Michael Gray of Fresno State gets beyond the reach of Hawaii's
Al Hunter during Saturday's game.
Associated Press Photo
Despite having nine months to study the playbook of the revered West Coast offense, the Rainbows can't seem to get past page one as last Saturday's 20-0 loss at Fresno State would attest.
There were those who suggested after the Western Athletic Conference game that UH offensive coordinator Guy Benjamin was playing not to lose by a wider margin.
Why else would his play-calling be as conservative as a member of the John Birch Society? But before you turn radical and start demanding the return of the old spread offense, try some patience.
First of all, not one of the starters on offense was recruited to play this offense. Quarterback Glenn Freitas is the centerpiece of the option, and no matter how big his heart, he is never going to be a late-blooming Joe Montana.
Starting halfback Carlos Shaw was a cornerback last year, while top fullback Paul Purdy rushed for a total of 17 yards. Wide receivers Dillan Micus and Jason Mane had a combined 40 receptions for 645 yards and three touchdowns.
Respectable, but not exactly numbers that would make a Wall Street analyst's heart stop. And that's only part of the problem.
The real crux of this inability to move the football starts up front. Hawaii's offensive line is only now beginning to see any real improvement. UH assistant coach Walt Klinker has taken an option front and tried to give it a West Coast flavor in too short a time.
To make matters worse, the forward wall also is still learning the ways of Division I football. Remove center Shane Oliveira from the equation - that's not difficult to do given his current health status - and the other four top linemen started a total of zero games last year.
No wonder Benjamin can't get past the prologue of the playbook.
"As I've said, it's going to be a yearlong training camp for this group," Benjamin said. "Not only do we not have any guys up front, other than tight end Ryan Green, who are familiar with this offense. We also don't have any real Division I experience up there. It takes time to develop into a savvy player. You saw how (freshman) Josh Skinner struggled at quarterback against Wyoming. Well, most of our linemen don't have any more experience than he does."
That is going to make things difficult, especially when trying to establish the run first and the pass second.
"If you can't run the football effectively, then you can't pass," UH head coach Fred vonAppen explained. "No matter how hard we tried to move the ball on the ground, Fresno State had an answer."
And this from a team that was ranked No. 107 in the NCAA in total defense going into the game. Using a standard 4-3 defense, the Bulldogs held the Rainbows to only 63 yards rushing on 28 carries.
Hawaii generated just 53 yards on 20 first-down plays, with 19 of those coming on a pass completion from Freitas to Micus. This left the Rainbows in too many second-and-long situations.
"We were able to play a lot of zone and two-deep coverages," Fresno State head coach Jim Sweeney said. "Running the veer - the dive, the keep and pitch - is a science. It takes a lot more time (to run it) than they've had."
It also makes it tough to serve two masters - the veer option and the West Coast offense. Benjamin's original plan was to go West Coast all the way, but during the spring, he decided to use the veer as well because of Hawaii's option background.
That may have slowed the Rainbows' overall progress as they prepare for WAC opponent Colorado State this weekend. Much like Wyoming and Fresno State, Colorado State has struggled on defense.
Unfortunately for vonAppen, everybody seems to get healthy against Hawaii. The Rainbows haven't scored a point in their two league losses this season.
In fact, Saturday's shutout by Fresno State was the Bulldogs' first since 1989. This is a team that yielded 30 points to Oregon, 62 points to Auburn and 45 to Utah. That alone lets vonAppen know how far he still has to go.
"All we can do is strap on the helmet and get ready for Colorado State this Saturday night," vonAppen said. "They're coming off a shellacking to Nebraska, but I'm sure they're viewing this game as a chance to get well.
"Our struggles on offense are likely to continue. We've made some progress, especially in pass protection, but we've got to find ways to move the ball on the ground. If they know you have to pass, then it's easier to stop it."
Freitas has similar feelings.
"It all starts with the running game," he said. "When we couldn't run, they just set up in a two-deep zone, which forces you to throw short underneath.
"The one time we tried to force something deep, they intercepted it because they were just sitting back there waiting for it. It's very frustrating for everybody."
And it's only going to get tougher.
The Rainbows not only have two-time defending WAC champion Colorado State this weekend, but they have to follow that with a road trip to San Diego State, a team the Rainbows haven't knocked off this decade.
VonAppen knows what he's up against. But whether he can do anything about it is the real question.
"We're very limited in what we can do because of the personnel we have," vonAppen said. "Our guys are playing as hard and as well as they can. The effort is there.
"I thought the defense made some plays, but the offense and the kicking game let us down again. You can't beat anybody that way. I don't know what else to say. We're a struggling football team. No more, no less."
Fresno State was holding a 13-0 lead with about three minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Bulldogs had moved quickly into scoring position, following a short punt by UH's Eric Hannum. It was third and 3 from the Rainbows' 20-yard line.
Bulldogs quarterback Jim Arellanes, who had thrown seven interceptions coming into last Saturday's conference game, took a three-step drop, looked straight at tight end Scott Thompson breaking into the flat and let it fly.
"I saw it coming all the way," Klaneski said, who broke cleanly on the ball. "I had it all lined up. Just before it got there, I looked and saw nothing but open field in front of me. I'm thinking, I'm taking this one back."
Then all of a sudden, the ball hit the leading UH receiver in 1995 right in the chest and bounded harmlessly away.
"That sums up the problems with our team this year," UH secondary coach Trent Miles said. "When we have a chance to make the big play, we just don't make it.
"If Eddie picks that, he's probably going to score, and we're right back in it. Instead, he got a chest bruise because he started running before he caught it."
Unfortunately for Klaneski, that one play took away from an otherwise stellar performance. The junior out of Damien High set a team record with 23 tackles.
It broke the mark of 22 set first by Tim Buchanan against California in 1968. The following year, Dave Dworsky tied the record against UC-Santa Barbara. Blane Gaison also accomplished the feat vs. West Virginia in 1980.
"That's kind of a dubious distinction for your free safety," UH head coach Fred vonAppen said. "You'd rather it be a linebacker, but it's good for Eddie."
UH defensive coordinator Don Lindsey was just glad somebody made some tackles.
"If Eddie doesn't make those plays, they score a million," Lindsey said. "We just had to pack everybody in there and hope somebody made some plays. I just wish he could have hauled in that interception."
You won't get any argument from Klaneski. In his mind, there was no excuse for the drop.
"I thought I had it in my hands, but I took my eye off it too soon," Klaneski said. "Oh, if I could only have that one back. I would have scored, brah."
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Hawaii was not listed in any of the top 50 major statistical categories, according to figures released yesterday by the NCAA.
The Rainbows' only individual honoree was Klaneski, who moved up to a tie for No. 15 in the nation in punt returns. He has five for 70 yards, although he did not have a return Saturday night.
INJURY UPDATE: It never hurts to play on a grass field.
The UH trainers said there were no major injuries suffered by the Rainbows during the second loss in Western Athletic Conference action. Hawaii wide receiver Gerald Lacey and defensive lineman Brian Chapman played for the first time in several weeks.
Hawaii hopes running back Jade Charles (hamstring) and tight end Gary Ellison (knee) are able to return to the lineup this week. Both players have missed the last three games.
Center Shane Oliveira kept his starting streak alive at 21, but played sparingly because of back and heel problems.
Defensive lineman Kekoa Kilcoyne suffered a shoulder injury, but is expected back this week.
SHUTOUTS GALORE: Take away Johnny Macon's desperation 52-yard scoring strike to Brendyn Agbayani on the final play of the 45-7 loss at Brigham Young last November, and the Rainbows haven't scored a touchdown in the last 19 quarters on the road.
Hawaii has been shut out twice away from Aloha Stadium this season - 66-0 at Wyoming and 20-0 at Fresno State. The Rainbows closed out 1995 with a 22-0 whitewashing at Colorado State. It was two weeks before that game when Macon launched his pass.
"We were just doing that to keep from being shut out," Macon said. "If we hadn't connected on that play, we would have been blanked four straight on the road. Obviously, that's not good."
What's even worse? Over the last two years, Hawaii has been outscored in WAC road games by an astonishing 229-23. And it could get even worse, considering Hawaii's final two league games away from Aloha Stadium are against top Pacific Division teams San Diego State and Air Force.