UH vs New Mexico State Wrap-Ups

Jason Kaneshiro has a wrap-up of Hawaii's 42-30 victory over NMSU.

"We had an excellent game plan," Alexander said. "We knew what they were doing, we got what we saw on film and exploited it."

Alexander -- who described himself as "slow as dirt" -- also ran for 66 yards, though four sacks resulted in a net of 37. He scored on a quarterback sneak to open UH's 21-point second quarter that gave the Warriors a 35-17 lead.

Here's an excerpt about the week leading up to the game, from Stephen Tsai's wrap-up:

On their first night in El Paso, McMackin held a closed-door meeting.

"That was such a tough loss," McMackin said. "On Sunday, we had a real talk. It wasn't pretty. I got some things off of my mind."

McMackin challenged several of the 30 seniors on the 64-player travel roster.

"I love these players," McMackin said. "These are the greatest players I've coached. They're the best I've been around. They want it so bad — for the seniors, and for the state of Hawai'i. They listen to you. And they believe in each other. That's why it was good to be on the road for the week. We were together. We were working for each other."

Kaneshiro highlights the great games by Kealoha Pilares and Daniel Libre.

Libre and Kealoha Pilares had taken turns filling in for each other this season while each dealt with injuries. But they finally took the field together yesterday and played major roles in UH's most productive offensive performance.

While Libre set a career high for yards and touchdowns, Pilares -- playing primarily at slotback -- also surpassed his previous receiving bests with 10 receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown.

"That's a good combination," Hawaii head coach Greg McMackin said. "We want to get as much speed and athletic ability on the field as we can."

Ferd Lewis has some news and notes about Pilares and Libre, Oceanic PPV subscribers getting a partial refund, Josh Rice getting a tackle and Francis Maka having a good game at defensive tackle.

Senior defensive lineman Francis Maka, who won an eligibility appeal and rejoined the Warriors Oct. 9 after missing the first five games of the season, is making his 6-foot-2, 265-pound presence felt.

Maka was in on six tackles, including one sack and two tackles for losses, in his starting debut. Maka, who was originally a defensive end, was switched to defensive tackle this week to take advantage of his quickness.

Ferd writes that Ryan Mouton is back on defense to stay.

Mouton, back at his familiar cornerback position after an experiment at slotback, returned a second-quarter interception 91 yards that helped UH open up a 27-14 lead over New Mexico State in a game it eventually won, 42-30.

"It was a little weird," Mouton said. "They (teammates and coaches) were telling me, 'You score on defense but you couldn't even score on offense.' "

But, Mouton said, "it felt great."

Jason Kaneshiro has some news and notes about Mouton, Maka, etc.

Sarah Stoltzfus and Felix Chavez have specials to the Star-Bulletin and Advertiser respectively, writing about NMSU receiver Chris Williams' big day, racking up 221 yards and 3 TDs.

Chavez also writes about NMSU defensive lineman La'auli Fonoti, who went to Kahuku. He had seven tackles, two sacks, two tackles for a loss, one forced fumble and a quarterback hurry.

And Craig Gima writes that UH licensing revenue nearly doubled last year, due in large part to Sugar Bowl merchandise sales.

UH received $631,910 in the fiscal year ending June 30, compared with $317,009 in the previous year, according to Carolyn Tanaka, UH vice president of external affairs.

The money doesn't reflect actual retail sales, but payments from licensed wholesalers who put a UH logo on products. They pay the university 8 percent of the selling price of goods to the university.