By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Brian Chapman and Ellie Kapihe find it hard to believe
they've just been whupped by San Jose State, 38-17.
On the fringes of the University of Hawaii locker room, family members of the coaching staff were doing their best not to bolt for the nearest exit minutes after last Saturday's disheartening 38-17 loss to lowly San Jose State.
It's hard enough watching loved ones suffer through a string of defeats that are little by little eating away at their very souls. It's even more difficult having to listen to them answer questions from the inquiring press.
In their eyes is a look of fear, something akin to an insect watching the spider sliding down the web. They've been around football long enough to know that this team isn't going to win any more games.
Fullback Paul Purdy is dragged down by the Spartans.
By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
What they saw over the weekend was a group of players that more closely resembled the Mean Machine vs. the prison guards in the movie "The Longest Yard" than two Division I football teams.
There were penalties galore, 14 in all for 141 yards. But what was particularly disturbing for the Rainbows were their late hits and cheap shots that contributed greatly to them losing the game.
UH defensive coordinator Don Lindsey walked out of the coach's locker room looking like a cast member from "Night of the Living Dead." He thought he had seen everything in his 32 years of coaching.
"But I've never been around anything remotely like this," Lindsey said. "I've been a part of only three losing seasons in 32 years. This is by far the most frustrating and trying.
"I feel like I've aged 100 years this season. And the scary thing is, we've got to prepare for probably the best team in the Western Athletic Conference this weekend and a fine Big Ten team after that.
"BYU can really throw the football. I don't even want to think about what the score will be if we play like we did this weekend. I didn't see that many mental breakdowns, but I did see a lot of physical ones.
"To be honest, there's nothing more we can do than try to get ready for our last two games, starting with BYU. We've gone as far as we can go with these guys. You tell me. What can we do?"
What the Rainbows can try to do is make more plays and fewer mistakes. Taking the week off after the 34-7 loss at Air Force two Saturdays ago did little to sharpen Hawaii's focus.
The Rainbows started each half well, scoring touchdowns on their opening drives, but the rest of the evening was more of the same, and then some.
Kicker Carlton Oswalt missed one field goal wide right and another wide left. The offense had its moments, but they were too few and far between, leaving it up to a defense that responded by yielding 28 first-half points.
Considering the talent level of the 2-8 Spartans, who moved a game ahead of Hawaii in the Pacific Division with a 2-5 league mark, it was probably the worst performance of the season.
"It was an ugly football game," head coach Fred vonAppen said. "It was hard to watch what was happening on the field. But we have to put it behind us and get ready for BYU.
"We can't throw up our hands in despair. We've got to keep playing. We've got to keep playing with what we have. We've tried every conceivable way to squeeze the game plan down to a more workable number to avoid errors.
"Managing a game with this team is a real adventure. I guess we decided to play like the Raiders this week with all the penalties, but we certainly don't teach those. All we can do is work hard and try to rebound against BYU."
BYU isn't exactly a team you rebound against. The Cougars are undefeated in WAC play, are ranked in the top 10 and could have a date in the Fiesta Bowl if they finish 13-1.
They won't be looking past Hawaii to Utah in two weeks. Michigan and Tennessee taught nationally ranked teams a lesson by losing to lesser opponents.
Losing is beginning to have an adverse effect on the Rainbows. When all others doubted, the Rainbows were still able to believe in themselves.
But falling to 2-8 is causing some dissension in the ranks. Adding tension to the strings is if Hawaii loses its last two games to BYU and Wisconsin, the Rainbows will have the worst record in the history of the program.
The only thing close is Hawaii's 1-8-1 mark in 1965.
"What makes Saturday's loss particularly difficult is it was a game most people thought we should win," vonAppen said. "At times, I thought we had our moments, but inconsistency remains a problem.
"We knew coming in that there weren't any quick fixes. This is a program that's at the bottom, trying to work itself back up. It will take time, but more importantly, it will take commitment from many different people.
"I don't know if the public can withstand the rebuilding of the program. But right now, we can't play long enough, hard enough, well enough, to stay consistently competitive against our opponent. Believe me, we're searching for those answers."
Teams: No. 10 Brigham Young University (10-1 overall, 6-0 in the WAC)at Hawaii (2-8, 1-6)When: Saturday, Aloha Stadium, 7:07 p.m.
Weekend update: BYUdefeated Rice, 49-0, while Hawaii lost to San Jose State, 38-17
On a roll: The Cougars' offense was unstoppable last week. With running backs Brian McKenzie (97 yards, two touchdowns) and Ronney Jenkins (109 yards) producing, BYU quarterback Steve Sarkisian passed just 13 times - roughly a third of his usual 32 tosses per game. He completed 10 of them for 206 yards and two TDs.