Offense to rule the day

EL PASO, Texas » Hawaii and coach June Jones were involved in a quarterback matchup similar to tonight's between UH's Colt Brennan and New Mexico State's Chase Holbrook when Nick Rolovich outdueled Miami (Ohio) freshman Ben Roethlisberger in a 52-51 thriller in 2001. Rolo passed for 500 yards and seven touchdowns and Big Ben tossed for 452 yards and three scores. A total of 106 passes were thrown.

Hawaii at New Mexico State Kickoff: 2:05 p.m. TV: PPV, Dig. 255 Radio: 1420-AM The line: Hawaii by 20 1/2

Aggies coach Hal Mumme recalls something like this in 1997. He was at Kentucky, where he had Tim Couch doing the slinging. The Wildcats played Tennessee, and Peyton Manning was the quarterback for the Volunteers. Couch and Manning combined for a mere 85 passes and seven touchdowns. That could be surpassed by the third quarter tonight. The good news for Hawaii fans is Tennessee won that game 59-31, partly because of the Vols' superior running game, led by Jamal Lewis (not to mention a little defense). The Warriors are distinctly stronger than NMSU in the running game tonight, with Nate Ilaoa.

When Hawaii has the ball: Two-time reigning WAC Offensive Player of the Week Colt Brennan hasn't thrown an interception in two games, and his pick-free streak is up to 89 passes.

Ian Sample has a streak going, too. The wide receiver has two touchdowns in three straight games. Ross Dickerson, moved back from wideout to his original position, slotback. He had a great game against Fresno State last week with 10 receptions for 115 yards and one touchdown.

The offensive line has also improved with each game. "It's hard to be physical when you're pass blocking, but they find a way," Jones said.

The Aggies are banged up on defense, with three starters likely out. The loss of end La'auli Fonoti, nose guard Jeremy Weeks and middle linebacker Michael Hernishin makes a defense that's thin to begin with weaker still.

Cornerback Courtney Bryan has NFL potential, but he can't cover four receivers by himself.

"Not to disrespect them or anything, but they look about the same as last year," UH receiver Davone Bess (who leads the nation in catches per game) said of the NMSU secondary.

When New Mexico State has the ball: Chase Holbrook -- the nation's No. 1 yardage passer, with Brennan right behind him -- has been bothered a bit by a hip pointer, but will play. Although NMSU's best plays are short crossing patterns, Holbrook is more than capable of throwing long. It was a 65-yard bomb in high school that convinced Mumme he could quarterback his offense.

Chris Williams is the best receiver in the Aggies stable, with 46 catches for the season. NMSU comes in waves; six other players have at least 10 catches, and eight others at least one grab.

Jeremiah Williams usually gets the ball on the rare occasions that the Aggies run, and has been effective in short yardage. He leads the team with six touchdowns, four rushing and two receiving.

Holbrook is not that mobile, as the 23 sacks allowed by a young offensive line will attest.

UH inside linebackers Adam Leonard and Solomon Elimimian have been sturdy against the run. They hope to join the secondary in making plays against the pass tonight.

"We need to get some interceptions going," Leonard said. "All of our inside linebackers are athletic, can play the run or the pass. Hopefully we'll get an opportunity to get some balls."

UH turned all three Fresno State turnovers into touchdowns last week.

Special teams: NMSU's kicking has been so bad that Mumme begged the student body, any student body, male or female, to step forward. No ladies so far, but a guy from the golf team and another fellow expressed interest, but not much talent, so the Aggies are stuck for now with Matt Pratt. Pratt is 2-for-7 in field goals, and Mumme said he would have a hard time trading him "for an old football." Chris Williams is a threat returning kicks (23.9 average) and especially punts (21.0). The problem is hardly anyone punts against NMSU. Williams has managed only three chances. Dan Kelly is 4-for-5 on field goals for UH, but the Warriors botched two more PAT tries last week. Fortunately for Hawaii, they weren't needed in a 31-point win.

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KEY MATCHUP
New Mexico St. receivers vs. Hawaii cornerbacks

Chris Williams wasn't even listed as a starter for the Aggies in training camp, but he replaced an injured Tim Tolbert and now he's second in the nation with 121 receiving yards per game. He's coming off his best game, grabbing 13 balls for 191 yards against Boise State.

Williams is a diminutive 5-feet-8 and 155 pounds. He's a major reason the Warriors are deploying Gerard Lewis (5-9, 168) and Myron Newberry (5-8, 164) as the starting cornerbacks. They aren't much bigger than Williams, but they have the speed to cover him and have been playing the best lately among UH's six-man cornerback by committee.

Starter Kenny Patton was lost to a broken collarbone last week; some combination of Guyton Galdeira, A.J. Martinez, Ryan Keomaka and C.J. Hawthorne will spell Lewis and Newberry when needed.

"Especially in this game, we need the speed," Warriors defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said. "The Texas guys (home state of both Lewis and Newberry) have also been playing the ball the best."

A.J. Harris (37 receptions, two touchdowns) and Derek Dubois (33 catches, five scores) and others will get open if too much attention is paid to Williams.

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