Warrior Fever, BCS, Big Plays, Washington

Robert Shikina writes about the fan frenzy surrounding UH's championship season.

The whole state seems to be sharing in the University of Hawaii football team's championship victory Friday night.

"You're going to see a little more pride with the state of Hawaii, and people will walk with a little more swagger now," Lt. Gov. James Aiona said yesterday.

The Warriors' winning ways are boosting state pride and boosting business, said Eastside Grill owner Robbie Acoba.

"It helped everybody," he said. "It helped the whole state business-wise, from merchandisers to the run-of-the-mill grill and bar."

Stephen Tsai talks to several players about fan, friend and family reaction to Hawaii's victory over Boise. Colt Brennan talks about what it means for the UH players that have come before.

"I don't think this championship is solely for this team," Brennan said. "It goes to so many teams, ever since coach Jones got here. All of those teams built up this standard, and now we've taken it to the next level."

And he discusses what this team has learned about winning.

Brennan said the Warriors' comeback victories on the road instilled confidence.

"We could be down by 14 or 20 points in the fourth quarter, and we still believe we're still in that football game," he said. "That's the difference in this football team, and that's the difference between winning and losing. That's what a lot of analysts don't realize about what football is and what winning is."

Dave Reardon writes about where Hawaii may end up in today's BCS rankings, which will be released later today.

UH's 39-27 victory over Boise State on Friday -- coupled with losses by No. 9 Oregon and No. 13 Texas -- is expected to push Hawaii up two spots. There's an outside chance that No. 18 Tennessee could move past the Warriors after winning 52-50 at Kentucky, but it is unlikely.

Paul Arnett has a column about WAC commish Karl Benson's and UHAD Herman Frazier's faith in the BCS system.

Benson is confident that if Hawaii takes care of business Saturday night against the Pac-10 Washington Huskies, the Warriors will finish high enough in the BCS standings to merit an at-large selection, a sentiment shared by Hawaii athletic director Herman Frazier.

MSNBC contributor John Tamanaha writes that if the Warriors go undefeated, they deserve to play in a BCS Bowl.

Sure, a couple of Hawaii’s victories were of the less-than-dominating variety. Overtime wins over Louisiana Tech and San Jose State aren’t signature victories, but they were both on the road, and the Warriors showed their mettle while overcome deficits in each. The same can be said of their 28-26 victory at Nevada, which led up to Friday’s validating victory over Boise State.

Taking care of business needs to be rewarded. Hawaii has won 21 of its past 22 games, and that one loss to Boise State last season was just avenged.

And whoever was holding this sign at Aloha Stadium is awesome:

Critics will point to Hawaii’s lightweight schedule, but you can’t hold that against these Warriors. Nobody wanted a piece of them. Michigan State was on the 2007 slate, but paid a hefty sum to buy out of the game. Apparently, a couple days on the beach in Waikiki weren’t worth the substantial challenge that Hawaii presents at Aloha Stadium.

Amid the pandemonium on the field after the game, a proud fan paraded around with a sign that said: “People pay us not to play us!” How many teams can say that?

Dave Reardon discusses Colt Brennan's longshot Heisman candidacy and has this week's Warrior Replay. Here's #5:

5. D-line depth

The Setup: Hawaii 39, Boise State 27, 6:25 remaining, fourth quarter, Boise State ball, fourth and 7 at Hawaii 24.
The Play: DE John Fonoti beats star LT Ryan Clady and sacks Tharp for a 12-yard loss and fumble. DT Joshua Leonard recovers.
The Impact: The big play by two of Hawaii's backup defensive linemen emphasizes the team's depth up front. It also helps Hawaii ice the game by consuming the rest of the clock in 13 plays, finishing up inches from the Boise State goal line.
Defensive coordinator Greg McMackin: "We were more disciplined in the second half, but it came down to the players making plays."

Robert Collias of the Maui News writes about Hawaii's special teams play against BSU.

“All week long we emphasized special teams,’’ said Bess, a junior. “My freshman and sophomore years we had troubles with the kicking game against them. We wanted to make sure that didn’t happen this year. The guys on the line did a really, really good job of taking care of their assignments, just executing on special teams and it paid off.’’

Bess said Brotzman and his unorthodox style is hard to deal with.

“Somewhat, it is hard to deal with but at the same time we just wanted to do our part,’’ Bess said. “We didn’t give up any fakes and that was our main goal. We stayed poised and we executed and it worked out.’’

And Ferd Lewis writes about the importance of not having a letdown against Washington.

The school's first outright Western Athletic Conference championship in football has been realized, the Boise "jinx" exorcised and the unbeaten season extended. The two-year win streak stands at 12. All deserving of a hearty pat on the back for the Warriors and necessitating fan revelry to be sure.

But there is a cutoff point at which attention needs to return to what lies ahead for UH rather than immediately behind. There comes a juncture when the big picture is paramount. Let the celebrative hangover from the Boise State victory linger too long and this season of opportunity closes its regular season with a thud rather than a blast.