Game Week: Wazzu - Friday News

Jason Kaneshiro and Stephen Tsai report that Kealoha Pilares and Ryan Mouton will not be playing tomorrow. Tsai also writes about the injuries Daniel Libre and Leon Wright-Jackson have been fighting through.

Despite suffering from an injury to his mid-section, Libre rushed for two touchdowns in a 49-17 victory over Idaho the past Saturday.

Libre said he still experiences discomfort. While he is "conscious" of the injury when he plays, "I can't let it hold me back," he said. "I paid for it the next morning. Man, I was hurting. I didn't want to show it, but yeah, I paid for it. I'm not going to lie."

Wright-Jackson has played sparingly in the second half of the season because of a foot injury.

"To be honest, it was the kind of cleat I had on," Wright-Jackson said of the cause of the injury. "It was too light for me. The soles weren't thick enough. When I planted hard, I did something to my foot. I don't know what exactly."

Jason Kaneshiro profiles UH linebacker Tyson Kafentzis, who grew up cheering on Washington State.

"Definitely I was a Cougar fan for sure. I'm east side all the way," said Kafentzis, who grew up in Richland, Wash., about a 2-hour drive away from Pullman, which sits near the state's eastern border.

After pulling for Washington State on those November afternoons, Kafentzis followed his family's ties to Hawaii in college and will find himself opposite the Cougars tomorrow at Aloha Stadium.

"I'm real familiar with the area and I just can't wait to play those guys," he said.

And Ferd Lewis writes that it's a good idea to schedule more PAC-10 teams.

UH is scheduled to play one Pac-10 team in 2009 (WSU), one in 2010 (USC), two in 2011 (WSU and Washington). But none is on the so-far announced schedules thereafter.

That's too bad on a lot of fronts. For one thing, they are good for not only ticket sales but boosting the perception of UH and in recruiting here and away. Prospective recruits want to play the teams and conferences they see on TV and fans want to see those kinds of opponents in Halawa. For another, it makes more financial and competitive sense for UH than going five or six time zones or bringing some far-flung opponent here.