Monday, October 5, 1998
By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Southern Methodist running back Rodnick Phillips
looks for running room against Hawaii on Saturday night.
For UH, ‘O’
means zero
Rainbows suffer back-to-back shutouts
for the first time in 34 years; scoreless streak
is at nine quartersStar-Bulletin Staff
It took Hawaii head coach Fred vonAppen only 28 games to accomplish something that hasn't happened here in exactly 34 years.
Not since the 1964 Rainbows were blanked by Cal State Los Angeles and Fresno State has Hawaii suffered back-to-back shutouts. The latter 20-0 defeat to the Bulldogs also occurred on Oct. 3.
That UH team went on to finish 4-5, a record vonAppen would take in a heartbeat this season. But after watching Southern Methodist run Hawaii's scoreless streak to nine quarters with a 28-0 victory Saturday, that seems unlikely.
Hawaii arguably has the worst offense in America. The Rainbows managed only two first downs in the opening 30 minutes Saturday, and UH finished with an anemic 95 yards rushing and 79 passing.
Junior quarterback Dan Robinson was sacked three times to run his total to 14 in 15 quarters. He completed only 7 of 25 passes and threw the first three interceptions of his Division I career.
"Obviously, I don't have the answers, because if I did, I would be able to do something about this terrible performance," UH offensive coordinator Don Lindsey said. "It boggles the mind."
By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
The Rainbows' Charles Tharp finds no running
room against Southern Methodist.
Rainbows can’t
fill in the blanksWith zero points in the last nine quarters,
By Paul Arnett
it's possible they might have zero wins this season
Star-BulletinThe offense's performance the last two games is worse than "A Very Brady Sequel."
If the offensive linemen aren't yanking defenders to the ground, they're letting them go straight to the target -- aka Hawaii quarterback Dan Robinson.
Much like Sally Field's transformations in "Sybil," the running game goes to bed in a traditional I-formation and wakes up the next morning in the option.
Even the passing game has a mind of its own, leaving UH offensive coordinator Don Lindsey, who is responsible for this multiple personality, shaking his head.
He wanted to develop offensive toughness and he believed the best way to do that was to add Nebraska's veer to the playbook. The hope was that quarterback Josh Skinner would call this option phase of the offense his own, then let Robinson come in and spread things out with a precision passing game. In theory, a nice idea. In reality, mass confusion.
"We are a dysfunctional offense," Lindsey said after SMU blanked Hawaii, 28-0, last Saturday night. "At this moment, I don't know what else to do but go back out there and try to get better. We make some good plays. But unfortunately, we make a lot of bad ones, too."
The mental miscues that produced these inconsistencies resulted in Hawaii's 10th consecutive loss. It was the first time the Rainbows were blanked back-to-back since Cal State Los Angeles and Fresno State turned the trick exactly 34 years ago.
A lot of the blame for the anemic offense falls on the shoulder pads of Robinson. He completed only seven passes in the conference loss to the Mustangs, threw the first three interceptions of his Division I career and was sacked three times to run his total to 14 in 15 quarters of play.
"Our offense was awful," UH head coach Fred vonAppen said yesterday. "Dan is not throwing the football well at all. He is missing guys who are wide open. Charles (Tharp) can't seem to get untracked and our offensive line made too many stupid penalties.
"I don't blame people for being upset. I'm upset because we aren't coaching them well enough. I thought our defense was competitive until the last six minutes of the game. Then we give up two quick ones, which makes things look worse than they really were.
"We can't let the defense point fingers at the offense. This is a team game. You win and lose together. I told them after the game that pointing fingers at each other will only impede our progress. Right now, we're a bad team. We can either accept that and just show up, or work harder and try to do something about it."
It doesn't get any easier this Friday as the Rainbows try to end more losing streaks than Hawaii's top computers care to count. The current losing streak is the second-longest in the country.
The Rainbows also have lost their last 21 Western Athletic Conference road games and the past eight with San Diego State. They haven't scored a point in nine quarters and are in danger of losing every time this season.
"What our team has to guard against is believing what they read in the newspaper, hear on the radio and see on television," vonAppen said. "As coaches, we've been through tough times before, but most of our players haven't.
"Guys watching on the sidelines believe they can play better. Some of our players aren't buying into the platoon-system we use. They feel if they're playing all the time, that we'll win. We have to guard against that kind of thinking as coaches because that's a cancer that can spread very quickly and kill a team."
Senior nose tackle Tony Tuioti said he won't let the defense start blaming the offense. Junior inside linebacker Jeff Ulbrich agreed. No matter how frustrating things get, a positive mental outlook is the only way to combat all the negativity.
"It gets frustrating to keep stopping the opponent and then watching our offense go three and out," Tuioti said. "But the way we played in the fourth quarter, I don't think we can say anything.
"We knew coming in we had all the veterans on our side of the ball. We knew we were going to have to play even harder while our young guys on offense gained experience.
"As a senior, it's tough to keep losing the way we do. But getting down and upset about it isn't the right way to deal with things. We've got to stay focused and remain positive until things start going our way."
How much longer Hawaii fans back this way of thinking remains to be seen. Last Saturday's crowd was the smallest since 1976. Many stayed around until the fourth quarter, hoping Hawaii would find a way to win.
"So was I," UH running backs coach Don Dillon said. "I just kept waiting for us to come together and do the things I know we're capable of doing. The bottom line is lack of consistency. We've got to keep working on that."
News and Notes
Defense rising
Hawaii's defense shot up the charts faster than the latest Celine Dion hit.
Despite not being listed in the top 50 in scoring defense, rushing defense and passing defense, the Rainbows are tied for No. 38 nationally in total defense with Michigan.
The Rainbows are yielding an average of 332 yards a game. That is the only major NCAA team and individual category where the Rainbows cracked the top 50.
Two weeks ago, the Rainbows were No. 86 in total defense, yielding 406.5 yards a game. UH defensive coordinator Tom Williams is pleased with the improvement, but the final six minutes of the SMU game still stick in his craw.
"We're not supposed to give up two touchdowns in six minutes," Williams said of the two scores that made the final, 28-0. "We'll definitely have a talk about that."
Penalty City
The breakdown was four false-starts, three holding and one personal foul, something that didn't sit too well with UH head coach Fred vonAppen.
Top offensive tackle Kaulana Noa was called once for holding. A second holding penalty by tight end Jimmy McClain nullified a great catch by fullback Calvin Mims that would have resulted in a first and goal from the 5.
"Our offensive line play was abysmal," vonAppen said.
Smashing debut
Zoller went both ways in high school, but couldn't have imagined he would be the Rainbows' leading rusher in the loss to SMU. Zoller picked up 43 yards on 10 carries, including a long of 9.
"Derek came in and ran the ball well, especially on such short notice," UH running backs coach Don Dillon said. "We only had a few plays designed for him and he made the most of them."
Did you see?
"Getting to play the entire game made a difference for me," Ulbrich said. "I'm starting to get more comfortable with the defensive assignments."
Injury update
Ching returned for the first time in several weeks, but reinjured his hamstring late in the game. His status is doubtful. Austin is out.
Hawaii has already lost linebackers Gonzales (ankle) and Steve Dietschy (knee) for the San Diego State game. Linebacker Rinda Brooks (concussion) also won't make the trip. It's possible he will seek a medical hardship.
By Paul Arnett
Conference Standings
Pacific Division
W L Pct. W L Pct. San Jose State 1 0 1.000 2 3 .400 Fresno State 1 0 1.000 1 3 .250 San Diego State 1 0 1.000 1 3 .250 Utah 1 1 .555 3 2 .600 Brigham Young 0 1 .000 2 3 .400 Texas-El Paso 0 1 .000 0 4 .000 New Mexico 0 2 .000 2 3 .400 Hawaii 0 2 .000 0 4 .000Mountain Division
W L Pct. W L Pct. Texas Christian 1 0 1.000 3 1 .750 Wyoming 1 0 1.000 3 1 .750 Rice 1 0 1.000 1 3 .250 Air Force 3 1 .750 4 1 .800 Colorado State 2 1 .667 4 2 .667 Southern Methodist 1 1 .500 1 4 .200 Tulsa 0 1 .000 2 2 .500 Nevada-Las Vegas 0 2 .000 0 5 .000
Virginia 52, San Jose State 14 Last week
Saturday's games
Air Force 56, New Mexico 14
San Diego State 24, Tulsa 14
Wyoming 27, Utah 24
Texas Christian 19, Vanderbilt 16 (2 OT)
Colorado State 20, Texas-El Paso 17
Fresno State 31, Brigham Young 21
Nevada 31, Nevada-Las Vegas 20
Southern Methodist 28, Hawaii 0
Hawaii at San Diego State, 4 p.m. This week
Friday's game
Saturday's games
Navy at Air Force, 8 a.m.
Nevada-Las Vegas at Brigham Young, 8 a.m.
Southern Methodist at Wyoming, 9 a.m.
Tulsa at Colorado State, 9:30 a.m.
Fresno State at Texas Christian, 1 p.m.
Texas-El Paso at New Mexico, 2 p.m.
Rice at San Jose State, 3 p.m.
UH season statistics
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Car Yards Avg. TD Long Charles Tharp 57 225 3.9 0 19 Avion Weaver 17 56 3.3 0 7 Calvin Mims 13 43 3.3 0 8 Derek Zoller 10 43 4.3 0 9 Bronson Liana 8 30 3.8 0 9 Anthony DiIeso 1 4 4.0 0 4 Afatia Thompson 1 3 3.0 0 3 Jauron Pigg 1 -1 -1.0 0 -1 Dan Robinson 39 -5 -0.1 0 15 Josh Skinner 5 -9 -1.8 0 3Att Comp Yards Int TD Dan Robinson 103 45 645 3 2 Josh Skinner 7 0 0 0 0 Bronson Liana 4 1 2 0 0Rec Yards TD Long Wesley Morris 19 229 0 48 Dwight Carter 10 168 2 69 Davey deLaura 5 73 0 39 Eleu Kane 4 116 0 55 Charles Tharp 3 -3 0 2 Craig Stutzman 2 34 0 28 Calvin Mims 1 19 0 19 Jimmy McClain 1 7 0 7
TD XP 2XP SAF FG Pts Dwight Carter 2 0 0 0 0 12 Chad Shrout 0 1 0 0 2-5 7 Kamuela Cobb-Adams 1 0 0 0 0 6 Chris Pinkney 0 0 1 0 0 2No. Yards Avg. Long Chad Shrout 34 1,285 37.8 53Punts Kickoffs No. Yds. Lg No. Yds. Lg Dwight Carter 6 30 14 3 64 23 Eleu Kane 5 32 21 9 168 28 James Polk 2 17 8.5 0 0 0 Daniel Ho-Ching 1 11 11 0 0 0 Wesley Morris 0 0 0 3 63 26 Robert Kemfort 0 0 0 1 3 3DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Una Ast Total Loss Sack Matt Paul 10 9 19 0 0 Anthony Smith 12 6 18 0 0 Jeff Ulbrich 12 3 15 2 1 Tony Tuioti 10 5 15 1 0 Kamuela Cobb-Adams 8 6 14 1 0 Donnell Williams 10 3 13 0 0 Quincy LeJay 12 1 13 0 0 Phil Austin 10 1 11 2 1 Miles Garner 5 4 9 2 0 Ben Bright 8 1 9 2 2 Joaquin Avila 6 3 9 2 0 Matt Elam 4 4 8 0 0 Houdini Jackson 5 2 7 1 0 Daniel Ho-Ching 4 2 6 0 0 C. Garnier 6 0 6 0 0 Rinda Brooks 5 0 5 0 0 Jose[h Correia 3 2 5 1 0 Mark Mollner 4 1 5 0 1 Stephen Gonzales 4 0 4 1 1 James Polk 4 0 4 0 0 Olen Rosehill 3 0 3 1 1 Yaphet Warren 2 0 2 1 0 Jovon Jiles 1 0 2 0 0 Wesley Morris 1 1 2 0 0 Celnell Bobbitt 1 1 2 0 0 Chuck Thompson 1 1 2 0 0 Chad Shrout 1 0 1 0 0 Bobby. Morgan 1 0 1 0 0 Mike Iosua 0 1 1 0 0Opp UH Rushing Yards 560 389 Passing Yards 768 647 Total offense 1,328 1,036 Scoring Average 26.3 6.8
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
