Game Day: Hawaii at SJSU

Here are today's game day previews:

Warriors to face nation’s lowest-ranked run defense, from the Maui News

San Jose State looks to focus after Tomey's retirement announcement, by Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News

After announcing that he would retire at the end of the season, Tomey has temporarily put the future aside. The focus is on the Warriors, who, despite a two-game winning streak, present the most winnable game for SJSU in weeks.

Tomey says his team, which has lost five in a row, hasn't succumbed to distractions and had a great week of practice.

"Their focus this week has been excellent, just excellent," Tomey said. "The only extra motivation that we need right now is that we need a win, and we know that Hawaii needs it too."

Warriors wish Tomey well -- after today, by Jason Kaneshiro

"(Tomey) is going to have those guys ready to play," said UH associate coach Rich Miano. "We're going to have to play a great game because they're going to be fired up."

Miano and assistant head coach George Lumpkin represent the remaining links between Tomey's UH career and the current staff.

Lumpkin served as an assistant throughout Tomey's 10 years in Manoa, while Miano developed from a walk-on into an All-WAC safety under his leadership.

"One of the most influential coaches of my life," Miano said.

UH can't afford slip-up in San Jose, by Stephen Tsai

"Pressure?" senior linebacker Blaze Soares said. "When your back is against the wall, are you going to stay in the corner or fight your way out? It's how you rise to the occasion. We're going to go down swinging. That's the type of style we have."

Defensive tackle Vaughn Meatoga said: "We have nothing to lose. Those are the scariest people. It's about working hard and never giving up."

Hawaii has been keeping secrets

This past week, Hawai'i's football practices were closed to the public.

It was a way of keeping the Warriors' game plan secret from sympathizers of today's opponent, San Jose State.

In a twist, the Warriors also were kept in suspense about the availability of starting quarterback Bryant Moniz and left slotback Greg Salas.

Moniz, who has started six consecutive games, has been suffering from bruised right ribs. He did not participate in team drills during full practices this week.

Tsai also has notes on his blog.

Spartans should not stop UH's run, by Ferd Lewis

It is the third week in a row of the win-or-else bowl sweepstakes for the 4-6 (2-5 WAC) Warriors, who must take all three remaining games to finish with a winning record and be bowl eligible.

No small task but at least, at 1-8 (0-5 WAC), the Spartans are by far the least daunting of the remaining opponents. In fact, the Warriors are three-point favorites on the Las Vegas betting line, a road game rarity these days.

The best part is that, to date, the Spartans have not looked like what we have come to recognize as a Tomey-coached team.

In a decade at UH and beyond to Arizona, Tomey's teams were characteristically good at running the ball and tenacious against the ground game as well as solid on special teams. These Spartans have been none of the above.