White Out, BSU, Ikaika Alama-Francis Update

For UH fans going to New Orleans, bring your white shirts.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl is more than a week away but Head Coach June Jones has already called his first play. And, this one is for the fans.

Jones is calling for a "White Out" in the UH sections and is asking all UH fans in attendance at the Superdome to wear a white shirt. Georgia Head Coach Mark Richt has called for Bulldog fans to wear black shirts.

"This is something that both the UH and Georgia fans can have some fun with and it will be unique to our game," Jones said. "UH fans can wear green shirts around New Orleans during the week to show their UH pride and then sport a white one at the bowl game."

Dave Southorn of the Idaho Press-Tribune writes about Boise State supporting Hawaii. Yes, it's true.

Beside the entire 50th state pulling for the Warriors in their game, they’ve got the back of the Broncos, who know from experience what it means for a WAC team to even reach a BCS bowl game.

“We’re all about Hawaii,” Boise State head coach Chris Petersen said. “I think it gives the conference a lot of credibility, especially if they can win. If they show up and aren’t too hyped up, I think they have a great chance.”

Boise State took out a 7-by-10-inch full-color ad in the Honolulu Advertiser on Wednesday congratulating the Warriors on their season, telling them to “WAC ‘em in New Orleans.”

The Broncos and Warriors have developed an amicable rivalry while both sharing the honor of being the only WAC teams to reach one of the five BCS games.

“We have a ton of respect for them, for what they’ve done,” Brennan said. “I know we were pulling for them against Oklahoma. With Fresno State, our rivalry is a little more hot-headed, but with Boise State, there’s a lot of respect. I have never experienced anything like it. It always feels like we’re both fighting for the same cause.”

This was in Chawan's compilation from last night, but check out what Boise coach Chris Petersen says at the end of this video segment by KHNL's Jason Tang. Classy.

Meanwhile, Georgia's offensive coordinator Mike Bobo is getting some tips from LaTech head coach Derek "I didn't swear at Davone Bess" Dooley. Tip #1 - Ask the refs to penalize UH for performing the haʻa. I'm just kidding. I'm pretty sure I'm kidding.

"I talked to him about them and their personnel and the mindset that we have to get our kids in and what to expect," Bobo said. "They're going to play aggressive, they're going to play hard and they're going to come after you. I know they scored 44 on them and that's the highest output anybody's scored on them. I think they're a very good defensive football team. I expected with that being a high-scoring league, that they would give up more points."

And finally, here's an article from David Birkett of the Journal Register News Service, giving us an update on Ikaika Alama-Francis, who may get an opportunity to start next season.

The Lions spent a second-round draft pick on Ikaika Alama-Francis in April expecting him to eventually be a starter.

Next year might be eventually.

With Kalimba Edwards likely to be released in the offseason, Alama-Francis could have every opportunity to win a job in camp. The Lions have several holes to address on defense -- linebacker and cornerback chief among them -- but need to upgrade their pass rush desperately.

"I'm counting on him being a major factor, really," Lions coach Rod Marinelli said. "I've looked at him inside as a pass rusher (in nickel situations). He's a big, strong left end and he's got a great motor. He's a want-to type of guy."

Still, he was poised to crack the rotation midseason until a pulled hamstring sidelined him for three games. Two weeks ago he returned and passed Edwards on the depth chart, and last week he made four tackles (two solo) in a 51-14 loss to San Diego.

"That's what I'm working for," Alama-Francis said when asked if he envisions himself as a starter next year. "The more I'm out there the better everything feels. And when you have that confidence level you tend to play a lot better."