSU kicks off and Ross Dickerson takes it back all the way into NMSU territory!!! Ball on the NMSU 36 yard line!

12:05 - Nate Ilaoa takes the hand off on first down and takes it to the NMSU 27 for a 9 yard gain.

11:32 - ON 2nd and 1 from the NMSU 27, Brennan finds Bess underneath, and he takes it to the NMSU 16 yard line for the first down!

11:00 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 16, pass to Dickerson, who bobbles and drops. Incomplete.

10:52 - On 2nd and 10 from the NMSU 16, Brennan powers his way to the 5 yard line for a FIRST DOWN!!!

10:30 - On 1st and goal from the NMSU 5, Brennan's pass is tipped and it is incomplete in the back of the end zone.

10:20 - On 2nd and goal from the NMSU 5, Nate Ilaoa powers his way to the 1 yard line!!!

9:25 - On 3rd and goal from the 1, Nate is stopped back at the 2 yard line. 4th down. CRAP.

8:50 - On 4th and goal from the 2, they're going for it, and Brennan throws it behind Nate Ilaoa on the option. Ball is recovered by NMSU on the 8 yard line. CRAP. Brennan was hit on the play.

8:30 - On 1st and 10 from the 8, NMSU rushes to the 19 yard line for a first down.

8:20 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 19, a rush to the NMSU 24 yard line.

7:55 - On 2nd and 5 from the NMSU 24, ball is taken to the NMSU 27 yard line. 3rd and 2.

7:20 - On 3rd and 2 from the NMSU 27, the ball is taken to the NMSU 34 yard line for a 1st down.

6:55 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 34, the ball is taken 5 yards to the 39.

6:20 - On 2nd and 5 from the NMSU 34, the ball is taken 1 yard to the 40. 3rd down! COME ON D WITH THE STOP!

6:02 - Mel Purcell gets up slowly on the play, and Michael Lafaele is down on with possibly cramps...

5:57 - On 3rd and 4 from the NMSU 40, shovel pass to Williams, who is stopped by Adam Leonard at the NMSU 43.

5:15 - On 4th and 1 from the NMSU 43, Holbrook completes a pass to the NMSU 47. 1st down.

5:04 - Illegal substitution on NMSU. 1st and 15.

5:00 - On 1st and 15 from the NMSU 43, ball is handed off and taken up the middle to the NMSU 46.

4:12 - On 2nd and 12 from the NMSU 46, short pass is turned into a big gain to the UH 39.

4:00 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 39, Holbrook scrambles to the UH 33.

3:50 - On 2nd and 4 from the UH 33, Holbrook throws an INTERCEPTION to Myron Newberry, but there's a roughing the passer penalty on UH. So that nullifies the INT. FRICK.

3:42 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 18, Holbrook throws it out of bounds.

3:35 - On 2nd and 10 from the UH 18, short hand off to the 16 yard line. Ikaika Alama-Francis is slow to get up, but he walks off the field under his own power.

3:16 - On 3rd and 8 from the UH 16, false start on NMSU.

3:16 - On 3rd and 13 from the UH 21, pass is incomplete!!! 4th down!!!

3:10 - And it looks like they're going for it on 4th and 13!

3:05 - On 4th and 13, Chase Holbrook scrambles, but he is stopped short of the 1st down!!!!

2:45 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 11 yard line, Brennan passes over the middle deep to Ian Sample! But it's ruled incomplete.

2:32 - NMSU is challenging and the play is being reviewed... because Ian fumbled.

2:32 - The ruling stands and it is incomplete. 2nd and 10.

2:27 - On 2nd and 10 from the UH 11 yard line, Brennan throws deep to Ross Dickerson on the sideline, but it's incomplete.

2:22 - On 3rd and 10 from the UH 11 yard line, Brennan scrambles to the 22 yard line for the 1st down!!!!

2:12 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 22, Brennan scrambles to the UH 29 yard line. 2nd and 43.


1:30 - On 2nd and 3 from the UH 29, handoff to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the UH 36 yard line for a 1st down!

0:55 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 36, Nate Ilaoa takes it to the UH 44 yard line.

0:20 - On 2nd and 2, Nate takes the hand off for a 1 yard gain to the UH 45. 3rd and 1.

0:00 - End of 3rd quarter. Hawaii 28, NMSU 24


4th Quarter:

15:00 - On 3rd and 1 from the UH 45, Reagan Mauia takes it to the UH 47 for a first down!!!

14:32 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 47, Brennan completes it over the middle to Ross Dickerson to the NMSU 33!

14:05 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 33, Brennan finds Chad Mock on the sideline for another first down to the NMSU 15!

13:52 - ON 1st and 10 from the NMSU 15, Brennan on the bubble screen to Ian Sample, who takes it to the NMSU 7 yard line!

13:15 - On 2nd down from the 7 yard line, Nate Ilaoa takes it in to the ENDZONE!!! But there's holding on UH. So ball comes back. CRAP.

13:10 - On 2nd down from the 17, Nate Ilaoa takes it to the NMSU 12 for a five yard gain. 3rd down.

12:35 - On 3rd down from the 12, Colt Brennan hits Jason Rivers on a slant for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!!

12:27 - Dan Kelly kicks the PAT. Hawaii 35, NMSU 24

12:24 - Dan Kelly kicks it off and it's downed in the end zone.

12:00 - On 1st and 10 from the 20, Holbrook throws it accidentally in the ground. Incomplete.

11:49 - On 2nd and 10 from the NMSU 20, Adam Leonard hits Jeremiah Williams at the line of scrimmage for no gain!!!

11:15 - On 3rd and 10, Mel Purcell sacks Chase Holbrook!!! He FUMBLES!!!! And Adam Leonard takes the fumble into the end zone for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!!

11:11 - Chase Holbrook is down on the field. He looks pretty dazed.

11:11 - Timeout.

11:11 - Dan Kelly kicks the PAT. Hawaii 42, NMSU 24 Holbrook is still shaken up on the sidelines.

11:02 - Dan Kelly kicks off, and it's taken out to the 20 by Chris Williams.

10:55 - On 1st and 10 from the 20, replacement QB Alex Gibson completes a short 7 yard pass.

10"35 - On 2nd and 3, hand off is taken to the 35 yard line for a first down.

10:15 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 35, Gibson scrambles to the NMSU 42.

10:05 - On 2nd down, hand off is taken to the 48 yard line. Mel Purcell is down on the play. Let's hope he's okay.

10:03 - Chase Holbrook is back on the field. And on the handoff, Williams is stopped back at the 46. Loss of 2.

9:15 - Holbrook, under pressure, is nearly intercepted by Blaze Soares! 3rd down and 12.

9:00 - On 3rd down and 12, the snap is fumbled, and UH recovers!!!! Kahai Lacount with the recovery!

8:37 - Reagan Mauia takes the handoff from the NMSU 42 to the NMSU 36. 2nd and 4.

8:00 - On 2nd and 5, Brennan throws on a sideline pattern to Ross Dickerson for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!!

7:58 - Dan Kelly barely makes the PAT. Hawaii 49, NMSU 24

7:53 - Kelly kicks off into the end zone and NMSU takes a knee.

7:35 - On 1st and 10 from the 20, Holbrook completes a pass to the 29. 2nd and 1.

6:59 - Holbrook completes a pass to the 32 for a first down.

6:40 - On 1st down, a sideline pass is completed, and the NMSU receiver takes it to the UH 31.

6:18 - After scrambling for about 10 seconds, Holbrook scrambles out of bounds for no gain.

6:05 - Holbrook completes a pass over the middle to the 21 for a first down.

5:40 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 21, Mel Purcell sacks Holbrook again! Back at the 22.

5:09 - Under pressure, Holbrook has to throw it away.

5:00 - On 3rd and 11 from the UH 22, short pass is taken to the UH 13. 3rd down.

4:48 - Keala Watson is down on the play. Timeout.

4:48 - Keala Watson limps off the field, but under his own power, which is good.

4:40 - On 4th and 1 from the UH 13, Holbrook completes a touchdown pass.

4:25 - They're going for 2... and UH takes a timeout.

4:25 - Conversion pass is incomplete, but pass interference on Adam Leonard.

4:25 - And on the 2nd attempt, the running back is stuffed! PAT no good! Hawaii 49, NMSU 30

4:22 - On the kickoff, NMSU tries the onside kick, but it's recovered by Nate Ilaoa! UH Ball!!!

4:05 - Tyler Graunke's in the game, and he hands off to Reagan Mauia, who takes it 4 yards to the NMSU 42.

3:15 - On 2nd and 6 from the NMSU 42, Graunke takes it on the option to the NMSU 38. 3rd down and 2.

2:35 - On 3rd and 2 from the NMSU 38, Graunke passes over the middle, and it's almost picked off. What?

2:25 - On 4th and 2, UH is going for it, and Graunke takes it on the option to the NMSU 35 for a 1st down!

1:53 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 35, hand off to Reagan Mauia, who takes it one yard to the the 34. Timeout NMSU.

1:48 - On 2nd and 9 from the NMSU 34, Graunke nearly throws an interception, but it's dropped. 3rd and 9.

1:42 - On 3rd and 9 from the NMSU 34, Graunke completes it to Michael Washington to the NMSU 11 yard line!

1:35 - On 1st and 10 from the NMSU 11, handoff to Mauia, who barrels his way to the 6 yard line.

1:01 - On 2nd and 5 from the NMSU 6, false start on UH.

0:40 - On 2nd and 10 from the NMSU 11, hand off to Reagan Mauia, who takes it to the 9 yard line. And that looks like the ballgame.

0:00 - Clock runs down. FINAL SCORE - Hawaii 49, NMSU 30

GameDay: Hawaii at New Mexico State

Dave Reardon's gameday preview highlights the matchup between the UH corners and NMSU's leading receiver.

Chris Williams wasn't even listed as a starter for the Aggies in training camp, but he replaced an injured Tim Tolbert and now he's second in the nation with 121 receiving yards per game. He's coming off his best game, grabbing 13 balls for 191 yards against Boise State.

Williams is a diminutive 5-feet-8 and 155 pounds. He's a major reason the Warriors are deploying Gerard Lewis (5-9, 168) and Myron Newberry (5-8, 164) as the starting cornerbacks. They aren't much bigger than Williams, but they have the speed to cover him and have been playing the best lately among UH's six-man cornerback by committee.

I'm confident our defense will not give up more than.... 400 yards passing! That's actually holding Chase Holbrook in check, especially when NMSU desperately tries to come back from a 28 point halftime deficit and UH plays the second string in the 4th quarter!

Stephen Tsai's gameday preview has a lot of info, but I noticed this bit at the end:

After missing five of seven field-goal attempts, the Aggies conducted open tryouts for a kicker. The area is such a concern the Aggies have gone for it 21 times on fourth down.

I always hate it when opponents go for it on 4th down, but the Warriors have been doing pretty good in stopping teams from converting this year. In the past, it seemed like it was almost a given that teams could convert on 4th down against UH. Defense is coming together!

Stephen Tsai profiles NMSU coach Hal Mumme.

Dave Reardon also talks to Mumme.

IF YOU'RE A coach, some stats you know. Mumme knows Holbrook, a sophomore, leads the nation in passing yardage.

Some stats are so bad, you stop keeping track.

Mumme is told his team is 116th in pass defense.

"You mean there's three worse than us?"

Mumme laughs, because that's all he can do.

This is how the UH offense must look right now:



Then again Hawaii is ranked 106th in pass defense. So there's drool all around.

Ferd Lewis writes about similarites between Mumme and June Jones:

The over-under on the number of passes thrown? "Something like 120," predicts NMSU coach Hal Mumme.

With two such disciples of air power, UH's June Jones and Mumme calling the shots and trying to out-do each other, Mumme joked, "the first one who punts is a wimp."

At least we think it was a joke.

But, then, both are coaches who march, er, pass to similar drummers. Coaching iconoclasts from the same pod. One, Mumme, who flies a pirate flag over his practice field watch tower, and the other, Jones, who introduced the so-called "Chad Owens rule" five years ago permitting players to showboat a little when UH is up by 24 points or more. Brothers of the same throw-first-and-ask-questions-later fraternity. Two deacons of the church of the forward pass.

In the Aggie Gameday Preview from the Las Cruces Sun-News, Colt Brennan talks about being in a passing offense.

"It definitely can be a quarterback's dream," Brennan said. "It's great when things are going good, but there's a lot of pressure on a quarterback in this offense. If you're not throwing four touchdowns a game, you're not doing your job. ... Guys in the Big 10 hand off the ball 20 times to set up their 20 pass attempts, and here you throw it most the time. But it can be a lot of pressure knowing you probably aren't getting the job done if you aren't getting those four touchdowns and 300 yards every time out."

Colt is right, but I think everyone expects him to pass for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns with no interceptions and an 80% completion rate. In the first half. Anything less is a disappointment! Nah, but like I said earlier, it's getting easy to take Colt for granted, and we mustn't do that! We mustn't!

Ferd Lewis also has some pre-game odds and ends, including this:

Mumme said he has pushed the idea of a national clearinghouse for college football officials with Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson.

What Mumme — and others — have proposed is putting all Division I-A football officials under the jurisdiction of one commissioner of officials. A "czar of officials," as Mumme puts it, would assign the officials for all Division I-A games.

Currently officials are overseen and assigned by various conferences.

That's actually a great idea. Plus, it takes away a scapegoat from whiny Michigan State coaches.

The Aggie Gameday Notebook has an injury report on NMSU.

NMSU tonight will be without starters middle linebacker Michael Hernishin (left MCL sprain), outside linebacker and Hawaii prep star La'Auli Fonoti (dislocated finger) and defensive tackle Jeremy Weeks (back spasms). The other two defenders NMSU have played the season without are free safety Cole Marton, who broke a bone in his foot in the season opener, and middle linebacker Shana Leaupepe, who was killed in a drive-by shooting this summer.

Starting cornerbacks Alex Bernard (hip flexor) and Courtney Bryan (ankle) are both banged up, but will start tonight.

I wish NMSU wasn't so decimated with injuries. It would make the game that much better. Nonetheless, I think it'll be one of the best games of the season, if you like offense. And honey, I love me some offense! But I also love me some defense, so let's hope the Warriors D comes out fired up and forces some early turnovers. It's gonna be a good one! GO WARRIORS!!!!

Ways to Follow the Hawaii at NMSU Game

In Hawaii:

Watch it on Oceanic PPV

Listen to it on 1420 AM


Outside of Hawaii:

Watch it on ESPN Gameplan


In or Outside of Hawaii:

Streaming video from WAC.tv

Streaming audio from Sports Radio 1420

Streaming audio in Navajo from NMSU

And I'll probably be liveblogging it.

GO WARRIORS!!!!

The QBs

Dave Reardon profiles the matchup between Chase Holbrook and Colt Brennan.

Jones continues to be amazed by Brennan's accuracy, and said Holbrook isn't far behind in that area, if at all.

"It looks to me Chase is the same way," Jones said. "He understands what Hal wants and is playing very well for him."

Brennan said he's excited about tomorrow's matchup with Holbrook, but he's more concerned about letters than numbers.

"That's one thing that I couldn't care less about, the stats right now. I'd rather like, I don't care if Chase Holbrook goes off and throws for way more yards and touchdowns than me and we walk away with a W," he said.

"One thing that I've learned from last year, Jeff Rowe (of Nevada), and this year, Jared Zabransky (of Boise State), those guys got recognized for the wins that they get. So that's the important thing," Brennan added. "Their quarterback is going to have a big day. He's going to come out and complete passes, complete touchdown passes probably. And we've got to be able to counteract that."

Man, this game is gonna be somethin else! Too bad it's not on national TV.

Dave Reardon also writes about all the players from Hawaii on the New Mexico State football team.

How do they deal with the desert and no beach?

"It's not really a problem," sophomore defensive end David Niumatalolo said. "We can always go to the pool. It's all right, because there are a lot of us."

There are 11 players -- all underclassmen -- on the current NMSU roster who list Hawaii as their home state. One other from the islands, Max Fairclough, is expected to join the program after graduating from Arizona Western.

"I'm sure this game will be very special for them," Mumme said.

Too bad it will have to be a very special loss. Nah nah, just joking cuz! I hope the UH players brought them some care packages though. Like some mochi CRUNCH! And some CRACK seed! And some SMOKED squid! And some chocolate dipped SHORTBREAD cookies! Okay, last one didn't make sense, but it's oh so onolicious.

Stephen Tsai writes about the "intense" practice the Warriors had yesterday.

"I told June (Jones, the head coach), of all of our practices on the road, this was our best," defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said. "We practiced the way we want to play — with great intensity."

In cool conditions — the mercury dipped into the low 50s — the Warriors fined-tuned their four-wide offense, put in some new defensive wrinkles, and worked on all phases of special teams.

Micah Lau and Brad Kali-limoku — both of whom started for the first time at outside linebacker this season in last week's 68-37 rout of Fresno State — appeared to be more comfortable.

Left cornerback Gerard Lewis and right cornerback Myron Newberry also had their most physical practice. Both will make their first UH starts tomorrow.

Running back Reagan Mauia, who did not play last week because of injuries to both shoulders, participated in all of the drills.

"Everybody who's here can play," Jones said.

Good to hear The Juggernaut is doing better and should be able to play! Watch out linebackers!

And tomorrow's game will be broadcast in the language of the Navajo!

But, then, it will also be the first time a UH football game has been broadcast in the Navajo language.

Cuyler Frank, a senior communications major from Black House Valley, N.M., said, for broadcast purposes it will be game between the "cowboy farmers" (Aggies) and the "island native people" as he and broadcast analyst Wendell Murphy paint a word picture for some of the estimated 20,000 of his fellow members of the Navajo Nation who live in the broadcast area in the northwest corner of the state.

NMSU said it became the first university to have its games done in the Navajo last year when Frank, as the play-by-play voice, and two other students began the broadcasts. This year they are aired on two stations, KGAK in Gallup, N.M. and KADN in Farmington, N.M.

Frank said the broadcast is also available on the Internet through the school's website, www.nmstatesports.com, and clicking a button on the lower right.

I may tune in during the game just to hear it. That's pretty cool. Hopefully they'll be cheering on the island native people rather than the cowboy farmers! GO WARRIORS!!!!!

Bit Late

Some articles from today and yesterday:

Davone Bess is trying to improve his focus.

Ron Lee, who coaches the receivers, said Bess "needs to focus more on the whole scheme of things rather than try to take it upon himself to win the whole ballgame by himself."

Six of his seven drops have occurred in the first half, leading Bess to believe he is "too hyped" at the start of games.

"I think it's a matter of me calming down and just really relaxing," Bess said. "I tend to get over-anxious and really excited. That's exactly what it was in (the season opener against) Alabama. I was trying to do too much instead of letting it happen. I have to try to catch the ball first, then go forward."

Also in Stephen Tsai's article is news that Ryan Grice-Mullins didn't make the trip because of his ankle injury, and a profile on Guyton Galdeira, who has become a special teams monster.

Dave Reardon also does a story on Davone Bess and his desire to improve.

"It's just going off what Colt does. The way he's throwing now, there's no need for me to try to do something extra," said Bess.

And that creates a problem that Bess is working on. For him, sometimes the routine catches are more challenging than the tough gets ... the ones that are rare now with Brennan's consistency.

"With each game he's getting better and better at just putting the ball on us. And that's great," Bess said. "But I'm definitely a true believer of that ... when I do have to make a hard, difficult catch, that's when I'm at my best. When the ball is right there, it's too good to be true. Almost too easy."

Bess isn't complaining about the passes being too good. He's pointing the finger at himself for getting a step ahead of himself.

"Sometimes. That's one of the reasons I've had a few drops this season," he said. "I need to take it one step at a time instead of thinking what I'm going to do before I get the ball," he said. "I just need to take it one step at a time and let it happen instead of thinking about it."

Dave Reardon's Sports Notebook has a profile on Victor "Bully" Fergerstrom, news that Myron Newberry and Gerard Lewis will probably start at corner, and a side note that Adam Leonard has been playing with a fractured wrist the past three weeks yet still leads the team in tackles with 49.

Ka Leo's Rebecca Gallegos has a preview of the upcoming New Mexico State game and the matchup between the top two quarterbacks in the nation.

“They both fit their system perfect,” Mumme said about Brennan and Holbrook. “They’re both effective at reaching their receivers, and they’ll both play in the NFL someday.”

With both quarterbacks receiving national recognition, some numbers have been overlooked. Granted, Brennan ranks first in the nation with 2,271 passing yards this season and Holbrook is currently fifth with 2,018 yards, but it’s their numbers in terms of efficiency that could be the deciding factor in this weekend’s game.

Brennan is third in the nation in passing efficiency, while Holbrook is quite a bit lower at 23rd.

“The one thing is that I don’t really want to get into that quarterback battle with him,” Brennan said. “You know, the ‘who can throw more yards’ or anything like that. The main thing I’m trying to do is get out there, throw the ball and come away with the victory.”

And finally, John Harris from CollegeFootballNews.com has an article titled "The Most Fun, Must-See Game of 2006"

Oh, what college football fan hasn’t waited with bated breath for this game? The record for passes attempted by two teams in one game is 135 (TCU against Houston in 1990), but that's in serious jeopardy in what should be the most entertaining, fun game you'll see all year long. Hawaii QB Colt Brennan is averaging 40 attempts per game, while New Mexico State QB Chase Holbrook threw the ball 65 times against Boise State. Suffice to say, the ball will be thrown ...a lot. Hawaii dominated Fresno State with its aerial circus piling up 68 points on the Bulldogs’ home field. New Mexico State fought back late against Boise State, despite giving up too much early in a 40-28 defeat. Did the second half comeback give the Aggies confidence that they can beat a quality WAC opponent in a shootout against a team like Hawaii? Enjoy the show.

I can't wait! GO WARRIORS!!!!

CFN Rankings

Niall commented earlier that in CFN's latest rankings, Hawaii is ranked 30th in the nation, just behind Bama! Here's how CFN describes their rankings:

There's one very important distinction in the CFN rankings: these are based on how good the teams are and NOT how they're going to finish. Some teams have easier schedules than others, some get tougher road games and some will need a little bit of time to jell meaning they might be better than their final record might indicate.

Sure, it's just one publication, but more and more people are starting to notice that the Warriors are awesome this year! Pretty cool. Thanks Niall! But I noticed that BYU is ranked 27th, and that certainly can't stand. GO WARRIORS!!!

Ka Leo's Glendalyn Junio has a profile of freshman wide receiver Malcolm Lane.

While Lane continues to learn the offense, he has been making contributions on the Warriors’ special teams in the past three games. Lane has amassed 110 yards on three kick returns, averaging 36.7 per game. The other receivers have taken notice of Lane’s progress.

“[Malcolm] is very competitive and hungry,” said sophomore wide receiver Davone Bess. “He’s a smart, bright kid willing to work hard, and this is his opportunity to shine. He’s definitely going to be an impact player for this team; it’s just a matter of him staying humble.”

Lane is used to adapting to his surroundings. While in Germany, Lane played on the 2005 All-Europe All-Star team as both a running back and a cornerback. He rushed for 1,742 yards and 23 touchdowns in his final season. In the Division II championship game, Lane ran for 272 yards and five touchdowns. As a cornerback, he made two interceptions, returning both for touchdowns.

Glad Malcolm is a Warrior! Bright future's ahead for him.

Last Saturday was Fresno State's homecoming game. This Saturday is New Mexico State's homecoming game. Warriors, you know what to do.

And finally, I didn't post a wrap-up of the Ikaika Alama-Francis live chat, which was cool. Stephen Tsai posted an update to the post saying Dennis McKnight will be next week's guest. Right on!

Corners

Stephen Tsai writes about the cornerback shuffle to replace Kenny Patton.

In a Texas two-step, University of Hawai'i cornerbacks Gerard Lewis and Myron Newberry have emerged as the leading candidates to start in Saturday's football game at New Mexico State.

"It's their job to lose," said Rich Miano, who coaches the defensive backs.

Defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville agreed, saying both are projected to start.

The article also has a profile of backup offensive lineman Keoni Steinhoff, news on Ryan Grice-Mullins' recovery, and a new recruit from Denmark named Kasper Oelund.

Oelund, who is 6 feet 2 and 205 pounds, was named to the European All-Star team as an inside linebacker. He played in the European championships, which draws players from football associations in more than 16 countries.

Oelund's coach knows UH defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold. Prior to joining UH last year, Reinebold served as the senior manager of international player development for the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe.

Coach Reinebold is definitely expanding the Warriors' recruiting base! Now somebody needs to go to Japan to recruit some yokozuna and ozeki for the offensive line.

Speaking of recruiting around the world, here's a profile of Aussie and former Hawaii punter Mat McBriar, who leads the NFL in punting this season.

Dave Reardon also has news about the corners, but he says that C.J. Hawthorne will retain his starting position.

A.J. Martinez, Gerard Lewis, Myron Newberry and Ryan Keomaka have had their moments, good and bad. And Guyton Galdeira is getting practice reps now, too.

C.J. Hawthorne has one side locked down. But the others are all getting a look this week to take Patton's spot.

"We're all ready," said Lewis, who was in on five tackles and a pass breakup against the Bulldogs. "You've got to be ready. One goes down, you have another one ready."

The Warriors will probably play a lot of corners Saturday at New Mexico State. The Aggies are as pass-happy as the Warriors, and the game will be at 4,000-feet above sea level.

Whoever starts, there will be a lot of rotation going on. The article also has a short update on Blaze Soares, who has healed from a hamstring injury and wants to get back out on the field.

The Idaho Statesman has a short preview of this Saturday's Hawaii-New Mexico State game.

The game that may never end features the top two passing teams in the nation. Hawaii chucks 45 passes per game and averages 420.8 passing yards. New Mexico State tosses 54 passes and averages 433.5 yards. They meet Saturday in Las Cruces.

“That will be an entertaining game for sure,” New Mexico State coach Hal Mumme said. “… I’m sure coach Jones won’t even bring his punter with him.”

Both teams spread defenses with quick receivers and replace a run game with short passes.

They also feature two star quarterbacks. Hawaii junior Colt Brennan ranks third in the nation in pass efficiency (23 touchdowns, five interceptions). He tossed five touchdown passes last week at Fresno State and was the WAC offensive player of the week, and he gets star receiver Ryan Grice-Mullen back from injury this week.

New Mexico State sophomore Chase Holbrook leads the nation in passing with 424 yards per game. He threw for 526 yards Sunday against Boise State.

CollegeFootballNews.com's Pete Fiutak is definitely looking forward to the game.

It’s finally here. I guarantee you the Hawaii – New Mexico State battle will be the most fun game you’ll watch all year long. NMSU’s Chase Holbrook is No. 1 in the nation averaging 403 passing yards per game, while Hawaii’s Colt Brennan is No. 2 averaging 378.5 per game. I’m demanding 1,000 yards of passing offense and over 100 points.

It'll definitely get up there! GO WARRIORS!!!!

RGM

From Stephen Tsai, sounds like Ryan Grice-Mullins will be back for the New Mexico State game.

The improved play of Ross Dickerson, who moved from starting right wideout to fill in for Grice-Mullins, won't alter the plans, Jones said.

In three starts as a wideout, Dickerson caught nine passes for 99 yards and zero touchdowns. In three games as a slotback, Dickerson has 22 receptions for 237 yards and three touchdowns. He now is second on the team in receiving, behind left slotback Davone Bess, who leads the nation with 8.17 receptions per game.

"Ross has played extremely well," Jones said. "He played his best game this week. But Ryan is pretty good."

Grice-Mullins has 13 catches for 220 yards, an average of 16.9 yards per reception.

Dickerson won't be able to reclaim the job as the No. 1 right wideout, either. Ian Sample has caught two scoring passes in each of the past three games.

I think Dickerson will still be in for a significant amount of plays since he's been doing so well and RGM is still recovering. Plus, Ross is the Warriors best kickoff returner and he's bound to break one!

Stephen also reports that Kenny Patton will most likely be out until the Hawaii Bowl. That really sucks, for Kenny and for the team. Glad he is keeping in good spirits though.

In more news from that article, there's a profile on outside linebacker Micah Lau, an Erik Pederson position switch, a Keenan Jones possible redshirt, an injury update on Adam Leonard, and a pretty cool anecdote on the fake option UH ran against Fresno.

It was the new play that Jones installed specifically for Brennan's athletic ability. Expanding on a play Florida used with quarterback Tim Tebow, Jones came up with a scheme that could have been drawn on the streets. Brennan faked an option to running back Nate Ilaoa, stepped forward, then threw a dump pass to Sample, who was running a delayed post route, for a touchdown.

"(Jones) just comes up with so many different things," Brennan said.

During practice, when backup Tyler Graunke ran the play, "we were calling him 'Tybow,' after Tebow," Brennan said. "We're having a lot of fun with this offense."

We'll be in good hands with Tybow and Funaki if Colt decides to go pro after this season. But as Dave Reardon writes, for now, Colt probably won't.

Brennan is scheduled to graduate next fall. He said that's a priority, and he doesn't feel pressure to go pro after this season.

"You're only going to be in college once in your life. My family supports me really well, I don't have a financial obligation in my life right now," Brennan said. "If there is some life-changing experience and people really need me to look at some other opportunities, then I sit down and I think about it."

Brennan has completed an incredible 73.1 percent of his passes this fall. Even more remarkable is that his completion percentage has improved every game for the 4-2 Warriors. He was 32-for-39 in Saturday's 68-37 romp at Fresno State, with 409 passing yards in his third five-touchdown game of the season. It was his second game in a row with no interceptions, and his TD-to-pick ratio is 23-5 for the year.

Stay Colt, stay! If he does, he's gonna have like 6000 yards passing and 65 touchdowns next year. And he'll lead the Warriors to an outright WAC title, and dare I say, the mythical undefeated season as prophesied by the hairy oracle? Dare I? Awww hell yeah.

There's also video taken by the Honolulu Advertiser's Leila Wai of June Jones' and Colt Brennan's Monday press conference.

And finally, don't forget that Ikaika Alama-Francis will be having a live chat on The Warrior Beat today. Be there!

Ikaika

Stephen Tsai will be hosting a live chat with Ikaika Alama-Francis tomorrow at 10:30am HST! So make sure you have a good question to ask!

Brennan Wins Again

Colt Brennan wins another WAC Offensive Player of the Week award.

Brennan, a junior from Irvine, Calif. (Saddleback CC), was 32-of-39 (82.1 percent) for 409 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions in Hawai‘i’s 68-37 win at Fresno State. He also led the team in rushing with seven carries for 43 yards and played in just three quarters. It is his second straight WAC offensive player of the week award.

On to NMSU

Jason Kaneshiro writes that UH is getting ready to turn back around for another road trip.

This week's trip marks the midway point of a stretch of three road games over a four-week span. The Warriors will host Idaho next week, then travel to Utah State for a Nov. 4 meeting.

As they pack their bags for another lengthy flight, the Warriors will take with them the confidence that comes from putting together a dominant performance previously unseen outside of Aloha Stadium.

"We've never done it on the road before, so it makes me proud of the kids," Hawaii coach June Jones said after the Warriors broke the school record for points in a road game and fell just four points short of the overall record in the victory at Fresno State.

NMSU's Chase Holbrook passed for 500 yards last night against Boise. This Saturday's game is gonna be a hell of a shootout. Why isn't it on ESPN?

Ferd Lewis looks ahead and thinks that UH has a shot at winning every game the rest of the way.

Indeed, with the carnage that was Fresno State in the rearview mirror, the Warriors have soared over what once shaped up as one of the toughest hurdles to getting a shot at the school record for single-season victories. The standard was set by the 1992 UH team that went 11-2 on its way to a Holiday Bowl victory and the school's only top 20 finish.

Your current Warriors, with seven regular-season games remaining and the likelihood of a Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl appearance awaiting them on Christmas Eve, have a shot at history and appear to relish the possibilities. As center Samson Satele put it, "this is a new era."

It sure could be if the Warriors can run the table. At this point the two most challenging games would seem to be Purdue and Oregon State, Nov. 25 and Dec. 2. Both at home and both outings they could be favored in. The only remaining road games are Saturday at New Mexico State (2-4) and Utah State (1-6), both places where UH figures to be favored.

Going 12-2 this year would be awesome.

Jason Kaneshiro, who is stuck on the mainland due to the earthquake, also has Warrior Replay article, highlighting five key plays in the game. Now if only someone would post those plays on Youtube or something to go along with it, that would be cool! Anyway, hope all is well with all the reporters and others trying to get back home.

Colt Brennan gets a brief mention in the New York Times.

Hawaii's Brennan on Target Colt Brennan's 409 passing yards and season-high five touchdown passes in Hawaii's 68-37 defeat of Fresno State on Saturday raised the number of touchdown passes he has thrown this season to 23, tops in Division I. A junior, Brennan also leads the nation with 2,271 passing yards, an average of 378.5 a game, and has thrown just 5 interceptions in 242 attempts for the Warriors (4-2, 2-1 Western Athletic Conference). He is on pace to throw 50 touchdown passes this season.

And finally, here's a column from the Fresno Bee lamenting the Bulldogs defense, with some praise for the UH offense.

The Bulldogs' defense is indefensible. MacGyver couldn't fix it with Bob Vila's tools. When it blitzed, Hawaii broke a big play. When it sat back, Hawaii picked it apart.

Man-to-man? Touchdown.

Zone? Touchdown.

Hawaii would score a touchdown, Bulldog fans would get up to leave and Hawaii would score again before they could get to the gate.

This was not just any offense, of course. Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan threw the ball 39 times, and 32 times it was caught. It could have been more.

"We had three or four drops today," Hawaii coach June Jones said.

Scary, but true. Brennan threw for 409 yards and five touchdowns. And then took the fourth quarter off. In the three quarters Brennan played, the Warriors scored a point every 43 seconds, and if you watched the game, you have to be thinking, "Is that all?"

This Saturday's game should be fun.

Earthquake

Hope all is well with everyone after the earthquake this morning. Looks like the Honolulu Advertiser will have updates throughout the day.

Hawaii at Fresno State Newspaper Wrap-Ups

It is good to wake up in the morning and look once again at that basketball score UH threw down against the Bulldogs on their homefield! 68 to 37? Way to go Riley Wallace!

Jason Kaneshiro's wrap-up discusses the recent history that makes this victory all the more sweeter, as well as a quote from Samson.

The last time the Warriors (4-2, 2-1) visited California's Central Valley, Fresno State delivered a 70-14 thrashing. Yesterday, they took the bark out of a reeling Bulldog team and their homecoming crowd to win their third straight and first on the road this season.

"I think we're just a different breed this year," Hawaii senior center Samson Satele said.

The article also has a couple good quotes from Pat Hill:

"We ran into a buzz saw tonight," Fresno State head coach Pat Hill said. "Their quarterback was really on. I don't remember playing against a quarterback as hot as that.

"We were outmatched tonight. Hawaii was the better team, I give them a lot of credit. They're an outstanding football team."

An article from The Fresno Bee has this:

The 68 points were the most allowed in coach Pat Hill's 10 seasons, the most allowed in Bulldog Stadium history, and extended Fresno State's losing streak to five. The Bulldogs have lost nine of their past 10 games dating to last season.

"Personally, to me it's by far No.1," safety Josh Sherley said when asked where Saturday's loss ranked. "I mean at home, to give up that many yards, to perform the way we did, that was a very heart-wrenching loss to take. I swore this wouldn't happen my senior year. It's like it's out of control."

He shouldn't feel so bad because I don't think any defense could've stopped the Warriors yesterday. As amazing as it sounds, at least Hawaii didn't try to run up the score. Like Fresno did two years ago. The Warriors could've scored in the 80s if they wanted to!

Stephen Tsai's wrap-up describes the exuberant players and a very happy June Jones. Here's what the receivers had to say about the game:

"All you had to do was go past the linebackers and it was pretty much one-on-one with the safeties," left wideout Jason Rivers said. "We forced the safeties to make choices. If they pick one, we pick the other. We have so many weapons."

Sample, UH's right wideout, said: "It's really hard to play us one-on-one. All you need is half an inch on somebody, and Colt will find you. Colt is so perfect at placing the ball. His accuracy is crazy. When you're open, you know the ball is coming to you, and it's always on the money. We really don't have to make plays. Colt makes plays for us."

Jason Kaneshiro's article highlighting Colt Brennan has some amazing stats.

Brennan's percentage (82 percent) fell just short of the school record of 83.3 (with a minimum of 20 attempts) set by Tim Carey in 1997 when he went 25-for-30 against Cal State Northridge.

His accuracy yesterday increased his season mark to 73 percent with 23 touchdowns against just five interceptions. He already owns the UH season record, hitting 68 percent of his throws last year.

"He's just getting better," Hawaii quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison said. "It's so hard to tell where he's going to go because the expectations are rising so rapidly. His accuracy and his understanding of things and how quick he gets the ball out is growing by leaps and bounds.

Man, if he keeps going like this, he's gonna end up this season with a mid to high 70s completion percentage with over 5000 yards passing and over 50 touchdown passes. WOW. Just so you know, the NCAA single-season records are 5188 yards by Ty Detmer in 1990, and 54 touchdown passes by David Klingler in the same year. Just so you know.

UPDATE: That was an out of date and/or bad link. Here are the records from the NCAA (PDF).

Most Passing Yards in a Season:

(11 games) 5,140—David Klingler, Houston, 1990
(completed 374 of 643)
(12 games) 5,336—B.J. Symons, Texas Tech, 2003
(completed 429 of 666)
(13 games) 5,833—B.J. Symons, Texas Tech, 2003
(completed 470 of 719)

Most Touchdown Passes in a Season:

54—David Klingler, Houston, 1990 (11 games)

Sorry about that!

And speaking stats, check out this great Sportshawaii.com thread started by "Buger" analyzing this years Warrior offense.

Here's what Michael Lafaele and coach Reinebold said about the Warriors on defense:

The key to UH's defense was Lafaele, who moved from center to nose tackle two years ago. Lafaele was able to control Fresno State's Kyle Young, regarded as one of the nation's best centers. In the Bulldogs' offensive scheme, when the center can't move the nose tackle, the running game dies.

"I just wanted to use my technique and hands," Lafaele said. That wasn't so easy because he suffered a broken middle finger in his right hand during the game.

"The reason we played well is because Mike Lafaele took what was supposed to be one of the best centers in the nation and physically abused him," said Jeff Reinebold, who coaches the defensive line.

Lafaele said: "(Young is) a good player, but I think our center (Samson Satele) is 10 times better, and I face our center every day in practice."

I don't think that's a dig at Young, but just more high praise for The Emperor!

Ferd Lewis has a quote from Fresno coach Pat Hill in his article about the UH defense.

"Hawai'i made the big hits," FSU coach Pat Hill said. "I thought they were very physical, the most physical Hawai'i team we've played (in 10 years). I thought they really rallied up to play."

Way to go Glanville!

Ferd also has a quote from Leonard Peters, referring to the NFL scouts that attended the game.

"Coach (Jerry) Glanville told us some of the scouts said we were the hardest hitting team on the West Coast," Peters said. "We want to take the 'West Coast' part of it off."

Way to go Glanville!

In all this jubilation, there's bad news.

Kenny Patton, the University of Hawai'i's most experienced cornerback, could be lost to the Warriors from four to six games because of a broken collarbone suffered in yesterday's 68-37 victory over Fresno State.

...

The injury comes as Patton has emerged as a more aggressive leader and big-play performer. He was fifth on the team in tackles with 18, and had one interception and three pass breakups entering the game.

That really sucks for Kenny. I hope that it turns out to be not as bad as expected. It's gonna hurt to lose him, especially against New Mexico State, which passes more than Hawaii. At least he still had his spirits up after the game.

"I'm just so happy we won," Patton said, standing outside a festive Warrior locker room. "It hurts, but it just feels so good to leave here with a win. I wish I could have had more of a part in it, but it was a great win."

Patton, who has battled through injuries throughout his Hawaii career, suffered the latest setback less than 3 minutes into the game on Fresno State's opening touchdown, a 75-yard touchdown pass to tight end Bear Pascoe.

"Geez, it's terrible," Hawaii defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said softly when asked about Patton's plight.

Patton said he hopes to be back earlier than the initial prognosis.

"I'll just let the doctors work their magic," he said.

Good luck to Kenny.

And good luck to Fresno against LSU next week. As sweet as this victory was, I hope they pull off a gigantic upset with Sean Norton behind center. Gotta root for the WAC to "Play UP" whatever that means. So go Fresno State! But more importantly:

GO WARRIORS!!!!!

Hawaii 68, Fresno State 37

There was a total of 105 points scored in this game. And I thought it would be a low-scoring slugfest! Well, I'm glad UH proved me wrong, in a gigantic ROAD WARRIORS way. And to be honest, towards the end I was hoping UH would score another touchdown to put it over 70 points! See two years ago. Oh well, win some, lose some! Nonetheless, this is the most points scored against Fresno State EVER on their home field, and Hawaii absolutely DOMINATED the Bulldogs. FSU looked like they didn't want to play after the first quarter. The Warriors offense looks unstoppable at this point in the season, and the defense looks great too, despite the two late touchdowns against the second string. Dan Kelly may need to work on his low PAT kicks, but overall what a fantastic game! I am feeling that much more confident about our chances at New Mexico State. GO WARRIORS!!!!

Here are some unofficial final stats, from CSTV.com:

Colt Brennan was 32 of 39 for 409 yards and 5 touchdowns with NO interceptions.

Colt also rushed 7 times for 43 yards.

Tyler Graunke was 5 of 5 for 61 yards and 1 touchdown.

Nate Ilaoa rushed 6 times for 34 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Nate also caught 5 passes for 78 yards.

Ross Dickerson caught 10 passes for 115 yards and 1 touchdown.

Davone Bess caught 8 passes for 70 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Ian Sample caught 6 passes for 83 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Jason Rivers caught 6 passes for 80 yards and 1 touchdown.

Solomon Elimimian led the team with 7 tackles and 1 forced fumble.

Leonard Peters had 6 tackles and had an interception that he returned 54 yards for a touchdown!

What a great game!

LiveBlogging: Hawaii at Fresno State

All times Game Clock!

FINAL SCORE:

Hawaii 68, Fresno State 37

Game starts in a few minutes. I'm gonna try to keep the current score up here at the top throughout the game, but I may forget. We'll see.

1st Quarter:

15:00 - The Warriors will receive!

15:00 - FSU kicks off, and Kenny Patton downs it in the end zone.

14:40 - First play on offense, Colt Brennan hits Ross Dickerson for a 5 yard gain.

13:57 - Next pass to Ross Dickerson is broken up. 3rd down.

13:53 - On 3rd and 5 from the UH 25, Colt Brennan passes to Davone Bess, who drops it. Looks like the Fresno DB closed quick and distracted Bess. Gotta punt.

13:50 - Kurt Milne punts and the returner brings it out their own 34.

13:38 - On 1st and 10 from the 34, Fresno QB Tom Brandstater misfires. 2nd down.

13:22 - On 2nd and 10 from the 34, a screen pass to RB Dwayne Wright, who is dropped back at the 25 yard line by Micah Lau!!!

12:28 - On 3rd and 19 from the 25, Brandstater passes complete to the tight end, who breaks a bunch of tackles to take it into the endzone.

12:28 - PAT is good. Hawaii 0, FSU 7. Not a good start.

12:26 - Fresno kicks off and Ross Dickerson takes it from the 5 to the 25 yard line.

12:00 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 25, Colt Brennan shovels to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it all the way into Bulldog territory to the FSU 36 yard line!!!!

11:47 - On 1st and 10 from the FSU 36, Brennan finds Davone Bess, who runs backwards for about 15 yards, then shovels it to Ilaoa, who takes it for a 1 yard loss. What a strange ass play.

10:50 - Wide receiver screen to Jason Rivers, who takes it to the FSU 28 yard line. Nice effort by Rivers to get extra yards. 3rd and short.

10:05 - On 3rd and 2 from the FSU 28, Brennan passes incomplete over the middle, but there's a flag...

9:55 - It was offsides on Fresno! 1st down!

9:52 - On 1st and 10 from the FSU 23, Brennan finds Jason Rivers, who is taken out of bounds at the FSU 14 yard line. 2nd and 1.

9:49 - On 1st and 10 from the FSU 14, Brennan finds Ross Dickerson over the middle who takes it all the way to the 1 yard line!!!!

9:44 - On 1st and goal from the 1, Nate Ilaoa takes the handoff in for the TOUCHDOWN!!!!!

9:39 - PAT by Dan Kelly is sorta low, but GOOD! Hawaii 7, Fresno 7

9:37 - Dan Kelly kicks off a low line drive, it's taken to the 24, where the returner is stopped by Michael Malala.

9:08 - FSU QB Tom Brandstater takes a timeout.

9:05 - On 1st and 10 from the 24 yard line, Brandstater hands off to Wright, who is stopped for no gain by Solomon Elimimian and Adam Leonard!!!

8:30 - On 2nd down, Wright is met immediately in the backfield by Michael Lafaele and Adam Leonard!!! 3rd down on the 21 yard line!

7:45 - On 3rd and 13 from the 21, Brandstater on a screen to Wright, who takes it to the 23. 4th down! Gotta punt!

7:05 - Kyle Zimmerman punts away. It's fair caught by Myron Newberry back at the UH 39 yard line.

6:40 - On 1st down from the UH 39, Brennan scrambles and takes it out to the UH 49 yard line!!!

6:20 - They have to measure, and it's a first down!

6:10 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 49, Colt Brennan finds Bess on the sideline, but the ball is too high. Bess could've caught it, but it's dropped.

5:55 - On 2nd and 10 from the UH 49, Brennan finds Dickerson over the middle to the FSU 47 yard line.

5:25 - On 3rd and 6 from the FSU 47, Brennan finds Ian Sample on a crossing route over the middle, and SAMPLE TAKES IT TO THE HOUSE!!! TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!

5:11 - Dan Kelly kicks the PAT, and it is good! Hawaii 14, FSU 7

5:09 - Dan Kelly kicks out of bounds, but in the end zone. Touchback. FSU ball on the 20.

4:50 - On 1st down from the 20, Brandstater rolls out and rushes for a 9 yard gain.

4:14 - On 2nd down from the 29, Wright falls down at the line of scrimmage.

3:38 - On 3rd and 1 from the 29, Wright fumbles and it is recovered by IKAIKA ALAMA-FRANCIS!!!!!

3:28 - Wow, Solomon Elimimian popped Wright on the play to force the fumble. DEFENSE!!!

3:18 - On 1st down from the FSU 24, Colt Brennan finds Ian Sample on the 15 yard line for a 9 yard gain!

2:25 - On 2nd and 1, Brennan finds Jason Rivers, who takes it to the 5 yard line.

2:11 - On first and goal from the 5, Brennan hands off Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the right and INTO THE ENDZONE!!!!! TOUCHDOWN!!!!!

1:46 - Before the PAT attempt, the refs are going to review the play...

1:46 - After the play is reviewed, the touchdown stands!

1:46 - Dan Kelly kicks the PAT! Hawaii 21, Fresno 7

1:42 - Dan Kelly kicks off and it is taken out to the 27 yard line.

1:22 - On 1st down from the 27, Wright takes it out to the 40 yard line for a quick first down.

0:45 - On 1st down from the 39, Wright fumbles and it is recovered by Hawaii!!!! Looks like Adam Leonard!!!! Woo hoo!!!

0:17 - On 1st down from the Fresno 43 yard line, Brennan shovels to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the FSU 29 yard line. Brennan threw a nice block on that play!

0:00 - End of 1st quarter. Things are looking good. Let's score a ton of points and take Fresno out of this game early!


2nd Quarter:

15:00 - On 1st down from the Fresno 29 yard line, Colt Brennan passes to Ross Dickerson, who is taken out of bounds at the 23 yard line for a six yard gain.

14:50 - On 2nd and 4 from the FSU 23, there's a flag on the play. False start.

14:44 - On 2nd and 9, Brennan finds Bess, who takes it to the 20 yard line. Short of the 1st down.

14:12 - Hawaii takes a timeout.

14:10 - On 3rd and 1 from the Fresno 20 yard line, Brennan under center, bootleg by Brennan, who runs it to the 16 yard line! 1st down!!!

13:40 - On 1st and 10 from the FSU 16, there's a whistle.

13:35 - It was delay of game. 1st and 15 from the FSU 21.

13:28 - On 1st and 15 from the FSU 21, Brennan finds Ross Dickerson crossing over the middle. Dickerson takes it all the way to the 2 yard line!!!

13:15 - On 1st and goal from the 2, Brennan dumps it over the middle to Ian Sample for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!!

13:11 - Dan Kelly kicks the PAT, and it is good! Hawaii 28, Fresno State 7. I don't hear booing by the fans yet.

13:10 - Dan Kelly kicks off to the 10 yard line, and it's taken to the 27 yard line.

12:45 - On 1st and 10 from the 27, Anthony Harding, replacing Wright, takes it to the 33 yard line.

12:08 - On 2nd down from the FSU 33, Harding takes it to the 42 for a first down.

11:30 - Harding is stopped for a loss by Ikaika Alama-Francis and Micah Lau, I think.

11:00 - On 2nd and 12 from the 40, Brandstater is SACKED by BRAD KALILIMOKU!!!!

10:10 - On 3rd down and 20 from the FSU 32 yard line, Brandstater completes a pass the the 33 yard line. 4th and 9.

9:15 - FSU punts, and Newberry takes it from the 13 for no gain.

9:05 - It was actually a 1 yard loss. On 1st down from the UH 12, Nate Ilaoa takes it to the 14 yard line for short gain. Flag on the play. It's on Tala Esera. Ball on the 7 yard line.

8:25 - On 2nd and 15 from the 7, Nate Ilaoa takes it for a 1 yard gain.

7:45 - On 3rd and long, Brennan throws to nobody long over the middle. Gotta punt.

7:29 - Kurt Milne punts and it is muffed, but recovered by FSU in UH territory.

7:25 - On 1st down from the UH 40 yard line, Fresno's backup QB Sean Norton completes a pass to the UH 24 yard line.

7:00 - Sean Norton runs out of bounds at the 21 yard line. 2nd down.

6:56 - On 2nd down, Sean Norton throws a touchdown pass over the middle to the tight end. It's a ballgame again!

6:56 - PAT is good. Hawaii 28, Fresno State 14

6:54 - FSU kicks off out of the end zone. Hawaii ball on the 20. Flag on the field. Personal foul on Fresno. Unnecessary roughness. Hawaii ball on the 35.

6:35 - On 1st down from the UH 35, Brennan scrambles and makes a cut to the inside for a 10 yard gain for a first down!

6:08 - On 1st down from the UH 45, Brennan on a short screen to Ian Sample, who takes it to the Bulldog 43. First down!

5:30 - On 1st down from the Bulldog 43, Brennan is nearly sacked, but he scrambles to the 41 yard line.

4:55 - On 2nd and 8 from the FSU 41, Brennan throws to Jason Rivers, and it looked like interference on Jason Rivers, but it's not called! Incomplete.

4:45 - On 3rd and 8 from the FSU 41, Brennan dumps it to Nate Ilaoa after scrambling around for a bit. Ilaoa takes it to the 33 yard line for a first down!!!

4:17 - On 1st and 10 from the FSU 33, Brennan rifles it to Dickerson to the 20 yard line. What a throw! He reared back and whipped it in there! 1st down!

3:48 - On 1st and 10 from the FSU 20, Nate Ilaoa takes the handoff and rumbles into the end zone for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!!! What a run by Nate!

3:38 - Dan Kelly kicks the PAT and it's good! Hawaii 35, Fresno State 14

3:36 - Dan Kelly kicks off out of bounds in the end zone. Bulldogs will have it on the 20. Man, the Warriors are unstoppable! I know, I know, random exclamation.

3:20 - On 1st down from the 20, end around to the 25 yard line. 2nd and 5

2:40 - On 2nd and 5 from the 25, Dwayne Wright is dropped at the line of scrimmage.

2:05 - On 3rd and 5 from the 25, Norton finds Chastin West for a first down over the middle to the 36.

1:57 - Norton to Wright for a quick pass to their own 44 yard line.

1:48 - On 1st down from the FSU 46, Norton throws out of bounds.

1:45 - On 2nd and 10 from the FSU 46, LEONARD PETERS WITH THE INTERCEPTION RETURN FOR A TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!

1:37 - Dan Kelly's PAT attempt is GOOD! Hawaii 42, Fresno State 14

1:32 - Dan Kelly kicks off into the endzone, where it is downed by West.

1:25 - On 1st down from their own 20, Wright takes it out to the 22.

1:00 - Norton to West to the FSU 43 yard line. 1st down.

0:53 - On 1st down from the FSU 43, Norton passes and it's off the receiver's hands. 2nd down.

0:50 - On 2nd and 10, Norton picks up 4 yards and is run out of bounds at the 47.

0:42 - On 3rd and 6 from the 42, passes for a first down into Hawaii territory, all the way to the UH 39.

0:37 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 39, sideline pass complete to the 32 yard line.

0:34 - On 2nd and 3 from the UH 32, Norton scrambles for a first down, out of bounds at the 23.

0:28 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 23, pass complete to the 14 yard line.

0:21 - On 2nd and 1 from the UH 14, Norton is hit on the play and the pass is incomplete!

0:14 - On 3rd and 1 from the UH 14, Wright gets the first down to the UH 11. Come on D with the STOP! Timeout.

0:12 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 11, Norton is hit as he throws on the blitz and he throws incomplete. Micah Lau with the pressure. Micah's having a great game.

0:08 - On 2nd and 10 from the UH 11, Norton's pass is deflected by Mel Purcell!!! Incomplete!

0:02 - On 3rd and 10 from the UH 11, Norton rolls out and throws it way out of bounds at the back of the end zone.

0:02 - Timeout Hawaii. Fresno is going for it on 4th and 10 from the UH 11.

0:02 - After the timeout, FSU will go for the field goal instead.

0:02 - Hawaii takes another timeout. Hahaha.

0:02 - The 28 yard field goal attempt is good.

0:00 - END OF 1ST HALF. Hawaii 42, Fresno State 17 Dare I say, that this game is all but over? Nah, you never know how the Bulldogs will come back in the second half, so I say the Warriors need to score 4 more touchdowns.

HALFTIME - Here are some unofficial halftime stats:

Colt Brennan is 18 of 23 for 225 yards and 2 touchdowns. What's a matter with Colt? He's underperforming! Nah nah.

Colt Brennan has 4 rushes for 26 yards for a 6.5 yards per carry average.

Nate Ilaoa has 5 carries for 28 yards for a 5.6 yards per carry average. He also has THREE rushing touchdowns!

Nate Ilaoa also has 3 catches for 60 yards.

Ross Dickerson has 6 catches for 60 yards.

Ian Sample has 4 catches for 70 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Overall, Hawaii has 279 yards of offense so far. Stats taken from CSTV.com


2nd Half

3rd Quarter:

15:00 - Dan Kelly kicks off and Chastin West takes it to the 25.

14:38 - On 1st and 10 from the FSU 25, Norton completes a 75 yard touchdown pass. Well then.

14:28 - Fresno pitches, trying to for 2 on the PAT, but the runner is tackled. What are they doing? Hawaii 42, Fresno State 23

14:16 - FSU kicks off and it goes out of the end zone for a touchback.

14:12 - On 1st down from the UH 20, Colt Brennan deep over the middle to Chad Mock to the FSU 34 yard line!!!

13:30 - On 1st down from the FSU 34, Brennan dumps it to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the FSU 28 yard line.

12:50 - On 2nd down from the FSU 28, Brennan to Bess, who takes it to the 20 yard line for a first down!

12:22 - On 1st down from the FSU 20, Brennan finds Bess on a quick pass into the endzone for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!

12:13 - On the PAT attempt, Dan Kelly kicks it through. Hawaii 49, Fresno State 23

12:13 - As a personal aside, I won't feel comfortable if UH doesn't score 21 more points...

12:11 - Dan Kelly kicks off out of bounds. Fresno State will have the ball on the 35.

12:05 - On 1st down from the FSU 35, Dwayne Wright takes it the the FSU 39 yard line.

11:15 - On 2nd and 6, Dwayne Wright takes it to the 40 yard line, where he is stuffed!

10:40 - On 3rd and 5 from the FSU 40, Sean Norton's pass is incomplete to Joe Fernandez!!! Gotta punt!

10:32 - FSU punts, and Myron Newberry catches it at the 25, where he is hit immediately. No gain.

10:25 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 25 yard line, Colt Brennan passes to Dickerson, who takes it from behind the line of scrimmage all the way to the UH 34 yard line! 2nd and 1.

9:30 - Hand off to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the 40 yard line for a first down!

9:08 - On 1st down from the 40 yard line, Brennan to Bess to the UH 49 yard line.

8:55 - On 2nd and 1 from the UH 49, pass is incomplete.

8:50 - On 3rd and 1 from the UH 49, pass is broken up, but there's a flag.

8:48 - It was pass interference. 1st down at the Fresno 41.

8:42 - On 1st down from the FSU 41, there's a flag after Brennan scrambles for a couple yards.

8:42 - It was offsides on FSU. Repeat first down.

8:40 - On 1st and 10 from the FSU 37, Hawaii takes a timeout.

8:25 - On 1st and 10 from the FSU 37, Brennan to Nate Ilaoa, who breaks a couple tackles and takes it to the FSU 25!!!

8:12 - On 1st and 10 from the FSU 25, Brennan scrambles to the 23 yard line.

7:32 - Brennan with a quick dump pass to Davone Bess, who takes it to the FSU 11 yard line!

7:28 - On 1st down from the FSU 11, Brennan to Bess in the end zone, who doesn't catch it, but there's pass interference on FSU. Ball on the 2.

7:25 - On 1st and goal from the FSU 2, Brennan finds Davone Bess for real this time FOR A TOUCHDOWN!!!!

7:26 - Dan Kelly's PAT is blocked. And Dan Kelly recovers it. It looked like a low kick. Nonetheless, Hawaii 55, FSU 23

7:21 - Dan Kelly kicks it off, again it goes out of bounds. FSU will have it at their own 35.

7:18 - On 1st and 10 from the FSU 35, West takes a lateral to the FSU 46. 1st down.

7:02 - On 1st and 10 from the FSU 46, the FSU RB takes it to the 48. 2nd down.

6:25 - On 2nd and 8 from the FSU 48, Norton rolls out and takes it to the UH 49. Flag on the play.

6:18 - 15 yard penalty on Brad Kalilimoku, 1st down on the UH 34.

6:08 - On a swing pass to West, Gerard Lewis and Ikaika Alama Francis drops him back at the UH 45.

5:25 - Norton scrambles to the UH 40. 3rd down.

4:55 - On 3rd and 16, Norton passes complete to the 30 yard line. 4th and 6. Will they go for it?

4:02 - On 4th and 6 from the UH 30, Norton completes a pass, but the receiver is stopped at the 25! Turnover on downs! AJ Martinez with the stop!

3:40 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 25, Brennan to Ian Sample on a wide receiver screen. Big hit on Sample on the 32. 2nd down.

2:50 - On 2nd down, Brennan to Sample to the 38 yard line for a first down!

2:30 - On 1st down from the UH 38, Brennan is sacked back at the UH 35, but there's a flag on the play...

2:15 - Holding penalty is declined. 2nd down and about 13.

1:55 - On 2nd and 13 from the UH 35, Brennan can't find a receiver open and scrambles into Bulldog territory for a first down!!!

1:25 - On 1st and 10 from the FSU 47, Brennan's pass is batted down at the line of scrimmage. 2nd and 10.

1:18 - On 2nd and 10 from the FSU 47, Brennan to Ross Dickerson, who is immediately run out of bounds to the FSU 46.

1:16 - On 3rd and 9 from the FSU 46, bubble screen to Jason Rivers, who takes it to the FSU 35 yard line for a first down!!!!

0:48 - On 1st and 10 from the FSU 35, Brennan to Ross Dickerson on the sideline, and he takes it all the way to the ENDZONE FOR A TOUCHDOWN!!!!!

0:41 - Dan Kelly kicks it low again, but it is good!!! Hawaii 62, Fresno State 23

0:39 - Dan Kelly kicks off, and it is taken back to the 33 yard line. Let's get Tyler Graunke in there for the 4th quarter!

0:20 - FSU gets the first down on a short pass to the FSU 43 yard line.

0:00 - End of third quarter. HAWAII 62, Fresno State 23


4th Quarter:

15:00 - On 1st and 10 from their own 43 yard line, Sean Norton takes it to the 50 yard line.

14:49 - On 2nd and 3 from the 50, Norton passes deep, but the receiver falls down and Gerard Lewis nearly has an interception! 3rd and 3.

14:46 - On 3rd and 3 from the 50, the Fresno RB takes it to the UH 38 for a first down.

14:35 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 38, the Fresno RB takes it to the 30 yard line. Come on D!

14:00 - On 2nd and 2 from the UH 30, the RB is stopped by Amani Purcell and Lawrence Wilson for no gain! 3rd down.

13:11 - On 3rd and 2 from the UH 30, the Fresno RB takes it to the UH 20. Come on D! You got em right where you want em!

12:42 - On 1st and 10 from the 20, the Fresno RB takes it to the 8 yard line. What the heck is going on? We need to blow them out!

12:09 - On 1st and goal from the 8, the RB takes it to the 4 yard line.

11:25 - On 2nd and goal from the UH 4 yard line, Lonyae Miller, the Fresno RB I've been referring to, scores on a rushing touchdown.

11:22 - PAT is good. Hawaii 62, FSU 30

11:20 - Fresno State kicks off and it is downed by Malcolm Lane for a touchback.

11:15 - Tyler Granke is in!!!

11:00 - On 1st down from the UH 20, Tyler Graunke throws a long pass over the middle to Jason Rivers all the way to the FSU 40!!!

10:30 - Shovel pass to David Farmer for a 2 yard loss.

9:50 - Graunke completes a pass to the 33 yard line. 3rd and 3.

9:00 - Graunke completes a pass to Davone Bess, who takes it to the 20, and there's a flag on the play.

8:56 - Personal foul, late hit on Fresno State. So the ball will be on the 10.

8:55 - On 1st and 10 from just beyond the 10, David Farmer takes it to the 6.

8:15 - On 2nd and 6 from the 6, Graunke scrambles and takes it to the 1 inch line! The ball comes loose, but he was definitely down.

7:57 - On 3rd and goal from the 1 inch mark, Graunke lobs it to Jason Rivers in the left corner of the end zone for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!

7:38 - Dan Kelly kicks it low AGAIN and it's blocked AGAIN, and AGAIN he recovers. Geez. Anyway, HAWAII WARRIORS 68, Fresno State 30

7:35 - Dan Kelly kicks it to the 5, and Chastin West is tackled at the 21 yard line by Guyton Galdeira.

7:25 - On 1st and 10 from the FSU 21, Norton's pass is incomplete, off the receiver's hands.

7:13 - Miller takes a big run to the FSU 46 yard line. Unfortunately for them, that stops the clock.

6:45 - On 1st and 10 from the FSU 46, Miller takes it to the 50. Okay, the last entry was silly. Sorry.

5:58 - Miller takes it to the UH 41 for another first down. Come on D with the STOP!

5:55 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 41, short pass to the UH 32. 2nd and 1.

5:20 - On 2nd and 1 from the UH 32, Miller takes it to the UH 24 for a first down.

4:45 - On 1st and 10 from the 24, Miller takes it to the UH 19. 2nd and 5.

4:10 - Miller takes it to the 17 yard line. 3rd and 3.

3:29 - Miller takes it to the 8 for a first down. COME ON D!!!!

3:10 - On 1st and goal from the 8, Miller is stopped by Rocky Savaiigaea and Guyton Galdeira for no gain.

2:30 - On 2nd and goal from the 8, Norton passes to the tight end for a touchdown. Man.

2:26 - PAT is good. Hawaii Warriors 68, Fresno State 37

2:17 - Pooch kick by Fresno, and it's taken back by Bully Fergerstrom to the UH 44 yard line.

2:00 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 44, Tyler Graunke Inoke Funaki takes it to the 50 yard line for a 6 yard gain.

1:07 - On 2nd and 4, Inoke Funaki is sacked back at the UH 48.

0:22 - Inoke Funaki takes it to the FSU 42 yard line for a first down.

0:00 - Clock runs down and it is the END OF THE GAME! FINAL SCORE - HAWAII WARRIORS 68, Fresno State Bulldogs 37

Ways to Follow the Hawaii at Fresno State Game

In Hawaii:

Watch it on K5

Listen to it on 1420 AM


Outside of Hawaii:

Watch it on ESPN Gameplan

Streaming video from WAC.tv

Streaming audio from Sports Radio 1420

And I'll probably be liveblogging it! GO WARRIORS!!!!!

GameDay: Hawaii at Fresno State

Dave Reardon's gameday preview highlights a key matchup in today's game.

Fresno State FB Roshon Vercher vs. UH linebackers

Vercher has one carry for 1 yard this season. But the 5-foot-11, 245-pound senior is a vital cog in the Bulldogs running game, and has been so for four seasons. He's paved the way for 1,000-yard rushers in three straight years: Wendell Mathis, Bryson Sumlin and FSU's current stud, Dwayne Wright (in 2003 and probably again this season). In 2004, Vercher led the way for 503 rushing yards in the Bulldogs' 70-14 win over the Warriors.

...

UH's linebackers -- especially inside guys Adam Leonard and Solomon Elimimian -- will have to find a way to deal with Vercher AND Wright, sometimes on the same play.

It'll be a great battle to watch.

Stephen Tsai's gameday preview has some statistics on the amazing Nate:

The NFL draft is six months away, but a scout for the Washington Redskins already is crafting a role for Ilaoa. "I see him as a fullback, for sure, but he's so elusive, we could isolate him in one-back formations," the scout said yesterday. "I watched a lot of film of that Hawai'i team, and I've never seen a guy like that."

The head of "Nasti Nation" has caught 24 of the 26 passes thrown in his direction. His yards-after-catch average is 14.01. He also is excelling in an unofficial statistic: yards after contact. An Advertiser study shows Ilaoa has gained an additional 248 yards after being hit initially. This season, according to The Advertiser study, Ilaoa averages 1.18 broken tackles per rush.

Gotta appreciate him while he's here. I hope he has a gigantic game against Fresno!

Stephen Tsai writes about the intensity of Fresno coach Pat Hill and his players.

"The first year when we got here, that's the way we decided to have a certain type of personality, and that's what we're going to be," Hill said. "We try to play hard every game we play. We try to play a physical style of offense and defense. That's what we try to hang our personality on. We look for certain personality-type players when we recruit. We're looking for a guy who has a personality that fits. Not every guy who goes to college wants to run the football in this day in age."

Was that a dig on Hawaii? I bet it was. Oooooo.

Jason Kaneshiro writes about the intensity of the Fresno fans.

Colt Brennan has been told all about Fresno State's "Red Mile" and Bulldog Stadium's reputation for burning the ears of opposing players.

Today, the Hawaii quarterback gets his first opportunity to experience it for himself.

"That's the one thing I've heard about the most," Brennan said as the Warriors prepared for their visit to Fresno. "The one stadium on the road that is kind of notorious throughout the WAC.

"I'm excited, and I know it's going to be a hostile environment, but I'm still excited."

Ferd Lewis reminds us that this is Fresno's homecoming game.

Once upon a time, in the first years of head coach June Jones' tenure, UH more than held its own on the road, going 3-0 in his first year (1999) and 8-7 between 1999 and '02. But road wins have been few and far between since with UH 4-13 from 2003 through this season. Which, in a nutshell, is why the Warriors haven't contended for a Western Athletic Conference championship in a while.

Probably not since the Fred vonAppen years have the Warriors been as popular homecoming guests. Not since 1985 --— a 4-6-2 season -- have they been booked for back-to-back festivities.

Next week is also New Mexico State's homecoming game. Let's go out and prove those bastards wrong! GO WARRIORS!!!!!

UPDATE: Forgot to add this preview from Mario Gomez of The Bark Board, with some things to look for during the game:

Hawaii’s game plan is to pass the ball as much as possible and score points. This season Fresno State has tried to control the ball and keep the game out of the hand of its quarterback. There is no doubt Hawaii will execute, but will the Bulldog defense step up in the red zone? If the Bulldogs come out with the same game plan it has every week this season and continues to not execute, it could get ugly. There is room for failure. Hawaii will score at will and often in drives of two minutes or less. Fresno State’s current offensive scheme will not be able to counter, if it falls behind early. Something has to change and it has to happen this week.

It'll be all about red zone execution for UH. We had terrible problems against Fresno last year, but something tells me this year's team won't have too many problems. UH's defense will once again be they key in this game. Once again, GO WARRIORS!!!!!

In California

Jason Kaneshiro interviews Fresno fans and supporters.

"The fans are staying faithful," said general manager Matt Billingsley. "They support coach Pat Hill, they support the football team and they love it. And with Hawaii coming in, I'm sure the fans will be ready and I'm sure the players will be ready to put on a good show.

"They were a little down about the loss (to Utah State), but there's another game, and you know (stuff) happens."

I'm sure (stuff) does happen.

Stephen Tsai writes that Ryan Grice-Mullins didn't make the trip because of his sprained ankle, and he may not even make the New Mexico State game.

"Those type of injuries are tough," said Jones, noting that right slotback Ross Dickerson was bothered by a sprained ankle for more than a year.

Left outside linebacker Tyson Kafentzis also was removed from the travel roster. There were plans to use Kafentzis, who is suffering from a hairline fracture in his right ankle, as a student assistant coach for this game.

Instead, Bully Fergerstrom replaced Kafentzis.

Dave Reardon writes that while Samson Satele is flattered to be invited to the East-West Shrine Game, he'd rather go to the Senior Bowl.

Satele said he will hold off on accepting the offer because he will only play in one postseason all-star game.

"If I get in the Senior Bowl, of course I'm not going to go in the other ones," Satele said. "It's an honor to be invited to any all-star game, but it's something I would have to do. And I don't want to risk getting hurt playing in too many all-star games.

"A lot of scouts are at the Senior Bowl. It's like being at the combine," he added.

What about the Hula Bowl? Eh?

And finally, Lori Gilbert of Recordnet.com has a profile of The Juggernaut, aka "Reagan Mauia":

He started dieting in November, cutting sugared-beverages, most carbohydrates and fast food out of his diet. After a month, he was 30 pounds lighter.

He's now playing at 283, he said, and he's just as strong, just as able to take a hit and just as capable of delivering one.

"I'm more elusive than I was," Mauia said. "I could run and play longer than I usually do. I feel better, more healthy."

...

The Warriors come to Fresno 3-2, 1-1 in the Western Athletic Conference.

"This might be the best team I've ever played on, as far as camaraderie, the way we practice," Mauia said. "The seniors take pride in helping the younger players, making sure they take care of business."

It's a good article and I wanted to excerpt the whole thing, but didn't, so you should go read it!

If you still doubt the power of The Juggernaut, here's a picture I am borrowing from this Sportshawaii.com thread. It was taken at the Nevada game and posted by a member named "sTuPiDiOt".



If you can't see the absolute destruction happening in that picture, here's a close-up taken from another thread.



KA-BOOOOM!!!! Holy crap! Poor dollie!

sTuPiDiOt, that's a great picture. Please take more! GO WARRIORS!!!!

Fresno Preview

Ka Leo sports reporter Rebecca Gallegos has a good preview of this Saturday's Fresno game.

The Bulldog defense will be challenged by Hawaii’s high-powered pass offense, currently second in the nation in passing yards. However, the Bulldogs rank third in the WAC in quarterback sacks (nine in five games this season), and will undoubtedly challenge Brennan. In last year’s meeting, the Fresno State defense held UH to a mere 13 points. The Bulldogs prevented the Warriors from scoring on five of eight red zone attempts and halted the Warrior offense on all three fourth-down attempts.

“We just couldn’t get in the end zone,” Jones said about last year’s offensive struggles versus Fresno. “Hopefully we can improve on that, and if we do, we’ll be OK.”

This team is better on offense, defense, special teams and the road than last year, and probably in quite a few years when taken as a whole. Everything's coming together for the Warriors, even in spite of all the injuries. This Saturday's game is gonna be a great one for Hawaii. I'm confident! GO WARRIORS!!!!

UPDATE: Here's a preview from USA Today. The Hawaii-Fresno section is at the bottom of the page. Here's an excerpt:

The key to his success could be the trench battle between C Kyle Young and Hawaii DT Michael Lafaele. Fresno QB Tom Brandstater needs to start hitting on some deep balls. After nearly letting a big lead get away, don't expect QB Colt Brennan to throttle back if the Warriors jump in front again. WRs Davone Bess and Ian Sample are the big-play threats. LB Dwayne Andrews and the Bulldogs' defense must also account for RB Nate Ilaoa, averaging 9.3 yards per touch as a rusher and pass catcher.

Samson Gets Invited

From Stephen Tsai, Samson Satele has been invited to the East-West Shrine Game.

"We heard he's a very good player and a very good person," said William Homer, the game's director of player personnel.

...

"(UH) coach (June) Jones has been really helpful," Homer said. "Hawai'i has a good program. We like to have guys from Hawai'i. We think Samson is very deserving. The bottom line is he's a very good player."

The game will be played Jan. 20, 2007, at Reliant Stadium. In previous years, the game was played in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Satele, defensive end Ikaika Alama-Francis, free safety Leonard Peters, and offensive tackles Dane Uperesa and Tala Esera are on the "watch list" for the Senior Bowl.

The Emperor, The S-King, whatever his nickname may be, Samson going pound you!

Chameleon

Stephen Tsai writes that the Warriors' utility man, Brad Kalilimoku, may start at outside linebacker against Fresno due to injuries to other players.

Kalilimoku, a conditional senior, was an outside linebacker as a first-year sophomore in 2004. He started at inside linebacker last season, Glanville's first at UH.

From spring practice through the Sept. 2 season-opening game against Alabama, Kalilimoku was a strong safety. He moved to outside linebacker after the Alabama game, and three days later, moved to inside linebacker when Solomon Elimimian was diagnosed with a partially torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee.

"What I like about Brad is he can run," Glanville said. "He has no stiffness in his hips at all."

Good to have a guy like Brad on the team. I wonder what "conditional senior" means? Maybe he needs to pass a bunch of classes in order to get another year? The article goes on to give an injury update on Ryan Grice Mullins, Tyson Kafentzis, Blaze Soares, etc.

Dave Reardon talks to Kenny Patton about his exceptional play this season.

"I'm trusting my instincts, and I'm not injured anymore. So I don't have to worry, 'Oh, I don't want to come up and do this because this might happen, or this is sore, or I can't break off this leg because my hamstring is sore.' On and on and on. I'd been hurt my whole career here.

"I'm praying that I stay healthy. Football is all about staying healthy. If I do get hurt, we've got depth now. I know if something happens to me the next guy will step up and play well," Patton added.

And finally, Ferd Lewis writes about the "finesse" label sometimes tagged to UH.

Around the Western Athletic Conference, in general, and here in Fresno, in particular, teams have taken note of just how physical these Warriors have become.

Once given the sometimes-back-handed compliment of being a "finesse" team in a muscle sport, the Warriors are rapidly gaining respect for their ability to punish opponents, too. Pass it over you or run it through you, these Warriors have shown an appetite and ability for both.

Perhaps nowhere in the nine-member WAC is that being taken more seriously than in Fresno this week where the Bulldogs, who have long prided themselves on a reputation for physical play, see that tag, not to mention the game, as being on the line when they face the Warriors Saturday.

Let's bring it to the Bulldogs! GO WARRIORS!!!!

Bleep

Nasty (Nasti) Nate passed over my question during his live chat on Stephen Tsai's blog today. Maybe he didn't see it. I'd like to think that. Not that he thought it was a stupid question... Nonetheless, it was another good Q&A set up by Mr. Tsai. Give it up to Nate for taking the time to answer the fans' questions. And also give it up to Davone Bess for answering my question! I submitted a question for him in an earlier post, and Stephen posted the answer on today's post:

Reader “Tombo” poses a question to slotback Davone Bess.

Tombo: “It looked like there was some good-natured trash talking between you and the Nevada DBs in the early going, but then it turned a little less good-natured toward the end. I guess because you kept catching the ball? In any case, what’s some of the best trash talk you’ve heard from or given to an opposing player?”

Davone Bess: “I remember one specific play (against Nevada). I caught the ball, and I was surrounded by five Nevada guys. (After the tackle), a guy was like, ‘Oh, (bleep), you (bleep). You’re a (bleep). You’re a (bleeping bleep).’ I try to be the bigger man. It seems every time I talk trash on the field, it kind of veers me off my game, and coach (June) Jones gets mad at me. It’s hard not to (talk trash), being from Oakland, but I’ve got to suck it up sometimes.”

Davone sounds like a robot with all those bleeps. I knew he was part cyborg. No human has those sorts of moves. Thanks to Davone for answering my question and Stephen for passing it along. And thanks to Nate for answering everyone else's questions. And finally, thanks again to Stephen Tsai for doing this again for the crazy UH fans!

Injuries

Dave Reardon has an injury update. Good news for Hercules Satele and John Estes.

Until yesterday, it was feared one or both might not be able to play Saturday because of knee injuries incurred during Saturday's 41-34 victory over Nevada. But MRI tests on both players came back showing no ligament damage.

"I could feel it wasn't that bad," Satele said. "And I'm not going to miss this week. I'm going back to California."

Thank goodness. But there are still a lot of injuries all around. Stephen Tsai has a whole list, as well as a coach's assessment:

(Tyson) Kafentzis said he is optimistic he will be able to play this week. If he is healthy, he probably would start at left outside linebacker.

Asked to rate Kafentzis' chance of playing, defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said: "I don't know. I'm not a doctor. But I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express."

Hee hee!

Ferd Lewis has an article about Pat Hill exhorting his fans to please support the team!

"If you saw someone struggling in a pool, you'd jump in to save them," Hill said. "Right now we are struggling a little bit and we need our fans there to help us out."

Come on Bulldog fans, it won't be the same without you!

Speaking of which, Ferd also has a column on the recent history of the raucous fans in Fresno.

This is, after all, where UH claimed a screwdriver was tossed at head coach June Jones. Where sportscaster Scott Robbs was once involved in a fight in the stands and a team doctor once responded to the taunts of Fresno fans by saying, in effect, we lost, but we get to go back to Hawai'i, you have to stay here.

So inhospitable have the surroundings been that Jones has not had the Warriors practice nearby since 2000, when members of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity took to their roof to heckle a UH practice adjacent to Bulldog Stadium. For this week, UH will stay overnight in Ontario, Calif. before coming in Friday evening.

"Oh, yeah, I've heard the stories," said UH quarterback Colt Brennan. "Everybody has."

Ferd goes on to write about the changes that have been made which will tone down the abuse. Either way, it'll still be a great homefield advantage for the Bulldogs. Be that as it may, I predict Hawaii by 21. GO WARRIORS!!!!!

Guards

Stephen Tsai writes about the injuries to starting guards Hercules Satele and John Estes.

The Warriors' pet running play is "Tampa Right," in which Hercules Satele pulls to the right as lead blocker for running back Nate Ilaoa.

Estes said he suffered his knee injury when he was clipped by a Nevada defensive lineman.

"I was blocking my guy, and some guy tackled me from the back and was holding my leg," Estes said. "The first time, I thought somebody got thrown into me, or he missed the ball-carrier or something. It was a cheap shot."

If Hercules Satele and Estes are both unavailable, then Samson Satele, Kaonohi and Sauafea would all start.

At least we're fairly deep at O-line, but let's hope the injuries to Hercules and John aren't serious so they can play against Fresno.

Speaking of Fresno, Ferd Lewis writes about the travails of Pat Hill.

"Nobody in this building is throwing in the towel," Fresno State head football coach Pat Hill staunchly maintained time and again yesterday.

In the midst of the deepest struggle of his 10-year tenure at Fresno State, a 1-4 start and 1-8 overall slide that he said, "burns my stomach and keeps me up at night," Hill remains, well, Bulldog defiant.

Despite their current losing ways, the Bulldogs will not be pushovers, especially in their stadium. Let's hope the Warriors can go up there and score early and often, and pull out a victory. GO WARRIORS!!!!

MSU With the Lawyers

Since lame excuses don't seem to work, MSU has their lawyers trying to find a way out of their obligations.

"I know our general counsel is in contact with Hawaii's," MSU associate athletic director John Lewandowski said.

That seems to be one of the few things the Spartans and Warriors agree on right now.

"It's between our attorneys and their attorneys," UH athletic director Herman Frazier said.

Lewandowski said the Spartans sent a letter to UH in January, requesting out of the contracted game because "it's not in our best interest to ask our kids to play 13 games."

Lewandowski said Michigan State (which lost to Hawaii here in 2004 and beat the Warriors in East Lansing last season) has no plans to play the Warriors again. Playing a 13th game that late in the season would interfere with school too much, Lewandowski said. "We'd rather have a game at the front end of the schedule."

Total B.S. See if that one sticks. For goodness sake, just come play the football game! You can bring your own frickin refs if you want. But remember, that's just one less available scapegoat! Come on MSU, don't wimp out!

Another Wrap-Up

Glendalyn Junio of Ka Leo writes a wrap-up of the Hawaii vs Nevada game. Here's a short excerpt:

The Wolfpacks’s back-up quarterback Travis Moore changed the entire pace of the game at the start of the fourth quarter. His performance didn’t come as a surprise to Head Coach June Jones.

“I expect [Tyler] Graunke to do the same thing,” Jones said.

I think it would be great if we had Tyler rotate into the games more often like last year. I like how Florida is rotating Chris Leak and Tim Tebow, though it looks like Chris Leak isn't enjoying it too much. Anyway, hopefully Tyler is in the process of getting his academics in order. He's an exciting player to have on the field.

Olchovy

Stephen Tsai reports on his Warrior Beat blog that receiver Patrick Olchovy is leaving the UH football team to concentrate on academics.

Olchovy, a backup slotback from New York, was on the travel roster for the Warriors' first two road trips.

But he is not receiving a football scholarship, and decided it would be best to concentrate on school work. He is on schedule to earn a bachelor's degree in December.

"He's just a great kid, and we miss not having him around," said Ron Lee, who coaches the receivers. "Everybody likes him."

Maybe after he graduates he can stick around to play as a senior? In any case, good luck to Patrick.

The post also has a funny quote from Jerry Glanville regarding Jeff Rowe's non-fumble call during the game. You need to go read the post to see it. And while you're there, you can ask a question of any UH player. Stephen's gonna relay the question to him and post the answer either tomorrow or the next day. I've done it before! And so should you. I'm gonna think of a new question right now...

One last thing, here's a quote from yesterday's Warrior Beat post.

Mauia also should be applauded for playing despite sprained AC joints in both shoulders. In the second half, Mauia could not lift his arms without wincing in pain.

Reader Tombo suggests Mauia should be nicknamed the “Juggernaut.” I agree he should have some nickname.

Woo hoo!!! That's pretty cool. But as I tried to explain in the comments, The Juggernaut is not Reagan's nickname. Rather, The Juggernaut takes the form of "Reagan Mauia" in order so that we may not be blinded by The Juggernaut's full power and light. It'll take a new form of quantum mechanics to fully understand the whole deal. Anyway, Stephen also asked what Tombo stood for. It's albacore tuna, best when seared and served with ponzu sauce. I'm getting hungry already. GO WARRIORS!!!!

The Glanville

I hope Jerry Glanville will stay at UH for a long time. The defense is starting to gel and you can't beat the quotes! Stephen Tsai talks to Jerry and the other coaches about his football mind.

"He remembers everything," UH head coach June Jones said. "He's one of the smartest guys, football wise, that I've ever been around."

Jeff Reinebold, who coaches the defensive linemen, said Glanville "goes back and pulls situations out of his hat from games when our players weren't even thought of. He's got a great football memory."

And Jerry gives some praise to the defense.

"Our offense doesn't keep the ball long, so we only have two minutes for our players to make adjustments," Glanville said. "They adjusted within two minutes. That's where, I think, our improvement has gone. They adjust so quickly it's like I'm coaching in the NFL again."

Dave Reardon writes about some of the mistakes UH had to overcome to pull out the win against Nevada.

Hawaii was assessed three personal fouls in the second quarter alone.

"I know it looks like our O-line was aggressive and hitting guys after the play," quarterback Colt Brennan said. "But it was only in retaliation to what Nevada was doing."

I don't know what Nevada was doing to rile up the UH players, but it sounds like it was working. I wonder if that was a strategy Nevada employed? In any case, UH players needs to retaliate (pancake!) during the next play, not push back after the play. Easy for me to say!

And Ferd Lewis looks ahead to Fresno. He also has a funny quote from June Jones.

"From the first time I watched them play against Colorado State (at Bulldog Stadium), by the middle of the third quarter the stands were empty. I'd never seen that before at Fresno. Hopefully, we can jump on them, get it started early and then their fans can throw screwdrivers (at) their players instead of ours."

He's joking folks! You'll need to read the rest of Ferd's column for some background on the "screwdriver incident." In any case, let's hope the Warriors can take it to the Bulldogs on Saturday. GO WARRIORS!!!!

Brennan with the Accolades

Colt Brennan has been named the WAC Offensive Player of the Week.

Brennan, a junior from Irvine, Calif. (Saddleback CC), completed 36-of-47 pass attempts for a season-high 419 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in Hawai‘i’s 41-34 win over Nevada. He also rushed seven times for 14 yards including one for a 6-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Ho hum! That's par for the course for Colt! I'm surprised UH didn't nominate Nate Ilaoa and his 219 all-purpose yards and like 7 exciting runs during the game. It's all about the Nasty (Nasti)!

But I'm just kidding about Colt. It's just getting too easy to take his greatness for granted.

Stats After Week 6

From the NCAA and ESPN.

Hawaii is 2nd in the nation in passing offense with 411 yards per game. UH is closing the gap on New Mexico State, which is 1st with 422 yards per game.

Hawaii is 2nd in the nation in total offense with 516.2 yards per game, just behind Louisville which is averaging 523.6 yards per game.

Hawaii jumps up to 10th in the nation in scoring offense with 35.6 points per game. Boise State is 6th with 39.33 points per game.

Hawaii is 80th in the nation in scoring defense with 24.4 points allowed per game.

Hawaii is 98th in the nation in total defense with 385.4 yards allowed per game.

Hawaii is tied for 114th in the nation in turnover margin with -1.4 per game.

Hawaii is tied for 115th in the nation in penalties with 8.6 per game.

No worries, it'll get better!

Colt Brennan remains 1st in the nation in points responsible for with 24.4 points per game.

Colt Brennan is tied for 1st in the nation in touchdown passes with 18.

Colt Brennan is 2nd in the nation in passing with 372.4 yards per game. NMSU's Chase Holbrook is 1st with 410.6 yards per game.

Colt Brennan is 2nd in the nation in total offense with 384.4 yards per game. NMSU's Chase Holbrook is 1st with 395.8 yards per game. Sounds like he gets sacked a lot!

Colt Brennan is 3rd in the nation in completion percentage with 71.4%

Colt Brennan is 5th in the nation in passing efficiency with a 172.8 rating.

Nate Ilaoa jumps to 18th in the nation in all purpose yards with 134 yards per game.

Nate Ilaoa is 42nd in the nation in rushing with 79.2 yards per game.

Davone Bess is 1st in the nation in receptions with 8.2 catches per game. Nate Ilaoa is tied for 55th with 4.8, Ross Dickerson is tied for 82nd with 4.2, and Jason Rivers is tied for 99th with 4 per game.

Davone Bess is 5th in the nation in receiving yards with 99.8 yards per game. Ian Sample is 50th with 67.25, Jason Rivers is 96th with 55, and Nate Ilaoa is 98th with 54.8 per game.

Adam Leonard is tied for 27th in the nation in tackles with 9.2 per game.

Adam Leonard is 22nd in the nation in solo tackles with 5.6 per game.

Leonard Peters is tied for 50th in the nation in passes defended with 1 per game.

NOTE: These aren't permalinks, so as the week changes, so will the stats.

Hawaii vs Nevada Newspaper Wrap-Ups

Stephen Tsai's wrap-up highlights the defensive stand at the end that preserved the Warriors' lead.

As the UH defense jogged onto the field, defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville flashed a grin.

"We set up at halftime what we would do if they got the ball that close," Glanville said. "The kids knew what to do. Give them all of the credit."

Defensive end Ikaika Alama-Francis recalled thinking: "We've got them right where we want them."

Patton said: "That's exactly what coach Glanville always says. That's what (safety) Leonard (Peters) always says. We believe it. We believe in ourselves. You could look in everybody's eyes and you could see it.

"I looked at Mel Purcell's eyes. I looked at Ikaika's eyes. I looked at Adam Leonard's eyes. When I looked at their eyes, I knew. We have no weak links on defense anymore. Everyone plays together. Everyone plays hard."

That was a great stop. Thank goodness! I have a feeling this will propel them against Fresno.

Dave Reardon's wrap-up has this quote from Michael Lafaele:

"I like this kind of game, where they keep coming after us. It shows how tough our defense is. It's a lot of fun. It makes the celebration a lot better," Lafaele said.

I hope this is the most points the defense gives up in a game for the rest of the year. More blowouts, less nail-biting cliff-hanging WHAT'S GOING ON!?!?! excitement like this! Don't get me wrong, it was a great game. It just gave me indigestion!

Wes Nakama highlights Leonard Peters for his great play during that goal line stand.

"I like to rise to the occasion," Peters said. "You know the receiver who always wants to get the ball with the game on the line? That's me on defense. I want to make the plays that make or break the game."

At the same time, Peters was quick to share the credit for the crucial goal-line stand.

"Everybody thinks I am the hero (on those plays), but it actually was the defensive line and the linebackers putting all that pressure on the quarterback and making him throw it early," Peters said.

Leonard's so awesome. Actually, both Leonards are so awesome!

"We went on the field knowing we had to make a stop," said linebacker Adam Leonard, who finished with a game-high 10 tackles. "We couldn't let this game go into overtime with the momentum they were getting. It was all heart, who wanted it more."

There has to be a Leonard's Bakery or some sort of clever malasadas turn of phrase to describe these two. Oh well, next time!

Ferd Lewis has more to say about that defensive stand, while Kalani Simpson highlights Kenny Patton's play during the stand, and in general.

"Oh, yeah. I have faith in myself," he said, after Hawaii held off the Wolf Pack 41-34 in a game that went down to the last stand. "I'm healthy for the first time in my career. I feel like I'm healthy, in shape."

He's showing emotion. After all of those years, he's letting everything hang out. He knows how Nate Ilaoa feels.

Speaking of Nate Ilaoa, two articles, one by Leila Wai, and one by the Star-Bulletin Staff highlight Nasty (or Nasti) Nate Ilaoa's amazing performance last night. From Wai's article:

"Nate was Nate," quarterback Colt Brennan said. "He was that rumbling, stumbling guy, making big plays for us.

"We love him, we love Nasti."

Why Nasti with an I? Wasn't Nasti Nate an R&B singer from the 80s? Nasty Nate is a football player! Oh well, Colt continues on:

"How many times I turned around and saw him breaking and cutting back. That's nasty. That's why we call him 'Nasti Nate,' because it's just nasty and you feel sorry for the defense. And all you can do is sit back and enjoy him while you have him."

The Star-Bulletin Staff's article also has an injury report:

Receiver Ian Sample seemed to have a sore hamstring, but went back in the game. Receiver Aaron Bain was dehydrated, and was taken to the locker room. Linebacker Timo Paepule had his left arm iced. Offensive lineman Hercules Satele left the game after what appeared to be a left knee injury. Outside linebacker Karl Noa had his right knee looked at by UH staff. Linebacker/safety Brad Kalilimoku had ice applied to his back rib area.

Sounds like nobody got seriously injured. Whew.

Wes Nakama has a quote from QB coach Dan Morrison about Colt Brennan's exceptional play.

"He's the most consistently accurate guy I've ever seen," Warriors quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison said of Brennan, who had 20 completions in 22 attempts at one point and finished 36 of 47 for 419 yards and four touchdowns.

"That kind of accuracy is really unique anywhere in the country. He has good vision and poise, and when he gets into a zone like that he can be unbelievable."

And he'll only get better! Yowza!

Here's video from the Advertiser of the post-game press conference.

And finally, Nevada coach Chris Ault talks about the errors that dogged his team.

"The good thing is we had a chance," Ault said. "But (the bad thing is) we didn't win it. As bad as we played, to have a chance of winning it at their 3-yard line and then not getting it done is pretty disappointing."

Sounds like June Jones after the Boise game! UH will definitely have to cut down on the mistakes and penalties the rest of the way. But I am confident, and so is this team. GO WARRIORS!!!!

Hawaii 41, Nevada 34

Holy crap, UH almost gave that game away. After being down by three scores, Nevada kept clawing back, thanks to their offense, and UH mistakes. Brennan's fumble almost made me crap my pants. But in the end, Hawaii won, and that's all that matters. The Warrior offense is looking amazing. The defense and special teams looked good at times, especially on that last stop, but those breakdowns just made it way more exciting than it had to be. UH needs to be mistake-free this coming Saturday at Fresno. And we need to cut down on the penalties! Let's hope this game was a learning experience! GO WARRIORS!!!!

UPDATE: Here are some unofficial stats from the game.

• Colt Brennan was 36 of 47 for 419 yards, with 4 touchdowns and no interceptions.


• Nate Ilaoa rushed 14 times for 151 yards. He also caught 8 passes for 68 yards for a total of 219 all-purpose yards.


• Davone Bess caught 10 passes for 139 yards and 1 touchdown.


• Ian Sample caught 5 passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns.


• Adam Leonard had 10 tackles, including a forced fumble and recovery.


• Solomon Elimimian and Leonard Peters had 8 tackles each.

LiveBlogging: Hawaii vs Nevada

All times Game Clock!

1st Quarter:

15:00 - Nevada will kick off. Ross Dickerson downs it in the endzone.

14:30 - From the Hawaii 20, Colt Brennan finds Ian Sample who scrambles to the UH 29!

13:52 - Brennan scrambles and dumps it to Davone Bess, who runs out of bounds at the UH 42!

13:38 - Brennan over the middle to Ross Dickerson for a five yard gain!

13:05 - From the UH 48, Brennan to Bess on a crossing pattern and he runs out of bounds on the Nevada 22!

12:47 - Brennan shovels to Nate Ilaoa and he bobbles but makes it to the 19.

12:05 - Brennan gets sacked back at the Nevada 23.

11:20 - On 3rd and 11 from the 23, Brennan finds Jason Rivers over the middle, but it's short of the first down.

10:44 - Dan Kelly kicks a 35 yard field goal! Hawaii 3, Nevada 0.

10:38 - Looked pretty smooth on that field goal. No bad snaps or anything!

10:38 - Dan Kelly kicks off, and it's taken at the goal line. Michael Malala stops him at the 18.

10:27 - Nevada and Jeff Rowe takes it from their own 18. Rowe completes a pass to the 30 yard line for a quick first down.

10:04 - Running back is stuffed at the line of scrimmage by Ikaika Alama-Francis!!!

9:30 - On 2nd and 10, Jeff Rowe runs it to the Nevada 38. 3rd and 2.

9:20 - Frm the Nevada 38, Nevada's RB Brandon Fragger breaks one and takes it into UH territory for a first down.

9:00 - From the UH 46, Rowe stumbles and is pushed out of bounds at the line of scrimmage.

8:45 - Rowe completes a pass to the UH 31. 1st down. Sheesh.

8:27 - Adam Leonard tackles Fragger behind the line of scrimmage for a loss!!!

7:47 - From the 33, Rowe completes a pass to the 24. 3rd down.

7:10 - On 3rd and 3 from the 24, Rowe completes a pass to the 20 for a 1st down.

6:45 - On a play action, Rowe throws a touchdown pass. Man, he was almost tackled in the backfield by I think it was Mel Purcell. Nonetheless...

6:36 - PAT is good. Hawaii 3, Nevada 7.

6:34 - Nevada kicks off and Malcolm Lane takes it out to the UH 26.

6:10 - Brennan throws it deep and it was nearly intercepted.

6:00 - On 2nd and 10 from the 26, Hawaii takes a timeout.

6:00 - After the timeout, Brennan swings it Ilaoa, who takes it to the 30. 3rd down and about 6.

5:20 - Brennan scrambles for a first down! There's a little ruckus at the end because Nevada thought it was a fumble, but he's down at the UH 39.

4:50 - Swing pass to Ilaoa, who loses a yard or two. 2nd and 12.

4:00 - On 2nd and 11 from the UH 38, Brennan finds Bess on the sideline in Wolf Pack territory for a first down!!!

3:52 - On 1st and 10 from the Nevada 48, Brennan finds Bess, who tries to scramble but is stopped for about a six yard gain.

3:20 - From the Nevada 44, Brennan finds Dickerson on a short pass, and Dickerson breaks it to the Nevada 26!!!

2:45 - Brennan over the middle to Dickerson to the 23.

2:01 - On 2nd down from the Nevada 23, handoff to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the 17 yard line. 3rd and 1.

1:17 - On 3rd and 1 from the Nevada 17, Brennan to Ian Sample for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!

1:10 - The play is being reviewed. Probably checking to see if Ian Sample broke the plane before stepping out of bounds.

1:10 - Okay, after review, the play stands. TOUCHDOWN!!!

1:10 - Daniel Kelly kicks the PAT. Hawaii 14 10, Nevada 7.

1:09 - Dan Kelly kicks it into the endzone, and the Nevada returner, Duane Sanders? takes it out to the 29.

0:45 - Robert Hubbard takes it to the 33 yard line for a 4 yard gain.

0:10 - Hubbard with a short gain to the 35.

0:00 - End of 1st Quarter. Timeout.


2nd Quarter:

Woops, the score is actually Hawaii 10, Nevada 7.

15:00 - On the first play of the 2nd quarter, there's a whistle before the play... false start on Nevada on #75.

15:00 - From the Nevada 29, Jeff Rowe passes incomplete. Looks like Kenny Patton broke up the play!

14:55 - Nevada punts and it looks like it was partially blocked... Nevada downs it around the 37. Timeout.

14:32 - Brennan finds Ian Sample WIDE OPEN on a long bomb for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!! 1st play on the drive!!!

14:19 - After the 63 yard touchdown pass, Dan Kelly kicks the PAT. Hawaii 17, Nevada 7.

14:08 - Dan Kelly kicks off and it's returned to the Nevada 21.

13:45 - Short gain on a run to the 23.

13:00 - Rowe finds Caleb Spencer for a first down to the 33 yard line.

12:40 - Rowe swings it to Hubbard, who takes it to his own 42.

12:16 - The refs measure and it's barely a first down after the spot.

12:00 - From the Nevada 43, Hubbard breaks it into UH territory but HE FUMBLES!!!! And Kenny Patton recovers!!!! Hawaii ball!

11:42 - From the UH 39, Brennan to Ross Dickerson on a short pass. Dickerson takes it to the UH 49 for a first down.

10:55 - Brennan to Sample for a short gain into Nevada territory.

10:20 - On 2nd and 4 from the Nevada 45, Brennan almost gets sacked, but scrambles for a short gain. There's a flag on the play...

10:08 - So it's a first down, but a late hit on Reagan Mauia, I think, which will bring it back into UH territory.

9:50 - From the UH 47, hand off to Nate Ilaoa who takes it to the Nevada 36 yard line! Nice run!

9:18 - Brennan is nearly picked on a sideline route. Incomplete.

9:14 - On 2nd and 10 from the Nevada 36, Brennan over the middle to Ian Sample for a 1st down to the 24!

8:50 - Brennan runs it to the 19 yard line, out of bounds.

8:43 - Brennan finds Bess, who goes out of bounds at the Nevada 15.

8:38 - On 3rd and 1 from the Nevada 15, looks like a false start. Bad timing for that penalty...

8:38 - On 3rd and 6 from the Nevada 20, Brennan to Jason Rivers for a 11 yard gain!!! Rivers runs out at the 9.

8:33 - On 1st and goal from the 9, UH takes a timeout.

8:33 - Back from timeout, Brennan with a TOUCHDOWN PASS to Davone Bess!!!! Looked way too easy.

8:29 - Dan Kelly kicks the PAT. Hawaii 24, Nevada 7.

8:29 - Flag thrown after the play. Personal foul on Mel Purcell. Penalty will be assessed on the kickoff.

8:29 - Dan Kelly kicks off from the 20 yard line, and it's received at the 15. Ball is taken out to about the 38.

8:15 - On 1st and 10 from the Nevada 38, Fragger with a short gain to the 40.

7:30 - On 2nd and 8 from the Nevada 40, bubble screen to Caleb Spencer to the 43. 3rd down.

6:50 - On 3rd and 5, Rowe completes a clutch pass to Jack Darlington, and he broke the tackle and takes it to the UH 35.

6:31 - Jeff Rowe scrambles for a short gain, and it looks like a late hit on Hawaii.

6:25 - Penalty on David Veikune takes it to the 17. On 1st down, Rowe completes a pass to Spencer to the UH 3 yard line.

5:50 - On 1st and goal from the 3, Fragger takes it in for a touchdown.

5:44 - PAT is good. Hawaii 24, Nevada 14

5:40 - Nevada kicks it off, and Malcolm Lane takes it out of the endzone to the 16 or 17 yard line.

5:12 - On 1st down from the UH 18 yard line, Brennan to Bess to the 25 yard line.

4:30 - On 2nd and 3 from the UH 25, Brennan overthrows his receiver. 3rd down and 3.

4:20 - On 3rd and 3 from the UH 25, Brennan on the option pitch to Nate Ilaoa who rumble bumble stumbles to the Nevada 47!!!! First down!!!

3:50 - From the Nevada 47, Brennan tries the long bomb to Jason Rivers, but he falls down. Wow!

3:42 - On 2nd and 10 from the Nevada 47, hand off to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it all the way to the Nevada 13 12 yard line!!!!

3:25 - Timeout Nevada.

3:21 - On 1st and 10 from the Nevada 12 yard line, Brennan hands off to Reagan Mauia, and he's dropped for a two yard loss. There's some pushing and shoving between the UH and Nevada players after the play, but no flag.

2:34 - On 2nd and 12 from the 14, the ball is nearly intercepted in the end zone. Yikes.

2:22 - On 3rd and 12 from the 14, Brennan hands off to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the 3 yard line. Short of the 1st down.

1:53 - Timeout Hawaii. Are they going for it?

1:53 - Wow, Nate just bowled over that guy at the five yard line on the previous play... and it looks like UH is going for it!

1:50 - On 4th and 1, Brennan on a bootleg, and he completes a TOUCHDOWN PASS to Ross Dickerson!!!!!!!

1:48 - Kelly kicks the PAT and it's good! HAWAII 31, Nevada 14!

1:48 - Nevada coach Chris Ault doesn't look very happy on the sidelines.

1:44 - Nevada downs Dan Kelly's kick in the end zone.

1:25 - On 1st down from the Nevada 20, Jeff Rowe completes a pass over the middle to the Nevada 47.

1:00 - On 1st down, Jeff Rowe's pass is deflected. 2nd down.

0:52 - On 2nd and 10 from the Nevada 47, Rowe finds Caleb Spencer, who takes it to the UH 36.

0:34 - Rowe completes another pass to the UH 22.

0:22 - Rowe over the middle, and it's tipped and incomplete. But looks like pass interference on Myron Newberry.

0:17 - On 1st and goal from the 7 yard line, Rowe throws to nobody in the endzone.

0:14 - Before the play, someone jumps. Let's see what the call is. Offsides on Hawaii.

0:14 - From the 4 yard line, Jeff Rowe completes a touchdown pass over the middle.

0:10 - Nevada's PAT is good. Hawaii 31, Nevada 21.

0:10 - Nevada kicks a pooch kick, and it's taken by one of the up-lineman.

0:00 - Clock winds down. END OF HALF. Hawaii 31, Nevada 21

HALFTIME - Here are some stats at the half:

• Colt Brennan is 22 of 27 for 252 yards and 4 touchdowns with no interceptions


• Nate Ilaoa has 5 rushes for 97 yards


• Ian Sample has 5 catches for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns


• Davone Bess has 7 catches for 81 yards and 1 touchdown

3rd Quarter:

15:00 - Dan Kelly kicks off to start the second half. It goes out of the endzone. Nevada will have it on their own 20.

14:56 - Errr, offsides on Hawaii on the kickoff. Nevada will have it on their own 25. Hawaii will kick off again.

14:56 - Dan Kelly kicks off from the 30, and it's taken at the 7. It's taken out to the Nevada 33.

14:33 - From the Nevada 33, Jeff Rowe hands off to Fragger, who takes it to the 35.

13:55 - On 2nd and 8 from the Nevada 35, Rowe completes a pass to the Nevada 45 for a first down.

13:30 - On 1st and 10 from the Nevada 45, Rowe completes a pass to the UH 49.

12:50 - On 2nd down from the UH 49, Rowe hands off to Fragger, who takes it to the UH 44 for a first down. UH player is down....

12:43 - Looks like they're tending to C.J. Allen-Jones.

12:35 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 44, Jeff Rowe throws to Caleb Spencer, who drops the pass. 2nd down.

12:25 - On 2nd and 10 from the UH 44, Rowe hands off to Fragger, who takes it to the 39. 3rd and 5.

11:50 - On 3rd and 5 from the UH 39, Rowe throws it to nobody. Gotta punt!!!

11:45 - Nevada punts a pooch, and Kenny Patton takes it back to about the UH 39. He was an up-man on the play.

11:30 - On 1st and 10 from the Hawaii 39, Colt Brennan overthrows Ian Sample on a long route over the middle. Close!

11:15 - On 2nd and 10 from the Hawaii 39, Brennan shovels to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the 50 yard line. He fumbles, but it goes out of bounds at the 50. Whew.

11:00 - On 1st and 10 from the 50, Nate Ilaoa takes the hand off to the Nevada 41 yard line.

10:10 - On 2nd and 1 from the Nevada 41, Brennan threads it to Davone Bess on the sideline to the Nevada 23 yard line!!!

9:40 - Brennan over the middle to Bess to the Nevada 10!!!

9:15 - On 1st and goal from the 10, shovel to Ilaoa, who takes it to the 8 yard line.

8:35 - Handoff to Ilaoa for short gain. 3rd and 7.

7:55 - Brennan's pass into the end zone is deflected. 4th down. Gotta try the field goal.

7:52 - Dan Kelly's 25 yard field goal attempt is good! Hawaii 34, Nevada 21

7:48 - Dan Kelly kicks off into the endzone, where it is downed.

7:25 - On 1st down from their own 20, Jeff Rowe completes a pass to the 26. 2nd and 4.

6:45 - Hubbard carries it for a 1 yard gain. 3rd and 3.

6:05 - On 3rd and 3, Jeff Rowe's pass is broken up by Adam Leonard!!! Gotta punt!

6:02 - Nevada punts to Myron Newberry, who takes it out to the UH 43 yard line.

5:50 - On 1st down from the UH 43, Colt Brennan hands off to Nate Ilaoa, who breaks one and takes it to the Nevada 39!!!

5:15 - On 1st down from the Nevada 39, Brennan passes to Rivers on the sideline to the Nevada 29. 1st down!

4:50 - On 1st down from the Nevada 29, Brennan swing pass to Mauia, who takes it to the 26.

4:25 - On 2nd and 7 from the Nevada 26, Brennan on the bubble screen to Chad Mock, who takes it to the Nevada 17 for a first down!

3:50 - Shovel pass to Nate Ilaoa who rumbles to the 1 yard line!!!

3:31 - On 1st and goal from the 1, hand off to Nate, who fumbles in the end zone. Nevada recovers in the end zone for a touchback. CRAP!!!

3:00 - On 1st and 10 from the Nevada 20, Jeff Rowe hands off to Hubbard, who fumbles!!!!! Adam Leonard recovers on the 20!!! Haha!

2:35 - Nice strip and recover by Adam Leonard on that play.

2:25 - On 1st and 10 from the Nevada 21, Brennan throws low over the middle. Incomplete.

2:20 - On 2nd and 10 from the Nevada 21, Brennan to Ross Dickerson, who scrambles to the Nevada 8 yard line. Nice play!

2:15 - Brennan to Dickerson for about a 1 yard gain.

1:35 - On 2nd and goal from the 7, Brennan barely misses Chad Mock in the end zone. Too high.

1:20 - On 3rd and goal from the 7, Brennan to nobody in the end zone. Gotta try the field goal.

1:19 - Dan Kelly's field goal attempt is blocked. Nevada tries to return it but gets tackled at the 8. Looks like someone came off the edge.

0:50 - On 1st and 10 from the Nevada 9, Fragger takes the hand off to the 26 yard line.

0:22 - On 1st and 10 from the 26, Rowe to Spencer, who takes it out to the Nevada 44. Timeout Hawaii.

0:03 - Hand off to Fragger, who takes it into UH territory, but there's a penalty against Nevada.

0:00 - It was holding, so there will be one more untimed down in the 3rd quarter.

0:00 - On 1st and 14 from the Nevada 41, Rowe gets hit from behind and Amani Purcell recovers!!!! Looks like it was Karl Noa with the forced fumble!!!


4th Quarter:

15:00 - Looks like the play is being reviewed for some reason.

15:00 - The play is reversed! BS! Nevada will have the ball back.

15:00 - The replay officials said Rowe was down before he fumbled.

15:00 - Looks like the refs are reviewing it again. Huh.

15:00 - Okay... Nevada will have the ball.

15:00 - On 2nd and 18 from the Nevada 33, Rowe completes a pass the Nevada 49. 3rd down and about a yard.

14:16 - On 3rd and 2, there's a flag.

14:16 - False start on Nevada. 3rd and 7.

14:04 - Jeff Rowe completes a pass to the 50. 4th and less than a yard.

13:20 - On 4th and 1, they go for it, and the running back is stuffed and FUMBLES!!! UH recovers!!!

13:20 - Okay, nix that, the runner was stuffed before he fumbled. UH gets the ball back on the 50.

12:58 - Shovel pass to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the 29 yard line!!!

12:33 - Brennan over the middle to Davone Bess, who catches it at the Nevada 1 yard line!!!

12:00 - On the QB option, Brennan is sacked, but there's a flag.

11:56 - It was illegal motion on Chad Mock. 1st down on the 6 yard line.

11:48 - On THIS QB option, Brennan saunters in for the TOUCHDOWN!!!!

11:45 - Dan Kelly's PAT is good. Hawaii 41, Nevada 21

11:42 - Dan Kelly kicks off, and it's taken back to the Nevada 24.

11:15 - Travis Moore is replacing an injured Jeff Rowe for Nevada, and he completes a pass to Caleb Spencer, who takes it into UH territory.

10:49 - From the UH 43 yard line, the RB takes it to the UH 30.

10:25 - 2 yard gain to the 28. 2nd down and 8.

9:50 - On 2nd and 8 from the Hawaii 28, Travis Moore throws incomplete, but there's a flag on the play.

9:44 - It was offsides on Jacob Patek. 2nd and 3 on the UH 23.

9:40 - Moore completes a pass to the 13 yard line for a first down.

9:30 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 13, Moore throws a touchdown pass to the tight end. Wow.

9:08 - PAT is good. Hawaii 41, Nevada 28

8:56 - Malcolm Lane takes the kickoff out to the 18 yard line.

8:50 - On 1st and 10 from the 18, Brennan with a quick pass to Chad Mock, who takes it to the 29.

8:13 - On 1st and 10 from the 29, hand off to Nate Ilaoa, who takes it to the UH 37 yard line!

7:20 - On 2nd and 2 from the UH 37, quick pass to Nate Ilaoa, who powers his way to the UH 48!!!

7:10 - Hercules Satele is injured on the field. Timeout.

7:05 - Hercules Satele is being replaced by Laupepa Letuli.

6:45 - On 1st and 10 from the UH 48, swing pass to Ilaoa, who bobbles and drops it.

6:32 - On 2nd and 10 from the UH 49, Ilaoa takes it for a short gain. 3rd down.

5:55 - On 3rd and 10 from the UH 49, Brennan is sacked back at the UH 45. Timeout Nevada.

5:41 - Kurt Milne punts it away and it is fair caught at about the 9 yard line.

5:18 - Travis Moore is sacked by Mel Purcell, but he advances to the 12. And there's a facemask called on Michael Lafaele. 15 yard penalty.

5:00 - On 1st and 10 from the 29, Moore completes a pass and it's taken all the way to the UH 27 before Leonard Peters knocks him out of bounds.

4:42 - Moore scrambles to the 20 yard line.

4:16 - Moore completes a pass to the 5 yard line.

4:12 - On 1st and goal from the 5 yard line, Moore throws a touchdown pass. Oh lordy.

4:05 - PAT is NO GOOD. Hawaii 41, Nevada 34. The kick was wide left.

3:57 - Nevada with the pooch kick, and Nevada recovers, but Nevada was offsides on the play!

3:50 - On the re-kick, Nevada kicks it and Malcolm Lane takes it out of bounds to about the 17.

3:41 - Officials are conferring to see if a fair catch was called.

3:41 - So there's a penalty on Hawaii because the kick was returned after a fair catch was called. So it'll be 1st and 10 on the UH 5 yard line.

3:30 - Hand off to Ilaoa to the 7 yard line.

2:50 - Brennan scrambles and is hit. He fumbles. NEVADA RECOVERS! WHAT THE HELL!

2:43 - Nevada has the ball on the UH 3 yard line, and UH will call a timeout.

2:39 - On 1st and goal from the 3, the running back is stuffed at the line of scrimmage.

1:57 - Moore throws incomplete in the end zone. 3rd and goal.

1:53 - Moore throws into the end zone and out of bounds!!! 4th and goal. Of course they're going for it.

1:50 - On 4th and goal, the pass is incomplete in the end zone!!!!!

1:20 - On 1st and 10 from the 3, Ilaoa takes it out to the 5 yard line. Nevada calls a timeout.

1:10 - On 2nd and 8, Ilaoa takes it out to the 17 yard line!!! 1st down!!! Game is all but over.

0:42 - Brennan downs it, but there's a flag.

0:42 - Nevada takes a timeout. No flag, I don't think.

0:39 - Brennan takes a knee.

0:00 - GAME OVER.

FINAL SCORE - Hawaii 41, Nevada 34

WAC Scores

The Hawaii-Nevada game is about 30 minutes away, so here's some scores from other WAC games today.

La Tech 14
Boise 55

NMSU 20
Idaho 28

Fresno State 12
Utah State 13

Wow, Fresno's not doing so good this year. UH plays soon!

Ways to Follow the Hawaii vs Nevada Game

On Oahu:

Go to Aloha Stadium!!!

Watch Oceanic PPV.

Listen to AM 1420.


In Reno:

Watch KREN-TV

Listen to AM 630


Outside of Hawaii or Reno:

Watch it on ESPN Gameplan.

Streaming video from Hawaiian Tel Media.

Streaming audio from Sports Radio 1420.

Live stats from GameTracker via the UH Athletics football page.

And I will most likely be liveblogging it! Go Warriors!!!

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!!!!

Lafaele

Stephen Tsai profiles starting nose tackle Michael Lafaele.

(Jeff) Reinebold, who has become a devoted video student, declared that Lafaele, "for the position he plays, is playing as well as anybody I've seen on tape. And I've watched everybody's people when we're doing our cross-scouting evaluation. He has taken his play, in my opinion, to the next level.

And he's playing through injury too. And he'll be back next year.

Dave Reardon writes about Dennis McKnight's effect on the special teams!

Anyone who doubts that Dennis McKnight has helped put the special back into special teams at Hawaii only had to see the Warriors' first kickoff of last Saturday's 44-9 win over Eastern Illinois.

Mike Malala's somersault over the Panthers' wedge that ended with him toppling ballcarrier Adam Kesler with his foot looked like something from a video game. It was just one of several outstanding plays by the UH kickoff coverage team that had EIU starting behind its own 20 five times.

Ryan Keomaka, Blaze Soares and Brashton Satele will be out with injury on Saturday, so hopefully McKnight can get some equally lolo guys to replace them!

Woops

Remember how I said not to ask Colt Brennan silly questions during his live chat on Wednesday? Well, I apparently wrote some silly questions for Nate Ilaoa on another post and Stephen Tsai actually passed them along to him. Here are the questions along with Nate's answers.

Reader “Tombo” to running back Nate Ilaoa:

Tombo: “When are you gonna release your freestyle mixtapes?”

Nate Ilaoa: “Pretty soon. That’s always going to be my answer.”

Tombo: “And you gotta rap on next year’s Colt (Brennan) for Heisman DVDs."

Nate Ilaoa: “Uh, no. I’m graduating.”

You can read the rest of the post for actual football-related questions and answers from other players. Sorry Nate. Thanks Stephen for asking it though. Every UH football fan should definitely check out The Warrior Beat (née "Tsai's Matters") every day for insights, quotes and cool stuff like this. And Nate Ilaoa will get to answer real football questions next week because Stephen will be hosting another live chat with Nate as the guest of honor. Be there!

======

And here's some stories from this morning that I couldn't get to because of the billy goats:

Dave Reardon profiles offensive lineman Tala Esera.

Stephen Tsai talks to June Jones about his wish to have a couple coaches recruiting full time on the mainland.

Both articles state that Brashton Satele will be out a couple weeks because of a pulled hamstring. Other news and notes are in both articles.

And finally Jaymes Song has a preview of the Nevada game.

"This is like revenge. Last year we had opportunities to win the game. We blew it. We don't want the same thing to happen," said Warriors receiver Davone Bess, the NCAA leader in receptions with 7.75 a game. "They came back and played in our home bowl. Some of us are taking it a little personal."

Bess, who has 31 receptions for 360 yards and three touchdowns, said earning a win is crucial for Hawaii to stay in the hunt for the WAC title.

"We're not counting ourselves out. Anything can happen. That's why it's called the wacky WAC," said Bess, who had a 171-yard receiving performance against Nevada last year.

GO WARRIORS!!!!

Adam

Stephen Tsai profiles inside linebacker Adam Leonard.

"It's just school and football," he said. "I can't remember the last time I went out and watched a movie. It's just being disciplined. I want to do well in school because I know, with football, it would be easy to put that part on the side. And I want to be committed to football. You know how medical or law students make sacrifices? Football is my job right now. If I want to do well, I have to make sacrifices."

Good to have a guy with such talent and dedication on this team. And not just him -- a lot of Warriors are studying and working hard to be better for the school and the team.

Dave Reardon examines Nevada's "pistol" offense.

The subtle differences in angles and timing caused by the unique alignment creates problems for a defense, Jones said.

"It does make a difference. They do good misdirection stuff. The pass protection is unique and different. They're a little different," Jones said. "The play-action passes, all kinds of different things."

Nevada quarterback Jeff Rowe runs the balanced attack (162.2 yards rushing per game/178.2 passing) proficiently. Kamehameha graduate Caleb Spencer is the top receiver with 25 catches for 248 yards.

Speaking of Kam grad Caleb Spencer, The Nevada Appeal profiles him and his frustration in not catching enough passes this season.

"It's like my mom said, you can only control what you can control," Spencer said. "It was a tough win. I was really happy we won and my wife was excited, but it was frustrating personally because I had no catches."

Spencer is a proud young man. No doubt he felt that he didn't contribute, or get a chance to contribute. That in itself is frustrating when you are used to being the leading receiver all the time like Spencer has been the last couple of years.

Well, for his peace of mind, let's hope he can catch some passes against UH. It will be some solace after the Warriors gigantic win. GO WARRIORS!!!!

Colt Q&A

I got to ask one question during Colt Brennan's live chat at Stephen Tsai's blog. And he answered! Anyway, here's the link to the transcript of the live chat. And posted below is my silly question and Colt's answer.

Comment from: Tombo [Visitor]
hey colt, thanks for doing this for the fans!

you mentioned on the June Jones show that June let you pretty much run the offense during a two minute drill during the EIU game. do you think there may be a time this season he'll let you call an entire quarter, or pull a peyton and call the whole game? thanks!
Permalink 10/03/06 @ 12:10

Comment from: coltbrennan [Member]
Tombo,
Everyweek coach gives me a little bit more, whether its audibles or checks at the line. The more i can show him i know whats going on, the more he trusts me. I dont think i'll ever get a quarter or a game, i think coach has to much fun calling plays, but he will continue to let me call 2 minute drives.
Permalink 10/03/06 @ 12:16

Thanks to Colt for answering our questions, and to Stephen for hosting the chat. Hope there are more in the future!

Tsai's Matters

Don't forget, Stephen Tsai will be hosting a live chat with Colt Brennan over at his blog today. He's also been submitting reader questions to the players. Here are some answers he's gotten back. Anyway, think of some good questions for Colt, not questions like, "Colt, how come you so ono?" I will hopefully be able to ask him a question if I can get away from work.

Fast Ones

Stephen Tsai profiles Ian Sample.

Head coach June Jones said Sample is now the No. 1 right wideout.

"He's doing a great job for us," Jones said.

Tsai also profiles Malcolm Lane.

Jones said Lane will be used as a kick returner and backup wideout in this week's game against Nevada. By playing in Saturday's game, Lane, who graduated from an American high school in Germany in June, forfeits his opportunity to redshirt this year.

"It's an honor for me to play as a true freshman," Lane said. "And you never know what's going to happen down the road. You might get hurt, and you might need your redshirt year then. I'm glad coach Jones is giving me this chance."

Watch out next year, Michigan State! Oh that's right, they're wimping out of their commitment. Watch out Rebels!

Dave Reardon writes that UH is wary of the Wolf Pack.

"After watching the game tape I think that we have to play a lot better than that to beat Reno," Jones said yesterday at his weekly news conference. " ... Offensively I don't think we blocked their scheme as well as we needed to block it. And because of that we're going to get more of it. We're going to have to be mentally a little bit more ready than we were."

It will definitely be a great game. Let's hope UH cuts down on the mistakes!

And Kalani Simpson feels the Nevada game will bring back the fans to Aloha Stadium.

Nevada. Defending champs. A good offense, decent athletes, well coached. And, after winning the Hawaii Bowl in OT, last Christmas, you have to think the Wolf Pack will be one of the few Aloha Stadium visitors not intimidated by the trip.

There could be fireworks. This is a big one.

I'm genuinely excited. Can you feel it?

If you're on Oahu, you definitely gotta make it out to the stadium. Even if you're on the FUTGAS list, the Financially Unable To Go Aloha Stadium list, you need to borrow some money from grandma and go! GO WARRIORS!!!

MSU

Michigan State is trying to back out of next year's game in Hawaii. Sounds like John L Smith is being a crybaby about it. What a huge surprise. Here's the official line from MSU:

"Obviously, when we signed the contract there was no way to know about new NCAA legislation approving a 12th game," Lewandowski said. "And, we don't feel like it is in the institution's best interests to play 13 games with the time element that our student-athletes already have, so we were not interested in playing a 13th game."

And that doesn't make any sense because they've had Hawaii on the 2007 schedule since 2002. If that was the real reason, they should've just kept their schedule at 12 games instead of adding a 13th and then trying to drop UH. They should just tell the truth -- that John L Smith is too afraid to come down. But they gotta make some lame excuse because of their whiny coach.

UPDATE: Ferd Lewis also wrote a column about it.

It shouldn't be a financial burden for MSU since it need not cost the Spartans a cent. UH was contracted to provide airfare for a 120-member party, 60 hotel rooms for four nights and a $30,000 cash guarantee. Nor was the officiating crew to be an issue since UH has been bending over backwards — way too far, in fact — to give Big Ten teams the neutral crews they have asked for. Wisconsin got one last year and Purdue is due one this season.

It is too bad we probably won't see John L. here. It is more disappointing the Spartans might not be coming, either.

Monday

Dave Reardon writes about the greatness of Colt Brennan.

Brennan is a junior, but if he keeps completing passes at a 70 percent rate with a 5-to-1 touchdown to interception rate, he could be gone, too.

Some NFL scouts may see him as a bit frail at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, but many smaller quarterbacks have succeeded in the pros.

For now, Jones and the 2-2 Warriors hope Brennan can continue to roll like Rolovich did at the end of 2001 -- starting with Saturday's WAC game against Nevada.

Stay Colt, stay! National champs next year! For real!

In his "Warriors Replay" Dave Reardon takes a glimpse into the future.

The Play: Inoke Funaki rolls right and spots Malcolm Lane open downfield on the right sideline, behind the defense and more than 40 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Lane makes his first college catch and goes for a 58-yard gain before he is brought down by Irvin Jean-Charles.

Stephen Tsai writes that David Farmer will be handling the snapping duties on field goals and PATs. June Jones was mad on Saturday!

Jones said Ingram will remain as the long-snapper on punt attempts.

Jones made the switch because "it's time to get the job done. ... It better get right or we'll have problems."

Farmer said: "I think he was kind of upset. He came on the sideline and told me I'm snapping now, and walked away."

Let's hope this is solved and no breakdowns happen against Nevada.

And finally, Stephen Tsai is gonna have a live chat with Colt Brennan tomorrow at noon Hawaii time on his Warrior Beat blog. While this blog will have a live chat with spam posters. Be there!

Stats After Week 5

Stats taken from the NCAA website.

Hawaii is 2nd in the nation in passing offense with 409 yards per game. New Mexico State is 1st with 442 yards per game.

Hawaii is 3rd in the nation in total offense with 500.5 yards per game. New Mexico State and Louisville are 1 and 2.

Hawaii moves up to 17th in the nation in scoring offense with 34.25 points per game.

Hawaii is 69th in scoring defense with 22 points allowed per game.

Hawaii is 88th in total defense with 363.75 yards allowed per game.

Hawaii is 90th in rushing defense with 160 yards allowed per game.

Hawaii is 117th in the nation in turnover margin with -1.75 per game. Sadness.

Colt Brennan remains 1st in the nation in points responsible for with 23 per game.

Colt Brennan is 2nd in the nation in total offense with 372.3 yards per game. New Mexico State's Chase Holbrook is first with 413.5.

Colt Brennan is 10th in the nation in passing efficiency with a 170.8 rating.

Davone Bess is 1st in the nation in receptions per game with 7.75.

Davone Bess is tied for 13th in the nation in receiving yards per game with 90. DJ Hall of Alabama is the guy he's tied with.

Nate Ilaoa is 49th in the nation in all purpose yards with 112.75 yards per game.

Adam Leonard is tied for 33rd in the nation with 9 tackles per game.

Leonard Peters is tied for 26th in the nation in passes defended (PBU, interceptions) with 1.25 per game.

Hawaii vs Eastern Illinois Newspaper Wrap-Ups

Ukjent Person, the Mad Swede, has a wrap-up with a lot of quotes from Colt Brennan. Sounds like they were having fun out there.

"The defense was bouncing around, making it hard to read," Brennan said. "We fell back on what we know and what we're taught. I would throw the ball, and somebody would be right there to catch it. I don't think we played the best we can play. But we made the plays when we needed to make the plays. Luckily, the ball was in our court. The ball bounced our way. Did I leave out any other basketball analogies?"

Sounds like the defense was having fun too.

The Panthers combined for 8-of-21 passing for 57 yards. Starter Mike Donato was 2 of 8 for 15 yards.

"The quarterback was running for his life," inside linebacker Adam Leonard said. "It's hard for a quarterback to put the pass on the money when he's running around."

Purcell said: "He looked like he was scared. I would be a little scared if I saw Ikaika coming off the edge."

The Warriors ended up with a season-high three interceptions.

Dave Reardon's wrap up has this quote from Colt:

"This is a level we were never on last year," said Brennan, who led the nation in touchdown passes in his first year in June Jones' offense last fall.

I hope this means Colt will throw for 350 yards in every first half, so Graunke and Funaki can play a lot!

In a Leila Wai article highlighting Inoke Funaki's first night holding kicks, we find out why The Graunke didn't play.

Funaki was also slated as the immediate backup to Colt Brennan instead of usual No. 2 Tyler Graunke, who was benched because he missed classes.

Tyler! Be cool, stay in school! Wai also talks to Funaki about his second half stint at QB.

"It helped to build my confidence," Funaki said of the long tosses to Rivers and Lane. "That I could do it, if I just stay in there and go through my reads, just do what coach told me to do.

"It was all right, but all that lingers is the stuff I missed. I know there are some good things we did, but I think it's just me. I get down on myself. We had some good plays but all I remember is the stuff I missed."

Jason Kaneshiro highlights Ian Sample's big night last night.

"I felt like Ian Sample was one of our most consistent wideouts for a couple of years," Hawaii coach June Jones said. "Unfortunately, he hurt his knee last year, but he's a good football player. ... I was happy he had some success, because I think it'll just snowball from here."

Way to go Ian!

Dayton Morinaga highlights the performance of C.J. Hawthorne, who got a start at corner.

"I wouldn't say I justified anything," Hawthorne said. "But I feel like I got my opportunity to play and I made some plays."

Hawthorne got the first interception of his Hawai'i career in the third quarter of last night's game. It came off a tipped pass, and he dived to the turf to make the interception.

The same article also gives an update on The Juggernaut.

Hawai'i reserve running back Reagan Mauia was not in uniform last night, but he said it had nothing to do with an injury.

"Coach told me just to rest for this game and be ready for the next one," said Mauia, who is considered the team's best blocking running back. "It's a long season, so I'm fine with it."

That's good news. I just think he would've had a HUGE night last night! Oh well.

And finally, the Star-Bulletin staff finds out that Michael Malala is nuts!

The play of the night may have come early in the opening quarter on Hawaii's first kickoff of the game. Senior safety Michael Malala, putting the psycho in special teams, decided not to try to bust the return wedge, but to jump right over it. He took off like a running back hoping to leap over the pile and into the end zone. He hit someone's head, went over in a somersault and took out the Eastern Illinois return man by hitting the ballcarrier in the head with his foot on a flying leap. It looked like something out of a kung fu movie.

I hope somebody has video of it!

UPDATE: Forgot to add that EIU wouldn't mind coming back again and again. This article also has a lot of pictures.

Here's a link to a video of the post-game press conference, posted by the Honolulu Advertiser.

And finally again, Kalani Simpson is already geared up for the Nevada game. It should be a good one!