Friday Night News

One more day!

News below compiled by Chawan "Lego Nut" Cut.

Part 1 has news from KHON's John Veneri and KGMB's Liz Chun, Guy Hagi (with the weather) and Tim Sakahara, who reports on a green t-shirt shortage.



Part 2 got a cool segment from KITV's Pamela Young about a UH vs UW reindeer lawn display, Keoki Kerr reports on the price and availability of tour packages to say, New Orleans around New Years, and Robert Kekaula has a game preview. KHNL's Jason Tang has a preview, Marvin Buenconsejo talks to the fans and the UH band, and Sharie Shima got the weather.



And finally, UHBows has uploaded a crapload of videos this past week or so, including this interview with June Jones on FSN today.

UH News from Around the Nation

There's been a lot written about Hawaii, the BCS and what-if playoff scenarios over the past week-- from brief mentions to full-on articles. Below are some of them...

From Payton Towns III of the Courier Herald in Georgia, in a column making a case for playoffs:

While we’re talking about sense, how is it that Hawaii is at No. 11 and hasn’t lost a game all year? They just won the WAC beating Boise State who went to a BCS game last year.

I know one of the problems for Hawaii is the fact its schedule wasn’t hard. But if there was a college playoff we wouldn’t have that problem.

Sandy Penner of The Bulletin in Philadephia has a great column advocating playoffs, and saying UH would deserve a shot.

Which brings me to Hawaii, which is as exciting and as talented a team as you'll find in college football.

The logic that it can't play with the big conference teams would hold some water if there was evidence to back that up. If we learned anything from this wacky 2007 season it's that nobody is much better than anyone else. Brennan is as good as any QB in the country and Hawaii coach June Jones is probably the best offensive mind on the college level.

I refuse to believe that fans wouldn't watch if Hawaii was involved in the championship game this year. As a college football junkie, I would've been more stoked last year if it was Florida against Boise State for the title. And I know I would've gotten a better game out of it because Ohio State was run out of Glendale in January.

The class system is damaging because there's no path to the national title for the non-BCS members. None of these so called "mid-majors" will ever have a preseason ranking high enough to make them a Top 10 team when the first BCS standings come out in October. And they will always get leapfrogged by big conference teams that already have lost because their league supposedly isn't powerful enough.

Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch in Ohio is another playoffs advocate who mentions UH.

What if Hawaii goes undefeated and the national champion has two losses? Perhaps it's still possible to dismiss a Western Athletic Conference champ out of hand, but not for much longer. The Warriors, for instance, have NFL talent at skill positions. They don't deserve a shot at a national title? Why, because of their schedule?

In the midst of all this love, gotta have some bitterness.

Washington at Hawaii - Thank goodness the Warriors weren't ranked No. 6 in the preseason, or they'd be on the verge of a phony national title like the one BYU stole in 1984. Hawaii, 38-17.

Yikes! Okay, back to nicer articles:

Chris Wright of the Indianapolis Star writes about teams deserving of a shot to be champs.

Why? Victory over then-No. 19 Boise State was as impressive as any West Virginia or Ohio State registered. The flag-football nature of the Warriors offense, all of which starts with record-setting quarterback Colt Brennan, is fun to watch, if not to defend.

Why not? Its schedule is the weakest in D-I. Hawaii wanted to play Michigan; the Wolverines rejected. Michigan State paid Hawaii $250,000 to get out of its scheduled game. USC also said no, and Florida coach Urban Meyer told reporters that Hawaii is a great place to vacation, but no place to play. "We offered to play everybody," Hawaii coach June Jones told reporters. "No one wanted to play us."

Hawaii fan "Rad" has a great post about the team on The Bleacher Report.

Winning the way we did earlier in the season helped build a few things you can't coach: Character, Camaraderie and Chemistry.

This team is as complete a team as there is in the nation. They are all brothers and they are literally one for all and all for one.

People can go their whole lives and never truly have the feeling this team is overflowing with. It's so powerful, it's engulfed the State of Hawai'i with a feeling that can only be described as a "glow". People on our roadways are a little bit nicer, bosses are a little less bossy, wives are a bit more understanding, friends in football are finding a closer bond to their fellow brothers and sisters.

Derek Clarkston of the Kodiak Daily Mirror will be watching tomorrow's game from Alaska.

I hate to see the Huskies lose. I can’t stand it.

But, I’m also enjoying the season the Warriors are putting together and would hate to see their BCS hopes dashed by a pretty lousy Dawg squad.

I know many ... err ... everybody thinks Hawaii probably doesn’t deserve a BCS bowl, but just look at what happened last year when a WAC team played in one.

Joe Ellison of the Nevada Appeal thinks UH deserves to be in a BCS bowl, but wouldn't be surprised if the Warriors were bumped out.

No. 5 on my list is undefeated Hawaii, who should be ranked ahead of every two-loss team. The Warriors finally reached No. 12 in the BCS, where in theory with a win over 4-8 Washington they would automatically be invited to one of the five major bowl$, and turn the Nevada-Louisiana Tech match into a winner-take-all battle for one of the three WAC bowl bids. But knowing the BCS, with Arizona State playing tomorrow and ranked directly behind Hawaii, even with a win the Warriors are not a sure-fire lock to remain at No. 12. If Boston College defeats No. 6 Virginia Tech, and USC beats rival UCLA, it is perhaps possible that Arizona State could move Hawaii down to No. 13 with a victory over 5-6 Arizona. Shutting an undefeated Hawaii team out of a major bowl would be a travesty, but it certainly wouldn't be a shocker coming from the BCS.

John Henderson of The Denver Post wants to lose a bet he has with Karl Benson and see UH in a BCS game.

Erase the opponent from your TV screen and you're looking at the most exciting offense in college football. It's wilder than Boise State's a year ago. Colt Brennan isn't just a run-and-shoot-system quarterback. He's a 6-foot-3, surefire first-round draft choice throwing to three NFL-caliber receivers who will drive LSU's ballyhooed but slumping defense crazy.
As with me, word is spreading among the media and voters.
''They're slowly coming around,'' Benson said Tuesday. ''I heard ['ESPN College GameDay's' Kirk] Herbstreit yesterday acknowledge he was wrong earlier after watching Hawaii play the last few games and [believes Hawaii] is deserving of a bowl.''

Jake Curtis of The San Francisco Chronicle can think of several controversial issues that will be brought up if Hawaii defeats Washington and does or doesn't get into a BCS game. Here's one of them:

5. The Hawaii Issue, Part III: Hawaii's game Saturday probably won't end until after midnight on the West Coast, which is 3 a.m. in the East, so most folks will go to bed Saturday not knowing what to expect Sunday morning. The BCS fate of a team like Florida or Illinois could depend on the outcome.

Of course most of these points don't matter if UH doesn't beat the Huskies, who by the way, should be landing in Hawaii right around gametime. Here's to a great game and a memorable night for the UH seniors.
GO WARRIORS!!!!!

Karl Benson on College Football Live

In a phone interview, talking about UH, the WAC and the BCS. And as he's speaking, watch as ESPN shows the same highlights over and over and over again! Thanks to UHBows.

Friday News - Washington

Hawaii News:

Ka Leo's Rebecca Gallegos has a preview of the game.

Dave Reardon talks to the players and coaches about playing a team with "Pac-10 talent."

"We showed that at the beginning of the summer when they couldn't get enough top BCS schools to play us in the first place. That should tell you something there, you know? We're not worried about that," said Grice-Mullins, one of three UH players on pace to go over 1,000 yards in receiving this year. "Football is football. A game is a game. All you have to do is go out there and win, no matter who we play. Boise made the BCS last year and people thought we'd struggle against them. That just tells you it's the players and who wants it most."

Billy Hull talks to two Huskies from Hawaii, Wilson Afoa and Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, about coming back home to play against UH.

"This isn't go home and play your friends," Te'o-Nesheim said. "The whole nation is going to be watching. This is a huge deal."

Afoa and Te'o-Nesheim passed up opportunities to play for Hawaii to travel to the Pacific Northwest.

Both cited wanting to experience playing in a major conference against the nation's best teams as reasons for leaving the islands.

Little did they know Hawaii was on the verge of establishing itself as a top-15 ranked team.

"I couldn't even imagine UH playing a game as big as this when I was in high school," Te'o-Nesheim said. "I can't imagine what it's like for them over there. It's going to be really exciting."

Ferd Lewis has a column about Washington coach Tyrone Willingham.

Stephen Tsai writes about Colt Brennan, his life in Hawaii, the fan frenzy surrounding him, and his thoughts about leaving. Tsai also has quotes from many of the seniors on their best UH memories.

Susan Essoyan profiles Colt Brennan and his family.

Paul Arnett discusses the facilities and some of the bureaucratic difficulties involved in upkeeping and upgrading them.

Another story about those lovable scalpers.

UPDATE: Saw this on Garret's site -- Lanaly Cabalo of The Garden Island profiled DB Kenny Estes.


Washington News:

Christian Caple of The Daily has a preview of the game.

Don Ruiz of The News Tribune interviews Huskies from Hawaii, Wilson Afoa and Daniel Te’o-Nesheim. Here are a few quotes:

“I watched UH football when I was there, but I wasn’t a super hard-core UH football fan,” Te’o-Nesheim said. “They never did this good when I was there.”

“I’m happy for the state of Hawaii, where the program has gone,” Afoa said. “I respect coach (June) Jones and where he has taken the program to. But I have no regrets picking Washington over Hawaii.”

The Seattle Times' Bob Condotta details two previous matchups between UW and UH.

Condotta also has a profile of the Warriors' linebacker Adam Leonard. He also talks to Tyson Kafentzis, also from the Washington area.

Molly Yanity of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has an article about Colt and his Heisman chances.

The Final Helmet is Returned

And they give it to Kekaula again. Inoke's getting his helmet back, but whoever took it peeled off the stickers first. Anyway, all of the helmets have been returned, which is amazing.



The video also has a weather report for the game. And below, KHON profiles Davone Bess, KGMB previews the game, KHNL discusses the Honolulu Hale tree lighting ceremony conflicting with the game, and also has a feature on the fans at Aloha Stadium, and then back to KITV for a story about the seniors. Thanks again Chawan.

From the Blogs: Contests, Cartoons, Practice

Stephen Tsai's Warrior Beat got several contests going on. Prizes include t-shirts, tickets to the banquest, and sideline tickets to the Washington game. Be there! He also has details of something that might be showing on the ESPN2 broadcast this Saturday.

And after that, Colt Brennan, Davone Bess, Ryan Grice-Mullins and C.J. Hawthorne went to the Black Point for an ESPN shoot. The segment, which will air during Saturday's game, will show Brennan drawing up a play in the sand. The receivers then run the routes.
And UH wonders why people think it runs a gimmick offense.

And this was from a couple days ago, but the Leahey & Leahey blog has an Aqua Teen Hunger Force clip which has a great representation of the typical Hawaii hater, as well as a bonus Cartman clip.

And Dave Reardon has a post listing the seniors who will be honored on Saturday night (and those who may be petitioning for an extra year). There's also a few words from Yahoo's Mike Huguenin about some possible BCS scenarios for UH, as well as some details about this morning's practice.

Jason Rivers, Timo Paepule, Fale Laeli and Aaron Bain looked very comfortable this morning at practice. Maybe because they’d returned to the site of their high school workouts, the FieldTurf surface at Saint Louis School. UH assistant coaches Cal and Ron Lee, who led Saint Louis to 43 zillion Prep Bowl titles, were in their element, too.

Colt a Finalist, Davone an All-American

Looks like Colt Brennan is a finalist for the 2008 Manning Award.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl announced today the names of the 10 finalists for the 2008 Manning Award, given to college football's top quarterback.

This year's 10 finalists include: Erik Ainge (Tennessee), Sam Bradford (Oklahoma), Colt Brennan (Hawaii), Chase Daniel (Missouri), Dennis Dixon (Oregon), Graham Harrell (Texas Tech), Matt Ryan (Boston College), Tim Tebow (Florida), Patrick White (West Virginia) and Andre' Woodson (Kentucky).

"Each year, the competition for the Manning Award intensifies," said Ray Jeandron, Sugar Bowl President. "This season, there were many outstanding performances as quarterbacks across the country displayed tremendous character and led their teams with great success. Our 10 finalists are all representative of this success and worthy of being honored with this prestigious award."

And Davone Bess is a Rivals 3rd team All-American.

University of Hawai'i receiver Davone Bess was named to the Rivals.com All-America third team. He was the only Warrior named to either the first, second, or third teams.

Rivals.com had this to say about UH's leading receiver: "Bess ranks second among all active receivers with 281 career catches and 3,508 career receiving yards. He has 96 catches for 1,164 yards and 12 TDs this season, and ranks fourth in the nation in catches per game. Bess has caught at least 10 passes in five games this season. He had 15 receptions for 181 yards and two TDs against Boise State."

Congrats to both!

Thursday News - Washington

News from Hawaii:

Brian McInnis profiles senior linebacker Micah Lau. He talks about dealing with having less playing time than last year.

"Well, from playing a lot last year, it's hard to switch (roles), but I'm happy to because this is where, as a team, you rather have a team championship than have individual recognition," Lau said. "It feels way better now than when I played last year, a lot. Just to have any contribution to the team, even if it's just on special teams, it's better than nothing. And the feeling of being a champion is way better than starting."

Dave Reardon and Billy Hull have a Sports Notebook article about yesterday's rain-out, with a quote from Colt:

"It was a nice downpour," Brennan said, smiling. "We were going to run over into our indoor facilities, but there was some problem I think. It hasn't been built yet. Then we thought we'd go to Cooke Field, but there's no field."

They also report that Colt filmed a segment for ESPN, with Desmond Howard interviewing him next to a Heisman trophy about his chances to get one.

Stephen Tsai talks to players about the rain, has injury updates on Dane Porlas, Dan Kelly and Jacob Patek, and interviews Timo Paepule about almost becoming a Husky.

"It all worked out," Paepule said. "I would have been at Washington playing (against) the WAC champs, but now we are the WAC champs."

Robert Shikina has a forecast for the game.

"It looks like the ballgame should be good," said lead forecaster Roy Matsuda at the National Weather Service. "Just a few showers, if any."

Ferd Lewis has details on all the different colleges recruiting Hawaii high schools these days.

And a BCS coordinator tells Ferd Lewis that the BCS is working.


News from Washington:

The Daily, a Washington student paper, has a roundtable discussing among other things, what a Washington victory over UH could do for the program.

John Boyle of HeraldNet writes about the struggle Herman Frazier had putting together this year's schedule, and the resulting criticism about it.

Boyle also has some news and notes, and profiles Husky from Hawaii Daniel Te'o-Nesheim.

Don Ruiz of The News Tribune talks to Warren Moon about playing in the run and shoot and what he thinks about it.

“It’s definitely a passing-quarterback’s fancy, and it can inflate numbers,” Moon said. “But it can inflate them even more if you’re more gifted. It can make an average quarterback look good, but it can make a good quarterback look great. I think that’s what it’s doing for Colt. I think he was a really good quarterback when he got there, but I think it has made him great.”

The article also has a few quotes from June Jones.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times profiles Washington receiver Anthony Russo, and has some news and notes.

Molly Yanity of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has a blog, with a few posts about the upcoming game.

Return of the Helmet

Someone ships Jason Laumoli's "missing" helmet to KITV's Robert Kekaula. Out of the six helmets that were unaccounted for, five have turned back up, with Inoke Funaki's helmet still nowhere to be found.

UH vs UW Game Notes, Previews, Etc.

Here are press releases with notes and info about Saturday's game from the UH athletic department and the UW athletic department.

Here's a preview of the game from The Sports Network.

Here's a preview from ESPN (which might be an AP preview).

CFN has a preview and prediction in their round-up of this week's PAC-10 games.

And finally, this blog has a back and forth Q&A with a great Washington Husky Sports blog run by a fan named John Berkowitz. His blog's address is uwfootball.blogspot.com, one letter off from this one. I know, spooky. Anyway, it was a fun Q&A

Rainy Day Videos (w/UPDATE)

Is John Fink a detective from a 50s noir film? Well, he should be. He waxes rhapsodic over the Warriors in this "Think About It" segment.



And check out Leila Wai's video from today's practice, which got rained out. Watch as the Warriors play in the rain. I'm glad no one got struck by lightning! There's a funny interview with Colt Brennan talking about the facilities, along with a few words about the rain from Jason Rivers and Jacob Patek. The video ends with Ryan Mouton interviewing Solomon Elimimian and Adam Leonard, with Jason Rivers as the camera operator.

UPDATE: Tonight's news, compiled by Mr. Cut.

Stuff about the rain, the game, and "June" on PTI.

Wednesday News - Washington

I liked the format of yesterday's news post, so I'll stick with it today:

Washington News:

John Boyle of HeraldNet talks to Huskies offensive coordinator about their gameplan.

"We've got to be able to run the football," offensive coordinator Tim Lappano said. "It's really important that we're able to run the football and manage the clock. You're not going to be able to shut them out. You try to slow them down, and I don't think anybody has done that, that I'm aware of. So it's really important that we stay on the field and convert third downs."

Christian Caple of The Daily, a Washington student paper, has an article about the Huskies wanting to defeat a second WAC team this year.

“I think the Pac-10 is a strong league this year,” Locker said. “The Pac-10’s really done a lot of good things for itself … Being able to go in and beat a nationally ranked Hawaii team that’s playing really good football would just kind of solidify that feeling of how good the Pac-10 is this year.”

Molly Yanity of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has a profile of Adam Leonard.

Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times profiles Colt Brennan, and talks to him about the game, the season, the BCS hopes.

John McGrath of The News Tribune is a little worried about the game.

Don Ruiz of The News Tribune has an article about June Jones and what he has brought to Hawaii's football program.


Hawaii News:

Alexandre Da Silva writes that the Warriors' success is helping the economy, especially restaurants and bars with lots of TVs.

Dan Nakaso has an article about the frenzy over UH merchandise.

Brian McInnis talks to Herman Frazier, who asks the fans who may rush the field this Saturday to have some respect for the seniors and let them do their Senior Walk. Let me also add -- "Don't steal their helmets."

On the same page, Dave Reardon profiles Ryan Mouton.

Reardon and Billy Hull have a Sports Notebook with an injury update on Francis Maka, details of Davone Bess being reprimanded by the WAC, and Seattle native Adam Leonard's Washington connections.

Ferd Lewis writes about a yet-to-be-announced party/event surrounding the BCS selection show on Sunday.

Stephen Tsai has injury updates on Jacob Patek, Adam Leonard, Francis Maka and Dan Kelly. He also writes about Leon Wright-Jackson practicing with the scout team to give the UH defense a good look, and has details on the generosity of Sacramento Kings owners, the Maloof brothers.

"June Jones' team is such fun to watch," Maloof said. "I've never had so much fun."

The brothers are putting their money where their heart is. Last month, they donated $50,000 to Na Koa, the football program's booster club, to double the Warriors' annual recruiting budget.

They also wrote a $25,000 check to the June Jones Foundation.

And now, the brothers will establish a scholarship in Jones' name. Joe Maloof said the scholarship, valued at about $15,000 annually, will go to a player who has completed his NCAA eligibility but "still has more school left. We'll pay for the extra year."

That is pretty cool. I think I'm a Kings fan.

Ferd Lewis writes that the UH-Boise game gave ESPN some of good ratings.

ESPN was also rejoicing after the game produced the largest audience, 2,647,000 households, of its 14 Friday night college football games on ESPN or ESPN2 this season. And the WAC is hopeful it will be ammunition for an improved network television contract.

"That (2.8 share) was also ESPN2's best rating (overall) of 2007, a great rating," said Mike Humes, an ESPN spokesman.

The article also discusses the current contract between the WAC and ESPN, and hopes for a bigger payday when it's renewed.

And Michael Tsai talks to Herman Frazier, who discusses the Boise game, and responds to some comments made by ESPN's Sean McDonough about June Jones' contract and the state of the athletic facilities.

UPDATE: Dave Reardon has an advisory from Aloha Stadium's Lois Manin and Scott Chan asking people not to rush the field this Saturday so the Senior Walk can proceed unencumbered. And also news about today's practice:

The UH football practice this morning was called off midway through the two-hour session due to continual heavy rain making the grass field unusable.

UPDATE: The plan now is to complete practice at 4 p.m. at Aloha Stadium. This session will be closed to the public.

TV News from Last Night

From Mr. Lego:

Tuesday News

Unlike the Warriors, I received no robot love today as my computer decided to take a giant dump on me. If only I were speaking figuratively! Actually, I am, here's today's news items.

Local:

Stephen Tsai writes about the football helmets stolen from UH players during the post-game celebration (sigh), Greg McMackin designing the WAC championship ring, Washington native Leon Wright-Jackson getting ready for the Huskies, and Jacob Patek and Davone Bess being named players of the game by their coaches.

Ferd Lewis writes about Herman Frazier's psychic abilities.

Dan Nakaso takes a look at UH's facilities, finances, revenue streams, what may be lacking, and how BCS money may help.

Davone Bess apologizes for taunting Nevada fans.

Robert Shikina writes about being wary of scalpers and counterfeit tickets for the Washington game.

Dave Reardon writes that C.J. Hawthorne, Hercules Satele, Michael Lafaele and Jason Rivers will play in the Hula Bowl. Also on that page is an article by Reardon about the Warriors being focused and ready for Washington.

Kalani Simpson comes from out of Nebraska with a cold and gray Sidelines column about the Huskers, firing coaches or ADs, the perception of UH in the "heartland," drinking booze, and not wanting to stay up late anymore. Pretty depressing stuff.

Reardon and Brian McInnis have a few words from Washington coach Tyrone Willingham about his team's potential role as a spoiler. The article also mentions the ESPN announcers bringing up the state of the facilities, and the stolen helmet situation.

Speaking of which, Stephen Tsai writes on the Beat that Greg Salas' helmet has been returned, with three still missing. He also has some injury updates, news that Colt is not a Davey O'Brien finalist, and video from today's practice.

Dave Reardon writes on the Extra that Francis Maka, who is recovering from a fracture in his leg, may be able to play against Washington. Also from the post is news about Davone getting reprimanded by the WAC, and a few words from Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter and AP voter Molly Yanity about where she's been placing UH in her poll and why.


Washington:

Don Ruiz of The News Tribune profiles Colt Brennan. Washington QB Jake Locker has some words of praise.

John Boyle of The Olympian writes about Saturday's matchup, with quotes from Colt Brennan and June Jones about not taking Washington lightly.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times has some notes about the Huskies from Hawaii and what they're saying about playing against UH. A couple quotes from Wilson Afoa:

"Basically you are going against the state of Hawaii when you are in that stadium," said the senior defensive tackle.

"We have a chance to spoil their BCS bowl," he said. "And that's a goal for us."

And John Boyle talks to some Huskies about staying focused in Hawaii.


National:

Here's an AP article about Hawaii's perfect season so far.

The AP's Tim Booth previews the game and writes about the teams on the BCS periphery that will be rooting against the Warriors.

Vote for Colt!

Bill Dwyre of the LA Times has a great column about his hopes that UH will crash the BCS.

ESPN's Tim Keown writes a half-serious half-joking column about wanting to see Hawaii play for the national championship.

Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel has an all-serious proposal that would make it possible for UH and other non-BCS teams to actually compete for the national title. Playoffs, baby!

Monday night news

Tombo is down hard. No, not from the bottle, just from the internet. So he asked me to post the vids for him.

Chawan Cut's Works of Art

I've said before that Chawan Cut is a crazy UH fan. Truly crazy. And now we have proof. First, you need to know that he's also into legos. Here's a closeup of his new creation:



Anything look vaguely familiar? Let's zoom out a little more...



Awww man, is that a face? I've seen it somewhere before. And zooming out completely...



Awwww yeah, it's Lego Colt. Put together by Chawan Cut. Pretty awesome. So don't question his fanhood! Here's the side-by-side with the pic he based it off of:



And if that wasn't enough, CC also made an H-lego.



Oh, and ladies, he's available. Wooooooooo!!!!

P.S. Here's his post on Sportshawaii, which has more pics.

Photos from the Boise State Game

Orlando of UHWarriorFan.com got a whole lot of great photos from the UH-BSU game. Also lots of stuff from pre-game, halftime, post-game celebration, etc. Be there!





Also check out Irse's photo gallery of the game, as well as the Pbase photo gallery for more awesome pics.

...Sportshawaii.com also got photo galleries from Betsy, uhwarriors, and hafba69.

From the Blogs: Bess, Helmets, Define Good

The Leahey & Leahey Live blog has posted audio of their interview with UH receiver Davone Bess, discussing the game, the WAC championship, the fans' reactions, etc.

Stephen Tsai writes that four UH helmets were taken during the post-game celebration and the team is asking for their return, no questions asked. What kind of fan would take the players' helmets? They're the reason you were celebrating!

And Dave Reardon wonders if a team that has 4 wins and 8 losses deserves to be called a "good team." Good or not, the Huskies are gonna bring it, and they'll be a great challenge for the Warriors.

C&K Show, June Jones Show

The C&K Show got a good one this week. They gave Blaze Soares the camera, and he got a whole lot of behind-the-scenes footage - in the locker room, meeting rooms, training table, etc with him narrating along the way. He also interviews a bunch of players, catching them in candid moments. You can see what kind of family atmosphere this team has. Right on.

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3 (which has highlights from the Boise State game as well as footage of the locker room celebration)



Irse has the new June Jones Show up in Windows Media format.

And Orlando has it up on Youtube. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

Wooooooooooooo!!!!

BCS, Washington

Dave Reardon writes about Hawaii's unprecedented rankings, a Harris poll secret admirer, and BCS bowl scenarios.

Since the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans has last choice of teams, that's where midmajor Hawaii without a proven mainland following would probably end up. It's not impossible that the Warriors could play in the more geographically friendly Fiesta Bowl in Arizona, but Benson said bowl games officials make the final decision.

The Rose Bowl is an outside possibility if Ohio State gets in the national championship game, but officials of the granddaddy of 'em all may be hesitant to break far enough from tradition to invite Hawaii.

UH athletic director Herman Frazier was a Fiesta Bowl director and chairman when he worked at Arizona State. He reserved comment on the situation.

"(Frazier's) got great relationships there, but the Fiesta Bowl will do what's best for the Fiesta Bowl. Right now I think the BCS takes care of itself, and there's no lobbying to do there," Benson said. "It's a matter of which bowl believes that Hawaii's the best team for it."

I can see 20,000 UH fans going to the Rose Bowl or Fiesta Bowl. Lots of ex-Hawaii residents on the West Coast and Arizona, and no matter what, thousands of Hawaii residents would fly up, guarans!

Here's what Mike Huguenin of Rivals.com has to say if UH plays in a BCS bowl.

Hawaii is a scary opponent for any defense. Yeah, we know all about how Hawaii has no running game, has played a weak schedule and is mediocre on defense. So what. If the Warriors get into a BCS game, woe is the team that plays them. QB Colt Brennan and his deep corps of receivers are going to pose problems. Now, we're not saying Hawaii is going to win. We're just saying the Warriors will cause a lot of sleepless nights for the opposing defensive coordinator and defensive backs.

Hope UH gets a chance to disprove a few of the stereotypes he lists in the first sentence.

Ferd Lewis talks to some "BCS experts" about Hawaii's chances of going to a BCS bowl.

"If Hawai'i beats Washington that should be enough," said Sam Chi, of www.BCSguru.com. "I'd put it at about 95 percent. It should be a near slam-dunk now." Last week, Chi had posted on his Web site: "The Warriors, at No. 15, may have already climbed to the top of Mauna Kea and can't go any higher."

Jerry Palm, whose www.CollegeBCS.com tracks the BCS standings, estimated at "90" percent the Warriors' chances of earning the prized BCS berth if they prevail over Washington. Last month, Palm had warned, "Hawai'i's schedule is so bad that they might not crack the top 15 in the computers, even at 12-0."

Bob Frantz of the San Francisco Examiner isn't just thinking BCS bowl for UH, he's thinking championship.

It’s almost as if the best teams in the nation, uniformly disgusted with the NCAA’s archaic method of determining national championship participants, put their heads together and agreed to jumble the BCS standings beyond repair, thereby forcing university presidents and multi-billion dollar sponsors to join the 21st century and institute a national playoff system.

So with the top teams all falling by the wayside one week at a time, and with a boatload of flawed one- and two-loss teams scrambling to replace them for their own temporary stay in the Top 5 land of instant mediocrity, it’s time for someone to ask this question:

Why not Hawaii?

It’s time to bury this power conference nonsense once and for all. If they finish their perfect season with a win over Washington on Saturday, the Warriors deserve their shot.

Unfortunately, this will just remain in the land of the theoretical. Perhaps in 20 years, there will be a Division I-A football playoff.

Ferd Lewis writes about a likely Hawaii Bowl scenario should UH happen to not be there.

Fresno State vs. East Carolina is emerging as the most likely matchup in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, should the University of Hawai'i earn a Bowl Championship Series berth.

It's really nice to think about all these scenarios, but first of course there's Washington. And they're a lot better than their record indicates, having played one of the toughest schedules in the nation.

Don Ruiz of The News Tribune writes about the Huskies' chance to destroy all our BCS dreams.

Washington coaches and players say they are grateful that they have one more chance to ease their pain Saturday (8:30 p.m., ESPN2) by spoiling Hawaii’s dreams in what will certainly be a loud and full Aloha Stadium.

“We’ve got an opportunity to go play a football team that gives us an opportunity to recover some of the things that we’ve lost this year,” coach Tyrone Willingham said. “We’ve got an opportunity to play a football game in December. When you start playing in December, usually good things are happening, and we want to start recognizing that.”

John Boyle of HeraldNet has a column previewing the game.

Instead, let's just assume that Hawaii and quarterback Colt Brennan will put up some crazy numbers in Honolulu on Saturday evening (I'm going to put the unofficial over-under on Hawaii passing yards at 600. Anybody want the under?). So how the heck can Washington win if unbeaten Hawaii is throwing the ball around and scoring with ease?

Well, that's where the offense comes in. Let's say Jake Locker, Louis Rankin and company can put together a game reminiscent of their better efforts this year. Picture 500-plus yards of offense and 45-55 points. That just might be enough to do it, especially if the rushing game can get going and keep Brennan off the field for large chunks of time.

Is a 500-yard, 50-point day too much to expect out of an offense? Absolutely. Is it the only way the Huskies can win? Most likely.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times takes a look at the matchup.

Lots of December games will determine bowl slots and conference titles, but UW will be playing solely to prevent a disappointing season from getting worse. The Huskies fell to 4-8 and with the loss to WSU are 1-8 against the traditional Northwest rivals under Willingham.

Most on the hot seat in Hawaii will be a UW defense that is now almost assured of being the worst in school history. The Huskies are giving up 438.8 yards per game this season — the previous worst is 419.1 in 2005, the first year for Willingham and defensive coordinator Kent Baer.

But Baer said after the WSU loss that the Hawaii game is a chance "to make a statement in a huge game" and, sounding like a coach who plans on being around for a while, he talks about the bright future he sees for the UW defense.

"I think we will get better," Baer said. "We've got a lot of good young kids."

Nathan Ware of The Dawgblawg has a prediction, as well as a backhanded compliment.

Their strength (passing) is our weakness (defending it). It's got the look of an ugly game but the spread is only 10 points. If you're a bettor, bet the ranch on the Warriors with that point spread.

The worst part about this for UW is that the entire country will be watching. I'll give you my prediction early this week: Hawaii 54, UW 37. How bad is the defense when we are predicting blowout losses to WAC teams?

Nothing wrong with getting blown out by a WAC team. It happens. Ask Arizona State.

And Ferd Lewis writes about another meeting between Washington and Hawaii, back in 1973.

The University of Hawai'i football team opened as a 10-point favorite over Washington for Saturday's season finale, which is a far cry from the last time the two teams met.

"Back then (in Seattle in 1973)," recalls Rick Blangiardi, "we turned on the TV and Jimmy the Greek, who was doing telecasts, said we were 50-point underdogs. That was the way people viewed it."

A prized game ball — with the score, Hawai'i 10, Washington 7, emblazoned in white — sits in a prominent place in Blangiardi's office of president and general manager at KGMB-TV, enduring testimony to one of the biggest victories in UH history.

Colt and Sol WAC Players of the Week

Congratulations to Colt Brennan and Solomon Elimimian, who were named the WAC's offensive and defensive players of the week.

Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan, Hawaii linebacker Solomon Elimimian and Boise State placekicker/punter Kyle Brotzman were named the Western Athletic Conference offensive, defensive and special teams players of the week today.

Brennan completed 40-of-53 passes for 495 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions in the WAC title-clinching 39-27 win over Boise State last Friday. He also rushed for 18 yards and a touchdown. Three of his touchdown passes came in the third quarter after Hawaii led just 19-17 at the half. Brennan’s 513 yards of total offense marked the third time this season he had 500 or more in a game.

Elimimian had a game-high 14 tackles (10 solo) in the win over Boise State. Elimimian helped the Hawaii defense limit the Broncos to a season-low 101 yards rushing, including just 14 from the WAC’s second leading rusher – Ian Johnson – over the last three quarters

Sunday Night News

Lots of news about the BCS rankings... and t-shirts. Thanks to Chawan Cut for posting today and keeping up with the compilations.

BCS Ranking Reactions and Analysis

Below are some articles about UH being ranked #12 in the BCS and what it all means. But first, check out the computer rankings to see all that robot love UH got this week.

LSU fan Ryan, who has posted in the comments and on the Tsaiblog great breakdowns of the BCS rankings and how teams ahead and behind UH may affect the Warriors' standing has updated his analysis after the release of today's numbers. Here's his look at this weekend's games:

-#6 Virginia Tech plays #11 Boston College for the ACC championship. Whoever loses this game will likely fall behind Hawaii in the BCS rankings, however, there is a chance Virginia Tech loses and stays ahead of Hawaii so play it safe and hope Boston College loses.

-#8 USC plays unranked UCLA this weekend. A loss by USC would definitley drop them behind Hawaii.

-#9 Oklahoma plays #1 Missouri for the Big 12 Championship. A loss by Oklahoma would drop them behind Hawaii.

-#13 Arizona State plays unranked Arizona. Arizona is ranked slightly higher in the BCS than Hawaii's opponent, Washington, so if Hawaii and Arizona State both win it is possible that Arizona State could jump Hawaii due to how close their BCS rankings currently are. Again, play it safe and root for Arizona.

-#14 Tennessee plays #7 LSU for the SEC Championship. Due to LSU being ranked so high, a win by Tennessee would likely move them ahead of Hawaii.

As things stand, things are looking good if the Warriors can beat the Huskies.

Here's a brief mention of UH from CBS Sportsline's Chris Dodd, who also ranks Hawaii 9th in his power rankings.

Hawaii looks like it's going to clinch an automatic berth if it beats Washington this week. The pollsters and computers were impressed with the Warriors' win over Boise State. Hawaii got a huge lift in the computers (from 22nd to 14th) and benefited from Oregon and Texas losses to move up three spots to No. 12.

From ESPN's Brad Edwards:

And then there's Hawaii. The big win over Boise State vaulted the Warriors three spots into the coveted No. 12 position, which means they should earn an automatic bid to the BCS by closing the season with a win over Washington. The only scenario that could potentially push Hawaii back out of the top 12 would be for BC, Tennessee and Arizona State all to win this weekend.

From CFN's Richard Cirminiello:

The legions of doubters surrounding the program have shrunk considerably since Friday night’s pivotal defeat of Boise State that locked up an outright WAC championship and moved it to No. 12 in the rankings. More important, the Warriors took an enormous step toward that coveted at-large BCS bowl invitation, a berth they’ll secure with a win over Washington this Saturday.

From the New York Sun, Russell Levine illustrates why the BCS would want UH to slip up, with WAC commish Karl Benson trying to allay their concerns.

With the Sugar Bowl their most likely destination, game officials in New Orleans can't be too thrilled at the prospect of selling tickets to Hawaii fans who would face roughly a 4,500-mile trip to the game. While Boise State was able to bring plenty of fans south to Glendale, Ariz., for the Fiesta Bowl last season, the prospect of inviting Hawaii to New Orleans is like a dinner check that nobody wants to pick up.

Yet WAC commissioner Karl Benson is confident that Hawaii could represent itself just fine.

"Hawaii has historically had a great fan following when they play on the mainland," Benson said. "This year when they played UNLV in Las Vegas, they had 12-15,000 fans there and maybe only 2,000 made the trip from the state of Hawaii."

The article also has this from BCS expert Jerry Palm:

The resulting soft slate, which ranks near the bottom of NCAA's strength-of-schedule metrics, is the prime evidence cited by those who feel Hawaii doesn't merit BCS inclusion even at 12-0. According to BCS expert Jerry Palm, it no longer matters. On his Web site Sunday, Palm said Hawaii is a virtual certainty for the BCS if it wins next week.

Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this to say about the BCS as well as the Heisman:

Colt Brennan - now there's a guy I'd vote for just on the coolness of his name - threw for 495 yards against Boise State, which didn't win the national championship last year because it was Boise State. He's passed for more touchdowns than anyone in Division I history. If you put all the footballs he's completed end to end, they'd stretch from Honolulu to Seattle.

It's too bad that no one is taking Colt Brennan seriously for the Heisman, just as Hawaii will get the Boise State treatment in the BCS. Hawaii has a good chance to be 12-0, but the team and its quarterback are regrettably downgraded because of their schedule. It's not always Hawaii's fault, because no one wants to go out there and play the Warriors now that they're good. Just ask Michigan State, which paid a large escape fee to make Hawaii go away.

There will be a lot more about UH and the BCS all throughout this week. Gonna be crazy!

BCS - We're #12!!!!

It has also been announced on TV on Fox, but their website hasn't been updated yet, but here's the poll from scout.com

ok, here's a more detailed nicer looking poll at espn.com.

Just gotta take care of business now this week!

Hawaii UP 3 Spots in AP (#11) & Coaches (#10) & Harris (#10) Polls

(Tombo is without internet at the moment so I'm stepping in. I hope I can make him proud of me...)

Woo! I guess the whole world saw us on ESPN and finally are giving us our due.

UH moves up three spots to #11 in the AP poll.

And UH also jumps up 3 to #10 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Top 10 Baby!!!

UPDATE! Harris poll released! #10 too! and we got ONE #1 vote!!! pdf version here!

**** BCS poll to be released later today. Check back later! Can't wait! ****

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.

Ikaika Alama-Francis Update

Even though Ikaika Alama-Francis hasn't had much playing time this year, he's been learning, progressing and getting better and better. Detroit Lions coach Rod Marinelli has lots of praise for Ikaika in this Detroit Free Press article by Carlos Monarrez.

"Great athlete and he's tough, he'll hit," Marinelli said. "He's a great kid. He wants to please. He's the perfect guy you like in terms of 'want to, desire, smart.' He's got all the things you want to coach. He's going to be a house. He's big as a house right now. He's gonna get bigger.

"I just think he's so raw and so talented and such a good person."

Alama-Francis, who is 6-feet-5 and nearly 300 pounds, knows he has no other option than to excel at his demanding position. The competition is too stiff in the league and in his own locker room.

"In the NFL everybody's good and it's all about you're going to be going up against someone who's just as equal as you are," he said. "But it's all about technique and how you're fluid, play-in and play-out. And being consistent is a good word that a lot of people use, so every day I work on trying to be consistent every play and every down and every game."

He's gonna be a monster!

News About the WAC Champs

Just like typing that, haha. Chawan is working tireless compiling stories from the news anchors and reporters who are themselves working tirelessly documenting this great moment in UH sports history. Please let me know if having 30 videos on the front page of this blog is giving you any problems. It makes my browser slow down, but my computer is slow anyway, so I dunno.

KGMB got lots of news about the fans in the stadium, on the field, around the island, as well as interviews with players, etc. And is that a cameo by K?



KHNL has the same, lots of great interviews, fans buying shirts from Rainbowtique, etc.



From KITV and KHON, fans, players, celebration.



More from KHON:

Blaze's Hit, Colt's Comments, Blogs, Etc.

I know this blog is on video overload right now, but here's another one. More game highlights from ESPN, which includes a clip of Blaze Soares' HUGE HIT on Boise State's Jeremy Avery. Woooooo!!! It also has some post-game comments from Colt. Thanks to UHBows.



Also, check out today's post by Stephen Tsai for some day-after musings and links to video highlights from Leila Wai. And check out Dave Reardon's post and the comments about UH taking a knee to end the game instead of trying to punch it in from less than a yard out.

BCS Scoreboard: 11-24-2007

Here's this week's BCS scoreboard, the most important in UH football history! Until next week. The results in red indicate teams that have won, green for teams that have lost. I'll be updating it throughout the day. New polls come out tomorrow.

UPDATE: With the loss by Kansas today, Hawaii is now the only undefeated team in the nation. That's crazy.

BCS Rank	Team	Result
1	LSU (10-2)	48-50 LOSS vs Arkansas
2	Kansas (11-1)	28-36 LOSS vs #4 Missouri
3	W. Virginia (10-1)	66-21 WIN vs #20 Connecticut
4	Missouri (11-1)	36-28 WIN vs #2 Kansas
5	Ohio State (11-1)	season done
6	Arizona State (9-2)	24-44 LOSS vs #11 USC
7	Georgia (10-2)	31-17 WIN @ Georgia Tech
8	Va. Tech (10-2)	33-21 WIN @ #16 Virginia
9	Oregon (8-3)	0-16 LOSS @ UCLA
10	Oklahoma (10-2)	49-17 WIN vs Oklahoma State
11	USC (9-2)	44-24 WIN @ #6 Arizona State
12	Florida (9-3)	45-12 WIN vs Florida State
13	Texas (9-3)	30-38 LOSS @ Texas A&M
14	Boston Coll. (10-2)	28-14 WIN vs Miami (Fla.)
15	HAWAII (11-0)	39-27 WIN vs #19 Boise State
16	Virginia (9-3)	21-33 LOSS vs #8 Virginia Tech
17	Illinois (9-3)	season done
18	Tennessee (9-3)	52-50 WIN @ Kentucky
19	Boise State (10-2)	27-39 LOSS @ #15 Hawaii
20	Connecticut (9-3)	21-66 LOSS @ #3 West Virginia
21	Wisconsin (9-3)	season done
22	Clemson (9-3)	23-21 WIN @ South Carolina
23	South Florida (9-3)	48-37 WIN @ Pitt
24	Cincinnati (9-3)	52-31 WIN @ Syracuse
25	BYU (9-2)	17-10 WIN vs Utah

Herbstreit Jumps On

After dogging and doubting Hawaii for most of the year, ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit jumps on the Warriors' bandwagon in this ESPN College Gameday segment. Lee Corso and Chris Fowler got some good things to say too.

Hawaii vs Boise State Wrap-Ups

What a beautiful morning! I'll be adding to this post throughout the AM (and maybe PM) as I go through all these stories about Hawaii's sweet victory over Boise State.

UPDATE: Done. I think.

To start off, here's game stats and scoring breakdowns from the Advertiser.

Stephen Tsai has a great wrap-up. Here are some excerpts:

"I'm happy," said UH head coach June Jones, who earned the first outright championship of his coaching career. "I'm happy for the state of Hawai'i, and I'm happy for my team. These players are very committed, and they did a hell of a job all year."

The Broncos were held to a season-low 101 rushing yards, with only 32 in the second half.

Running back Ian Johnson, who finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting last year, rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns — one for 50 yards in the first quarter— but he had only 11 yards after intermission.

"When I signed, people asked, 'Why Hawai'i?'" said defensive back Ryan Mouton, who joined the Warriors in August. "The reason is these guys around here. This is what a team's about — love, family, and competing and fighting to win games."

Dave Reardon's wrap-up has the line of the day.

Hawaii won the physical battle against the team that went unbeaten last year and beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.

Not only did the Warriors take Cinderella's slipper, they hit her on the head with it. Repeatedly.

"They're physical," BSU coach Chris Petersen said. "When they bring it, they bring it."

Awww damn. And in the same article, Blaze Soares got the line of the year.

"I want to thank ESPN and Mel Kiper," said linebacker Blaze Soares, who had seven tackles, including a huge sack. "He called us a cupcake defense. Well, how do you like these cupcakes? Have some for breakfast."

Mmmm, I hope they're delicious.

Here's a wrap-up from Chadd Cripe of the Idaho Statesman.

Freshmen wideouts Titus Young and Austin Pettis combined for just four catches. Several catchable balls were dropped or knocked out of receivers' hands. And the Warriors sacked Tharp three times and got so much penetration that Johnson often didn't have time to even look for a hole.

"They were just playing with their heads on fire and doing an awesome job and sometimes winning one-on-one battles," Johnson said.

Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman has a wrap-up as well.

"We proved something tonight to all the so-called experts who picked Boise to beat us. I guess they just don't know what they're talking about," Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan said.

Brennan, the undisputed leader of Hawaii's team and its Heisman hopeful, threw five touchdowns and added a sixth on the ground.

Brennan carved up the Broncos worse than a Thanksgiving turkey, completing 40-of-53 passes. Without enough cornerbacks to play man-to-man, Hawaii feasted on a steady diet of zone coverage. And Boise State rarely applied enough pressure to disrupt Brennan's timing as his receivers ran free.

It was a sublime performance, a conductor in perfect harmony with his symphony.

Not so the Broncos, on this night, a disjointed garage band.

Speaking of those so-called experts, if I have time, I will put-together a compilation of some of their pre-game predictions and hating on UH, awww yeah.

Brian McInnis highlights the performance of the UH offense.

"Ryan, and Davone, and Colt, all of them, they rise to games," quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison said. "Any time a game gets tougher, they get better, and they've always been that way. That was again evident tonight."

Stacy Kaneshiro highlights the performance of the UH defense.

The leader in tackles for lost yardage was Soares. Despite playing with an assortment of aches and pain, the 6-foot-1, 239-pound sophomore linebacker still registered the second-highest number of total tackles on the team with seven, three of them for losses.

"Football, you have to play through pain," he said. "Not only me. Michael Lafaele, Karl Noa. Everybody's battling through pain. A little shoulder injury, my shin. That ain't going to stop me."

Neither could Boise State's blockers.

Kaneshiro also discusses Colt and the offense.

Brennan, who admitted to throwing up before the game, got off to a stutter start, completing 1 of his first 4 passes of the game. He also was intercepted twice on a 40-of-53 night, while breaking two records held by BYU's Ty Detmer.

"I made some mistakes, but I didn't let it affect me," Brennan said. "I bounced back really well when I made mistakes."

Indeed.

Jason Kaneshiro looks at Hawaii's dominant 3rd quarter performance.

Said McMackin: "The guys played their responsibilities and played hard. They were throwing the ball a little bit (in the first half) and we made some adjustments in the second half, blitzed more, tried to put more pressure on (BSU quarterback Taylor Tharp) and our guys made plays. It's not schemes, players make plays."

Dayton Morinaga has an article about the great game by Davone Bess.

One of his finest games in an already stellar career at Hawai'i came in a victory that clinched the Western Athletic Conference title for the Warriors.

"I'm so happy, I'm speechless," the 5-foot-10 junior said. "I give all the credit to my teammates. Without the line blocking, and without Colt (Brennan) throwing me the ball, I'm nothing."

Ferd Lewis talks to coaches, players and spectators about the victory, and writes about the fans storming the field.

The turf turned mosh pit as students and fans stormed the field. Security settled for protecting the goal posts and the departing Broncos. UH fans, meanwhile, danced and hugged. They posed for pictures to mark the occasion. Amid a deafening roar, someone yelled: "Did you ever think you'd see something like this?"

Michael Tsai writes about the UH fans showing aloha to the Boise fans in the stands.

Boise State fan Brooks Aberg, 37, said he expected to face some "issues" when he showed up in a Broncos game uniform, but he was pleasantly surprised at the reception he got from UH fans.

"Everybody has been really good," he said. "We talk back and forth. I was tailgating all day surrounded by Hawai'i fans and we just traded stories and drinks. You all are gracious hosts and we'll definitely be back."

Boise State graduate Zach Smith, 32, said he too had some concerns about coming to the game after hearing stories about what happened to Fresno State fans. Still, he and his wife Jennifer, 27, felt nothing but aloha as they strode through the sea of green.

"I think as long as you're respectful, you'll be treated the same way," Jennifer Smith said. "I don't think I'm concerned at all."

Mark Mooney, 40, flew to Hawai'i for the game as a birthday present to himself. He couldn't figure out what all the concern was about.

"These are some of the nicest fans I've ever seen," he said.

Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman has more in a story about the Boise fans visiting Hawaii.

But concerns about the safety and security of Boise State fans at Aloha Stadium seemed unfounded before the game. The issue surfaced after incidents at the Warriors' home game with Fresno State and led stadium and university officials to increase security for Friday.

Hawaii coach June Jones appeared in television and newspaper ads, encouraging fans to "show our aloha spirit and exhibit good sportsmanship towards our visitors."

The message seemed to have gotten out. A few scattered boos greeted Bronco fans, but the majority of comments were welcoming to the orange-and-blue clad faithful during the first sellout for Hawaii and the largest crowd in the WAC this season. The press box atop the stadium swayed and the lights flickered at times.

Dan Nakaso was with some UH fans at Eastside Grill.

Worried about UH quarterback Colt Brennan's recovery from a concussion suffered two weeks ago, nearly the entire crowd shouted "Slide, slide, slide!" whenever Brennan carried the ball.

The Star-Bulletin Sports Notebook has some notes about injuries, school records, a happy Mufi, and overcoming some special teams miscues.

"It's satisfying. It wasn't a perfect game, but we were able to overcome a nonperfect game, which shows a lot of character about this team," said kicker Dan Kelly, who had those two PATs blocked and made three others.

Dayton Morinaga has some game notes featuring how UH defense stopped Ian Johnson, John Fonoti's big sack and forced fumble, the record crowd, and some winning streaks that were extended.

Yesterday was Hawai'i's 12th consecutive victory, a streak dating to the final game of last season.

It is the longest winning streak in school history, breaking the former mark of 11 that was set during the end of the 1980 and start of the 1981 seasons.

It is also the longest current winning streak in the nation. At least for the moment.

Kansas, which has an 11-game winning streak, will play Missouri today.

Ian Johnson talks about the game and gives UH props in this Nick Abramo article.

"They (Hawaii) kept scoring, so we needed to pass more," he said. "We wanted to continue to pound the ball, like we did in the first half. Try to wear their defense down. But all we could come up with (in the second half) was possession runs of 3 or 4 yards, just to keep the chains moving. Maybe we abandoned our game plan a little too early."

Johnson was highly impressed with the Warriors.

"We already knew that Hawaii was amazing at home, but over the last three years, they've done so much," he said. "I have nothing but respect for them. They have intensity and their fans have intensity. They had this place sold out and they've put together quite a season."

In his own way, Boise president Robert Kustra complimented Hawaii by saying Boise isn't looking to leave the conference.

Robert Kustra, who said he has written MWC presidents seeking to gauge their interest in Boise State, said, "Frankly, there is no (expansion) talk in the Mountain West that I know of. So, we are completely comfortable continuing to play in the WAC, especially playing teams like Hawai'i. It is a great rivalry (with UH) and one that, one way or the other, I hope can go on for many years no matter what conference we're in."

So generous of him.

Michael Tsai has a few complimentary quotes from Broncos coach Chris Petersen.

"You've got to give credit to Hawai'i," he said. "They've got good players and they play hard. We had our opportunities, but they're an excellent team and we knew it."

Petersen said he thinks the Warriors should be invited to a BCS bowl game if they beat Washington next week.

"They're a heck of a team. They've got great energy and great momentum going now, and if they win out, I do think they ought to go."

Now that the WAC season is over for UH, Billy Hull talks to some of the players about fighting for some national respect.

"Since last spring and into the summer, all we have preached is being WAC champs," Leonard said. "Now that we got it, we can start focusing on the BCS."

Their schedule obviously hasn't been up to the standards of most teams in the country, but it's something out of the players' control.

All they have had control of is winning games, and the Warriors have done it 11 straight times this season and in 21 of their last 22.

"It is what it is," Lewis said. "Everyone has an opinion, but we're the ones actually out here playing. Other teams have lost and we're still undefeated."

And finally, I think, Paul Arnett writes a column about this big victory and a big game against Washington up ahead.

You could hear it in the locker room as they sang songs and relished beating Boise State for the first time in the 21st century. Warriors quarterback Colt Brennan addressed quietly in this massive celebration the possibility of a letdown next week against the Pac-10 foe.

He shook his head and smiled that Colt smile as he said the importance of that game would not be lost in yesterday's celebration. In his mind, the players and coaches know fully what's at stake. It's one thing to be the WAC champions, but qualifying for a major BCS bowl is bigger still.

Just from watching some of their games, the Huskies are a lot better than their record indicates. It'll be a great battle. But for now, basking in the afterglow, awww yeah, right on, woot woot!