Monday, November 2, 1998
When things
go bad . . .
The breaks continue to
By Paul Arnett
go against Hawaii as it remains
winless and headed for last
place in the WAC
Star-BulletinWhen you're sliding down the slippery slope of a 14-game losing streak, you're not always able to safely negotiate the rocks and trees along the way.
Case in point is Saturday night's controversial call that took away a well-executed fake punt by Hawaii and turned it into a momentum swing that even Texas-El Paso head coach Charlie Bailey couldn't deny.
Instead of having the ball near the Miners' 20-yard line, the Rainbows were forced to punt after officials ruled late that walk-on Bo Espinoza was illegally down field.
Granted, Hawaii trailed by only three at the time and may have figured out a way to score some points to tie or take the lead. But that in itself doesn't create a turning point.
It was those two touchdowns UTEP scored in the fourth quarter that made the real difference in the 30-13 loss that dropped Hawaii to 0-8 for the season and likely assured the Rainbows of a last-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference for the fourth time in five years.
"It was like all the air was let out of our balloon after that penalty," UH head coach Fred vonAppen said yesterday afternoon. "Here we look like we've finally come up with a big play in a crucial situation, and they take it away from us on a questionable call.
"We're going to send in the film to the league because it doesn't look like anyone is down field except Anthony Smith, which is OK. Nothing can be done about it now. We just have to move on."
UH assistants Tom Williams, Doug Semones and Troy Thomas confronted officials outside the locker room to let them know what they thought of the late whistle.
The ensuing shouting match turned so ugly, a UTEP official posted a local policeman outside the door until cooler heads prevailed on both sides.
"There's no way he was illegally down field," Williams said, his voice filled with frustration. "That call cost us a chance to win."
One official responded, "You've got nothing to complain about," which sent Semones into a sea of red-faced anger.
"This is our livelihood we're talking about," Semones yelled. "This is how I feed my wife and family. That call was absolutely horrible."
The call also epitomized a season that UH offensive coordinator Don Lindsey described as mind-boggling yesterday as he studied film of San Jose State.
"It seems like we've had a curse on this team the three years I've been here," Lindsey said. "I don't know what else you could call it. It seems like the world is against us.
"Everything is magnified when you're in a situation like this. No matter what you do, no matter what play you call, no matter what the situation, things haven't worked out for us.
"It's hard on us as coaches and it's hard for our players, who are busting their tail ends, but can't find a way to get over the hump. It flat breaks your spirit."
The Rainbows will try to raise their spirits Saturday against the struggling Spartans in the last league home game of the season.
Since taking over the program in 1996, vonAppen is a woeful 2-20 in the WAC, including two lopsided losses to San Jose State by a combined 45 points.
"There are no easy opponents on our schedule," vonAppen said. "It's so hard for us to get a win. You can point to different things in different games that have cost us, but the bottom line is, good teams find ways to win."
UH quarterback Dan Robinson will try to find a way to get back on the field. The battered and bruised junior was used sparingly in Saturday's loss. Lindsey hopes he will be cleared for takeoff Saturday at Aloha Stadium.
"We're planning on him being better," Lindsey said. "The reason we held him out for so long was because we couldn't afford for him to get hurt. One bad hit could have done it."
Freshman Bronson Liana also will see some time at QB. He had his moments in the loss to the Miners. But once the UTEP defense learned he doesn't like to pitch on the option or throw when rushed, Lindsey had to pull him.
"Once they put nine guys in the box, we just weren't able to run the ball as well as we did in the first half," Lindsey said. "And when Dan came in, you could just tell he didn't have it."
The defense hasn't had it, either. Hawaii has yielded at least 28 points in each of its last five games. UTEP was particularly effective. Not only did James Polk rush for 168 yards and two touchdowns, the Miners had three receivers combine to catch 13 passes for 150 yards and two scores.
"We didn't perform as well as I had hoped," Williams said. "They did a good job of establishing the run, which made it difficult for us to cover the pass.
"We're pretty banged up back there. I think our guys got a little tired in the fourth quarter, but let me say this: Both of their touchdowns passing should have been called back for interference."
But as vonAppen put it, "When you're losing, nothing seems to go your way. We still have four games to try to change that. It won't be easy, but we need to find a way to get it done, and soon."
Pacific Division WAC
W L Pct. W L Pct. Brigham Young 4 1 .800 6 3 .667 San Diego State 4 1 .800 4 4 .500 Utah 3 2 .600 5 3 .625 Fresno State 3 2 .600 3 5 .375 Texas-El Paso 3 2 .600 3 5 .375 San Jose State 2 3 .400 3 6 .333 New Mexico 1 5 .167 3 6 .333 Hawaii 0 6 .000 0 8 .000Mountain Division
W L Pct. W L Pct. Wyoming 5 0 1.000 7 1 .875 Air Force 5 1 .833 7 1 .875 Colorado State 4 2 .667 7 3 .700 Rice 3 2 .600 3 5 .375 Southern Meth 3 3 .500 3 6 .333 Texas Christ 2 3 .400 4 4 .500 Tulsa 1 4 .200 3 5 .375 Nevada-LV 0 6 .000 0 9 .000Saturday's gamesAir Force at Army, 7 a.m.
New Mexico at Brigham Young, 9 a.m.
Tulsa at Southern Methodist, 10 a.m.
Rice at Texas Christian, 10 a.m.
Texas-El Paso at Utah, 10 a.m.
Fresno State at San Diego State, 2 p.m.
Wyoming at Colorado State, 4 p.m.
San Jose State at Hawaii, 6 p.m.Last Thursday's result
Brigham Young 13
San Diego State 0Last Saturday's results
Air Force 31
Southern Methodist 7Rice 35
Colorado State 23Fresno State 28
New Mexico 20Tulsa 20
Nevada-Las Vegas 16Utah 49
San Jose State 17Texas-El Paso 30
Hawaii 13Wyoming 34
Texas Christian 27
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