Friday, October 16, 1998

Numbers add
up to trouble
for Rainbows

UH's low-scoring offense
is looking for answers vs.
BYU's stingy defense

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

Don Lindsey didn't spend his youth in Arkansas working on complicated math equations.

And that's too bad. Because the formula the Hawaii offensive coordinator will have to decipher tomorrow night at Aloha Stadium may be too complicated even for Einstein.

"Help me out," Lindsey said after yesterday's practice. "I'm not kidding. What would you do against a defense like BYU's?

"I was watching the film of their game with Washington and I got physically ill. They dominated them. Washington couldn't do a thing. They were lucky to win."

Hawaii may be fortunate to score. After all, the Rainbows are ranked last in the nation in scoring offense, producing a paltry eight points a game.

The Cougars also have an eight in their equation -- as in a No. 8 national ranking in total defense. They not only are stingy against the run, giving up 90.8 yards a game, but the front seven has the secondary coming up big, too.

BYU is first in the pass-happy Western Athletic Conference and 14th nationally in pass defense with a power rating of 97.32. By comparison, Hawaii is 83rd nationally at 132.35.

"You try to move the ball on the ground against them and pretty soon you find yourself third and long," Lindsey said. "That makes the secondary that much more effective because of the pressure up front and the fact they know you have to throw.

"I'm concerned because we haven't come together as a unit. We aren't consistent. And if we haven't managed to do it in our previous games, it's going to be difficult to move the ball against a team like BYU."

Linebacker Rob Morris, down lineman Byron Frisch and weak safety Jason Walker pace the BYU defense in the last league game between the Cougars and Rainbows.

Morris leads the Cougars in tackles with 65 and sacks with four, and Frisch has 43 tackles and two sacks. Walker has been the beneficiary of the big Cougar pass rush. He leads the nation in interceptions with five.

"They have the complete package," Lindsey said. "What we have to do is try to keep out of obvious passing situations and try to establish an effective ground game. I've got no magic wand. There are no trade secrets."

UH rookie defensive coordinator Tom Williams is finding that out. After trying a variety of combinations in the secondary, Williams is going to mix it up again Saturday.

This week's lineup has three new starters in the secondary and one on the defensive line. Jovon Jiles gets his second start at left corner, and Nate Jackson and Damien Arafiles will be the starting safeties.

Former St. Louis School standout Joseph Correia replaces Matt Elam at defensive end, giving Williams a new look at several key positions.

"We're trying to find guys who want to work hard in practice, and those are the ones who will be on the field," Williams said. "We played terrible last week at San Diego State, and we're going to work on changing that.

"Our safeties did a poor job of tackling that resulted in a lot of big plays for the Aztecs. Their running backs were good, but we definitely flattered them."

Hawaii can't afford to be so gracious this weekend as BYU's Ronney Jenkins is in the same class as San Diego State's Larry Ned and Jonas Lewis.

Jenkins has 474 yards rushing and five touchdowns. He also has 20 receptions for 193 yards, making him doubly dangerous for Hawaii.

"Much like SMU's Rodnick Phillips, we have to know where Jenkins is at all times," Williams said. "He is their breakaway threat."

The Rainbows also have to keep the pressure on junior quarterback Kevin Feterik and wide receiver Margin Hooks. Feterik has thrown for 1,055 yards and eight touchdowns this season.

Hooks has two touchdown receptions and leads BYU in receiving with 21 catches for 461 yards.

"This is not the same kind of BYU offense as in the past," Williams said. "They aren't going to throw the football all over the field, looking for the big play.

"They're going to use the traditional two-back offense and shift into three-wide sets when necessary. They want to run the football with Jenkins, then try to hit you over the top with the long pass. This is another big test for us. Hopefully, we'll execute better than last week."

Conference ranking Category BYU UH Rushing offense 14 16 Passing offense 3 8 Total offense 9 15 Scoring offense 3 16 Rushing defense 2 10 Passing defense 1 13 Total defense 1 8 Scoring defense 4 13

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