UH vs NMSU Wrap-Ups

The Advertiser has game stats and a scoring breakdown.

Stephen Tsai gets some players' reactions to going 8-0.

"It's an awesome feeling," said Brennan, a third-year Warrior who has watched the ascent from 5-7 in 2005.

"We've come a long way," Brennan added. "To think about my first year, to be 8-0 right now ... and, to be honest with you, I feel the season is just getting started."

"It feels great," said weakside linebacker Adam Leonard, who led the Warriors with 10 tackles, two backfield tackles and an interception. "We have to focus on our next game so we can be 1-0 against our next opponent."

Dave Reardon's wrap-up gets reaction from NMSU coach Hal Mumme.

"I think Hawaii is a really good team," NMSU coach Hal Mumme said after losing to UH for the third time in as many years.

"They're fast and they're a lot bigger than I thought they'd be. I thought they'd be a lot smaller without (Melila) Purcell and those other guys."

Jason Kaneshiro writes about the performance of the UH defense.

"We knew they were going to get passing yards, but the way we played tonight, I was just amazed," said safety Desmond Thomas. "We came with what our coach calls a 'kick-A' attitude."

NMSU's upset hopes were stifled early on as the UH defense's first six appearances resulted in two interceptions off tipped passes, two punts and two fourth-down stops, as they accomplished a few of their goals along the way.

"We wanted to get turnovers. We wanted to make them earn what they got, and play good on third- and fourth-down situations," UH defensive coordinator Greg McMackin said after watching the defense allow NMSU to convert on only five of 16 third-down chances and one of four fourth-down attempts.

Stacy Kaneshiro also writes about the UH defense.

Early in the second quarter, a UH punt pinned the Aggies to their 14. Defensive end Karl Noa dropped Holbrook for a 14-yard loss, causing a fumble that was recovered by another Aggie. On the next play, he helped box in Holbrook to allow Leonard to make a sack for a 2-yard loss, making it fourth-and-16 from the 7. That led to the Aggies punting from their end zone and Myron Newberry's 29-yard return to the NMSU 12 that set up Dan Kelly's 27-yard field goal for a 16-0 lead.

"I basically came in free because Adam (Leonard) did a good job of picking up two guys," Noa said of his sack.

Michael Tsai writes about Dan Kelly missing two PAT attempts after making 50 in a row.

"Tonight was a little out of character," Kelly said. "It's ironic (that the miss came against the Aggies) but it's not anything that anybody else is doing. It happens and it's all on me."

Kelly's 50 consecutive makes is a school record. Jason Elam is second with 46.

"I never plan to miss one and I don't plan to miss another one for the rest of my time here and, if I play professionally, for the rest of my career."

Also from that article, JoPierre Davis talks about his pick six, and KHNL anchor Stephanie Lum's Job Swap with Vili the Warrior is discussed. The Star-Bulletin's Extra Photo Coverage has a picture of her in full regalia. Chawan Cut, cue your machine!

Billy Hull writes about Ryan Grice-Mullins' big night.

Twice, he had drops on simple out routes where nobody was within 5 yards of him.

"It's something I don't do," Grice-Mullins said. "I was too anxious to get up field and start running. I've got to catch it first."

But it was basically the same route that Grice-Mullins scored his second touchdown on as he finally held onto the ball and found plenty of room in front of him to scamper down the sidelines for the 42-yard score.

That play was the perfect example of what distinguishes the junior standout from other receivers, according to Lee.

"He's so fast," Lee said. "That was just a 3-yard route and like that he took it all the way."

Nick Abramo gets reaction from some Aggies players as well more from Hal Mumme.

"Not doing anything with those turnovers was indicative of our whole night," NMSU coach Hal Mumme said. "We did not play together as a team at all. We'd have 10 guys out there playing and one who didn't want to play. Or we'd have somebody that didn't want to make a hit or a block or didn't want to catch the ball.

"We played offense a little. We played defense a little. And we got our asses kicked by a great football team. There's no excuses. It was bad coaching and bad playing."

The Star-Bulletin Notebook has the streaks and records being approached, tied or broken by Colt Brennan, Davone Bess and Jason Rivers. There's also injury reports on Keao Monteilh, Desmond Thomas and Jacob Patek.

Brian McInnis writes about superstitions, rituals and traditions some of the UH players have.

Michael Tsai writes about Colt Brennan's performance.

Despite his impressive stats, Brennan's performance was admittedly uneven — a fact that he attributes to a solid defensive scheme by the Aggies.

"The came out with different zone looks, they tried all-out blitzes and they did a really good job of disguising their defenses," he said.

"They were tough, but we did what we had to do and our defense came out and did a great job, too."

Said head coach June Jones: "Colt was not at his best tonight, but six touchdowns is still pretty good."

Paul Arnett writes about Colt Brennan, his ankle, and what he's looking forward to.

What Colt has done the past several weeks on a suspect right ankle keeps alive Hawaii's dreams of playing on a BCS stage. Having another bye week also allows that tender ankle to toughen for a difficult stretch drive that includes home games with Boise State and Washington.

"To be honest with you, it seems like we got the job done the first eight games and now the real season starts vs. Fresno," Brennan said. "My ankle still hurts, that's just the way it is. I got leg-whipped and stepped on, but hey, I played through it."

Ferd Lewis writes that the UH players feel they should improve even more going forward.

"We still haven't played our best game — not even close," Grice-Mullins said. "I don't think we've hit our stride yet," Brennan said. "We came closer today but you could see our defense gave us a ton of opportunities to score and we kind of messed up some of those opportunities."

To a man, the Warriors will tell you that in many cases the only people who have stopped them this season have been, well, themselves. That's not arrogance so much as an understanding of what they should be capable of and how lofty the bar has been set on their goals.

Pretty scary!

Going back to Reardon's article, here's a quote from Colt Brennan to wrap it up.

UH now has a bye before hosting Fresno State on Nov. 10. Brennan said the Warriors want to approach the final four regular-season games with a looser mind-set.

"Right now I think our throttle is in neutral," Brennan said. "Our mentality's about to switch to full-on attack. We've got nothing to lose. It's not about making mistakes, it's about kicking butts."

Awww yeah.