Arms race ends tonight

IT'S billed as "Military Night," as Nevada and Hawaii meet in a college football game tonight. You still can't bring weapons into Aloha Stadium, but plenty will be on display. The Warriors will run-and-shoot with their shotgun and Nevada -- which earned continued possession of a cannon last week by beating its rival UNLV -- will brandish its pistol.

Hawaii vs. Nevada at Aloha Stadium Kickoff: 6:05 p.m. TV: PPV, Dig. 255 Radio: 1420-AM The line: Hawaii by 12

And the players have all got guns. (Except for the kickers, of course.)

When Nevada has the ball: It's a mistake to think of the Wolf Pack offense as a finesse operation just because they spread the field horizontally with a one-back formation.

"The run is the No. 1 thing for us -- we've got to stop the run," Warriors linebacker Solomon Elimimian said. "They're very physical, but we are too, so we have to gang-tackle and just play our defense."

Nevada coach Chris Ault knew Robert Hubbard would be capable at the lone running back spot, but worried about depth before the season. Freshman Brandon Fragger has performed so well, he might supplant the senior, who was out with a bruised knee last week. Fragger rushed for 146 yards against UNLV.

Caleb Spencer was considered Nevada's most dependable receiver headed into the season, but the Kamehameha graduate has no touchdowns this fall and did not catch a pass last week for the first time in 28 games.

UH's secondary seems to be solidifying, with C.J. Hawthorne and Kenny Patton at the corners and Leonard Peters and Jake Patek at the safeties. But defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said A.J. Martinez, Myron Newberry and Gerard Lewis will continue to get opportunities at corner.

C.J. Allen-Jones reclaimed his starting position at weakside linebacker, and Karl Noa is back on the other side.

"I don't think it's the system, I think it's the players," Glanville said. "I've noticed that my system works a lot better with better players."

When Hawaii has the ball: The Warriors, who have allowed just nine sacks in four games, suffered five last year against the Wolf Pack, who play out of a base 3-4.

"It's actually a 3-4 in name only, because we do so many different things out of it," Ault said.

One of those things is blitz.

"I think defensively they'll have some new wrinkles ... as they do every time we play them," UH coach June Jones said. "We didn't block 'em very well last year in the offensive line. I think that was our worst game."

And end J.J. Milan, Nevada's leader this year with five sacks, wasn't even playing because of injury.

UH will have to slow down the pressure. The return of 280-pound backup fullback Reagan Mauia after resting a tender shoulder last week should help.

Quarterback Colt Brennan had stretches of perfection last week, but that was against a Division I-AA team. He is among the nation's leaders in most passing and total offense categories, and leads in touchdowns responsible for with 15.

Slotback Davone Bess leads the country in receptions per game (7.75). He said the Warriors can continue their offensive production (500.5 yards per game, third in the nation) against Nevada.

"It's just a matter of us feeling comfortable," he said. "Colt's feeling comfortable, the O-line's comfortable. Everybody's feeling comfortable and poised."

Special teams: Nevada hasn't done anything spectacular in the return game, and that's a relief for Hawaii since it will be missing three starters from its kickoff coverage unit due to injuries.

Wolf Pack punter Zacary Whited has performed well, planting six of 12 punts inside the opponents' 20 and averaging 41.2 yards per kick.

UH punter Kurt Milne didn't play last week for the first time since his redshirt year. The Warriors didn't punt, and Inoke Funaki has replaced him as holder. David Farmer is the new short snapper, while Jake Ingram retains the duty for punts.

KEY MATCHUP
Hawaii QB Colt Brennan vs. Nevada CB Joe Garcia

The history between these two goes back to a high school all-star game in 2001 when Garcia intercepted Brennan twice.

"One of them I just threw it up there and he got it, the other one got tipped and it just landed in his hands," the Hawaii quarterback said.

Last year, Garcia intercepted a Brennan pass to thwart a fourth-quarter drive by the Warriors and set up the Wolf Pack's final score at Reno.

"Yeah, he's gotten me every time we played," Brennan said.

Actually, not.

Brennan's Saddleback team routed Garcia's Long Beach squad twice in 2004, when both were in junior college.

Brennan and Garcia are now established as two of the best players at their positions in the WAC, if not the nation. Both are leaders statistically and on watch lists for postseason awards.

Garcia is 20th in the NCAA in interceptions with three, and Brennan's five interceptions in 156 attempts is a pretty good ratio, especially considering he has 14 touchdown passes.

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