UH vs Idaho Wrap-Ups

Doom in dome, by Jason Kaneshiro

The Warriors moved the ball effectively in the first half, but their continued troubles in the red zone proved costly. The Vandals had no such issues, as running back DeMaundray Woolridge rushed for four touchdowns to send the Warriors (2-4) to their fourth straight defeat.

"We're a young football team and we're making young mistakes right now," said UH head coach Greg McMackin, who placed responsibility for the loss on his own shoulders. "I'm devastated and feel terrible."

UH football team loses fourth straight, from the AP via The Maui News

UH loses fourth in a row and Bradley to season-ending injury, by Stephen Tsai

And, after suffering their fourth consecutive defeat, they appear to have lost their way.

"It's embarrassing to our program," said Blaze Soares, a senior linebacker. "Losing to these guys, it sucks. I never lost to them throughout my career. To lose to them my senior year, it's just an embarrassment.

"We couldn't finish the deal," Soares added. "The offense couldn't score in the red zone. The defense couldn't stop them. They came up with big plays."

Assistant coach Dave Aranda said the Warriors had more assignment "busts" yesterday than in any other game the past two seasons.

When one player misses an assignment, McMackin said, "it hurts the defense."

Miano said: "The hard part to fix is it isn't the same guy every time. It's guys taking turns making mistakes. ... We're not good enough to have nine or 10 guys play the defense. We need 11."

Bradley's broken leg distressing to Warriors, by Jason Kaneshiro

"I love the kid. ... He's one of our best players and he's a great kid," McMackin said. "Shoot, it's terrible. It's devastating."

It was the latest in a series of injuries that have ravaged the Warriors through the first half of the season. Linebacker Brashton Satele had season-ending shoulder surgery during fall camp. The last time the Warriors played on the mainland, quarterback Greg Alexander tore two ligaments in his left knee in a loss at Louisiana Tech.

Warriors' Bradley suffers 'devastating' injury, by Ferd Lewis

Bradley, who left the game by ambulance amid the prayers of his teammates who had taken a knee at midfield, underwent successful surgery at a local hospital where a rod was inserted in his leg, according to UH officials.

The article also includes notes about a futless JoJo Dickson, the timeout Coach Mack said he didn't call at the end of the first half, and Coach Mack taking responsibility for the loss.

Short snaps: UH vs. Idaho, by Jason Kaneshiro has news and notes about Dickson, the timeout, Greg Salas, etc.

After stellar play, it came to bitter end for UH's Smith, by Ferd Lewis

Opponents went out of their way to tell him "good game" and a TV camera crew stood by to interview him. If UH had a defensive player of the game, it was Smith.

But for all his game-high 12 tackles and otherwise sturdy play, Smith the perfectionist said he was haunted by the one play that got away. One bad decision in 56 defensive plays.

"I felt I played a good game ... maybe my best one — until the end," Smith said. "That last play stays in my head."

Hoping to give the Warriors the big defensive breakthrough they had lacked all afternoon, the junior from Marietta, Ga. tried to anticipate a play and got burned on a third-and-35 situation in the fourth quarter that allowed the Vandals a first down, prolonging a drive that eventually gave Idaho a 35-17 lead.

The article also has notes about the Noke, the fake field goal, and Leon Wright-Jackson.

Vandals whip Hawaii, by Josh Wright of The Spokesman-Review

Vandals bowl eligible after sixth win, from GoVandals.com

Idaho takes down Hawai'i 35-23, by Jennifer Schlake of The Argonaut

Day after, by Stephen Tsai has some post-game thoughts, including:

• Joe Avery will be Bradley's successor. The Warriors are unlikely to move slotback Greg Salas back to wideout.

• I can't remember a year when there have been so many season-ending situations to key players: Brashton Satele, Malcolm Lane, Brysen Ginlack, Greg Alexander and Bradley.

• It's interesting that there's been no talk about right tackle Laupepa Letuli's expected return. Letuli is the only player in which UH has not posted a specific injury report.

• Expect the Warriors to simplify the defensive schemes.

Time after time, it all falls apart for Hawaii, by Ferd Lewis

The 35-23 thumping by Idaho was the fourth defeat in a row for the Warriors and the most telling yet for the program in this season gone steadily sour.

What it said was more disturbing than merely the score or the 2-4 (0-3 in the Western Athletic Conference) record now burdening UH. It spoke beyond the painful truth that UH, which needs to win five of its seven remaining games to be bowl-eligible, won't be going to a postseason this year.

Mostly, it was an unmistakable symbol of how the once-proud program continues to plummet.

Garret of UH Warrior Quotes discovers this disturbing statistic:

I thought that UH hadn't been making good adjustments at halftime this season so I went through the boxscores to look at what happened in the third quarters this season. This is what I found:

3rd quarter scoring this season:
UH 0, Idaho 7
UH 0, Fresno State 14
UH 0, La Tech 14
UH 0, UNLV 7
UH 0, Washington State 7

UH has not scored a single point in the 3rd quarter against D-IA teams this season! That comes out to opponents 49, UH 0...and the 3rd quarter was even cited by Mac as a key reason for the loss against UNLV. Today's game was close at halftime and UH could have won the game with a strong 3rd quarter.

Whatever adjustments are being made at halftime just don't seem to be effective...though the adjustments the opponents are making seem to work better. I had a feeling that the 3rd quarter scoring wasn't good this season so I looked things up and was surprised at 49-0. To me, this is the most overlooked stat this season.

Nice work, Garret. Now I'm sad. So let's move off-topic to another Garett, who lost his hair for a good cause.



And finally, BIG CONGRATS to UH Wahine volleyball coach Dave Shoji for earning his 1000th victory last night.