Final Score: Florida 56, Hawaii 10
That was a tough game. Quarterback controversy! Nah, I dunno, but Inoke Funaki looked good in garbage time, escaping from pressure, improvising, hitting open receivers (besides the one INT). Six or seven turnovers, some dropped passes, but I think the team played okay under the circumstances. Lots to learn from this game. Any other observations? News to follow a little later...
UPDATE: Here's an AP wrap-up from Mark Long.
UPDATE: Here's an AP wrap-up from Mark Long.
Even without injured speedster Percy Harvin (heel) and linebacker Brandon Spikes (toe), the Gators dominated every aspect of this one and handed Greg McMackin a lopsided loss in his debut as Hawaii's head coach.UPDATE 2: Wrap-up from the Advertiser.
It looked very much like the Warriors' last game, a 41-10 drubbing against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The biggest difference was Florida didn't face Heisman Trophy finalist Colt Brennan.
Instead, the Gators faced backup Greg Alexander. And it showed.
Starting in place of Brent Rausch, Alexander threw two early interceptions that Florida turned into touchdowns and fumbled twice.
The Gators were much more efficient on offense.
Hawai'i's offense got off to rough start in Greg McMackin's debut as UH head coach with 181 yards passing and 60 rushing for 241 total yards, most of it with the game out of reach. Florida finished with 406 yards total offense, including 255 rushing.UPDATE 3: Here's an article from the Star-Bulletin.
UH gave up four interceptions, two fumbles and UH quarterbacks were sacked four times.
"I have no excuses," said Greg McMackin, after his debut game as UH coach. "We were outplayed in every phase. I give them full credit. I do believe we made some crucial mistakes."UPDATE 4: The Star-Bulletin updates their article with some injury news:
UH senior running back Daniel Libre rushed for a team-high 35 yards on four carries, despite suffering a high right ankle sprain.
Also, starting left tackle Laupepa Letuli has a left AC joint injury.
Both could be out for several weeks.
posted by Tombo Ahi @ 8/30/2008 09:51:00 AM HST permalink
17 Comments:
At Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 9:56:00 AM HST,
lostinube said…
A pounding but hey, it happens sometimes.
Robert Kekaula was pushing for Inoke Funaki hard at the end of the game but really, was Florida putting it's best foot forward at that point?
The turnovers killed.
Why didn't McMackin challenge the dropped pass that was "recovered" by Florida? I was watching the Yahoo feed and the announcers were wondering too. It led to a touchdown at a point where things weren't completely out of hand yet.
At Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 9:57:00 AM HST,
Anonymous said…
Just about what I expected. There are some positives to be taken from the game though, I thought the defense looked good and it looks like we'll finally have a decent running game. Funaki looked solid, granted it was probably against 3rd stringers.
At Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 10:08:00 AM HST,
Anonymous said…
Also some more bad news for Warriors in the Pros, Lelie and Mauia were cut today. NOOOOOOOOOOO!
I'm sure Lelie will land somewhere rather quickly, I'm betting on Cincy or Chicago.
At Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 10:13:00 AM HST,
Anonymous said…
It was a very tough opponent along with the long trip there. Only the first game.
I voted for Inoke and still believe in him even if it wasn't against the first team.
At Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 10:16:00 AM HST,
Anonymous said…
COACH - Are you telling me that
the top rated passing team in the nation could not recruit a better prospect than Alexander (AAII). He is the protoype build...but where was his backup in the second half?? At least give yourself a shot. The rest of the team played great. He brought it all down.
Not a Gator Fan!!!
At Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 10:16:00 AM HST,
Tombo Ahi said…
awww crap, thanks dude.
good to see you again lostinube. not sure why mack didn't challenge the play. seemed like something the booth should've reviewed in any case.
At Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 10:18:00 AM HST,
Tombo Ahi said…
fuzzy, i'm pulling for funaki. greg didn't look good out there -- first game jitters? i also would've like to have seen more of rausch.
At Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 10:25:00 AM HST,
Anonymous said…
This game makes me think of what could've been had Tyler Graunke been in there. IMO he would've at least kept it competitive!
Come back soon Graunke we need you!
At Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 10:54:00 AM HST,
Anonymous said…
New Head Coach. Lots of new position coaches.
New Quarterbacks except Inoke. Lots of new starting receivers and offensive linemen.
Florida does have a very good team. They do have fast quality players on both offense and defense. Not a shame to lose--Hawaii played well most of the times--except for too many turnovers. If Hawaii lost to an average or below average team then that wouldn't be good.
I liked Anonymous' comment about the positives. I'm sure the coaches now have time to correct some of the problems. The quarterbacks will also improve as they get more experience.
At Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 12:44:00 PM HST,
Anonymous said…
Overall, I thought that it was a good showing by the defense. Even though statistically it may look otherwise. They do have a swagger out there. The offense is kind of what I expected. It is a very tough offensive system to pick up. Inoke looked very good and hats off to him. Offensive linemen looked pretty good in my opinion. Sacked four times but I think it was because of good coverage and inexperience at QB (not finding the WR quick enough). WR's need to catch some balls to give QB more confidence. It was an extremely tough game but I was very glad to see that there were no major injuries. We could make some noise in the WAC, and definitely be bowl eligible this year.
At Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 12:55:00 PM HST,
Anonymous said…
We cannot come out flat against Weber St. We need to correct mistakes and get a W. I really think we can be 3-1 after September if we continue to improve and cut down mistakes. We can get into a groove against Weber St. and Oregon St. is definitely beatable. Offense needs to find an identity though. I want to see how Fresno looks tonight since they are the WAC pre season favorite.
At Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 1:10:00 PM HST,
Tombo Ahi said…
yes, great that there were no big injuries. it'll be interesting to see if there is a QB shuffle, with funaki and maybe even graunke getting back in the mix, or if the coaches stick to their top 2 - alexander and rausch.
boise plays later today, but fresno state plays monday against rutgers on ESPN.
At Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 2:13:00 PM HST,
Tombo Ahi said…
re: injuries
spoke to soon. the star-bulletin update their article:
"UH senior running back Daniel Libre rushed for a team-high 35 yards on four carries, despite suffering a high right ankle sprain.
Also, starting left tackle Laupepa Letuli has a left AC joint injury.
Both could be out for several weeks."
At Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 7:01:00 PM HST,
Anonymous said…
"I have no excuses," said Greg McMackin, after his debut game as UH coach. "We were outplayed in every phase. I give them full credit. I do believe we made some crucial mistakes."
McMackin is a FUCKIN shitty ass coach. How the fuck do you leave your quarterback in after the INTs and fumbles. He should have been pulled the first qtr.
Mark Long says: "It looked very much like the Warriors' last game, a 41-10 drubbing against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The biggest difference was Florida didn't face Heisman Trophy finalist Colt Brennan."
Colt Brennan couldn't do shit with Georgia, and wouldn't do shit with Florida. Colt is f'kin over rated.
At Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 7:30:00 PM HST,
Anonymous said…
That stinks to hear about the two injuries. I guess I did speak to soon. Hopefully they will be able to bounce back from it right away.
At Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 7:49:00 PM HST,
lostinube said…
That's a lot of vitriol there 7:01 Anonymous.
After the 1st quarter, the game was still close. The 1st pick shouldn't have been enough to get him pulled. Granted, he should have been pulled earlier but not the 1st quarter. Also, jerking your quarterback around, even during a time when you are unsure as to who should be getting the main job, can destroy the player's confidence.
At Sunday, August 31, 2008 at 4:06:00 AM HST,
Anonymous said…
As a current UF student and fan, I'm still proud to have UH as my #2 team. Regardless of the scores of the last two games, those are the best two experiences the team could ask for, looking long-term. Adam Leonard couldn't say it better, "If you want to be the best, you have to play with the best." Think about how prepared the team will be for Weber State now. For all you other fans out there, you will be a big reason this team grows to a true powerhouse. Even though the team itself isn't yet a consistent BCS contender, your fans (especially the ones I saw at the UF and UGA games) are BCS quality.
Not trying to make this too sappy, but best of luck for the rest of the season. And whoever runs this blog thanks for keeping people like me who are 4,500 miles away on the "inside". For what it's worth, Funaki has my tip of the hat. He's a local star, who I think could command the respect of the team and he obviously can make things happen... 3rd string defense aside. Let Rausch/Alexander get settled for a year.
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