Saturday, October 3, 1998
‘Mo’ still a
no-show for ’Bows,
Mustangs
Both teams are searching
By Paul Arnett
for momentum -- and their
first victory of the season
Star-BulletinTonight's football game is a microcosm as to why the 16-team Western Athletic Conference was doomed from the start.
Southern Methodist and Hawaii are entering their third season as league mates, but this is the first meeting between the two. When asked about a potential 4,000-mile rivalry developing into the next millennium, second-year SMU head coach Mike Cavan looked like Sylvester after swallowing Tweety.
Reporters almost expected him to pat them on the back reassuringly and say, "Haven't they told Hawaii yet? This may be the shortest conference series in SMU's history."
Of course, he didn't say that. Cavan recovered quickly and responded in true company fashion: "All I know is this is a conference game. It's important to them and important to us."
It's the second conference game for both Pacific Division teams. In theory, winning the WAC would be difficult for the loser. Granted, no one believes the rebuilding Rainbows will be in the thick of things come mid-November.
But the same can't be said for SMU. The Ponies were expected to be on the rail and only a head behind front-runners Brigham Young and Utah as the threesome turned for home.
A sticky loss to Rice in overtime in the season opener left SMU wandering the back streets of Dallas for weeks. Not since 1960 have the Mustangs dropped their first four games.
Cavan corralled the Ponies after last week's OT debacle with Mississippi. He told them they had to turn it around tonight against the Rainbows or hold all bets on postseason play.
"I'm sure they believed they had turned the theoretical corner," UH head coach Fred vonAppen said, referring to last year, when SMU recorded its first winning season since 1986. "But momentum is a funny thing. You don't know when it's going to change sides."
Hawaii has waited for it to swing to the Rainbows' sidelines for nine games. The Rainbows haven't won since erasing Fresno State from the postseason picture 347 days ago.
Part of their struggles can be traced to an endless array of injuries. Nine starters are out or doubtful for the SMU game. Chief among them are big-play receiver Dwight Carter (ankle and knee) and Dick Butkus Award nominee Stephen Gonzales (ankle).
Throw in the loss of backup quarterback Josh Skinner (concussion and hamstring) and the ever-changing offensive fronts, and anyone can see why coordinator Don Lindsey isn't expecting a breakout performance.
"We're still trying to find an identity offensively," Lindsey said. "We're looking for that mental toughness you need to finish what you start. We've cut way down on the penalties and the turnovers that killed us last year.
"Now we've got to find a way to get the ball into the end zone. We're going to start the game with Dan Robinson at quarterback, but (walk-on) Bronson Liana will see some playing time. We've made some changes up front that will hopefully help us find some consistency."
Consistency on offense hasn't been a big problem for SMU. Freshman quarterback Josh McCown, junior tailback Rodnick Phillips and senior receiver Albert Johnson give the Ponies a potent attack.
Phillips has rushed for 422 yards and four touchdowns this season. McCown has thrown six touchdown passes and Johnson has caught six. They have kept Tom Williams busy this week designing tonight's game plan.
The rookie UH defensive coordinator wants to stop Johnson from making any big plays. For that to happen, Phillips can't run free. Cavan will try to establish the run, then look for Johnson and wideout David Blueitt with the play-action pass.
"This offensive unit has moved the football on everybody, including Mississippi and Arkansas," Williams said. "They come at you out of the I-formation. They want to establish the run, draw you in and then try to beat you over the top."
Williams will be without linebackers Gonzales and Rinda Brooks (concussion), but welcomes the return of defensive backs Celnell Bobbitt and Daniel Ho-Ching from leg injuries.
UH trainers said both are better, but neither is at full speed. The same can be said of linebackers Kamuela Cobb-Adams (ankle) and Yaphet Warren (hamstring).
"Everybody has injuries," vonAppen said. "All you can do is move on and try to get them back in there. Fortunately, a lot of our injuries are at linebacker, which was the one area where we had some depth.
"What we have to concern ourselves with is figuring out a way to win. We're playing a team that's going through similar emotions. One of us is going to come out of here with a victory. We need it to be us."
WAC football
Records: Southern Methodist (0-4, 0-1 WAC) at Hawaii (0-3, 0-1 WAC)
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
