Bounceback needed for bowl run
POSTED: Sunday, October 19, 2008
Hawaii's perfect run through the Western Athletic Conference last year left eight schools targeting the Warriors on the schedule this fall.
After No. 15 Boise State exacted a measure of vengeance Friday night, the Warriors return home this week to face a Nevada team looking for some payback as well for UH's dramatic win on a last-second field goal in Reno last November.
“;Nevada's a good team, and after last year's game I'm sure they'll be motivated to play us,”; Hawaii linebacker Solomon Elimimian said in reference to one of the signature moments in the Warriors' Sugar Bowl run.
Following an overnight stay in Oakland, the Warriors (3-4, 2-2 WAC) flew back to Honolulu yesterday, and the Friday game gives them an extra day to regroup after their nationally televised 27-7 loss at Bronco Stadium.
With six games left, Hawaii will need to go at least 4-2 over the remainder of the schedule to qualify for the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. That task starts with Nevada, which entered the week as the WAC's highest scoring offense, on Saturday at Aloha Stadium.
“;We're going to be a little bummed about this,”; receiver Greg Salas said, “;but we have the 48-hour rule, and once that's up we have to go back to work.”;
Hawaii's grip on the WAC title slipped with two losses in which the Warriors lost their grip on the football. They committed six turnovers in a home loss to San Jose State on Sept. 27 and threw five interceptions in Friday's defeat in Boise.
Clinging to a 10-7 halftime lead, Boise State converted three picks into 17 points in the second half to defeat the Warriors for the seventh time in eight WAC meetings.
“;Ever since when I played them I thought they defended our stuff pretty well,”; UH quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich said after Inoke Funaki tied the school's single-game interception record. “;I have to give them a lot of credit—they did a lot of stuff to disguise some things and made plays on the ball.”;
Having put more of an emphasis on running the ball with Funaki in the previous two weeks, Boise State appeared to have an answer for the adjustments the Warriors had put into the offense.
The Broncos, who dropped their points-allowed average to 10.5 per game, shut down Hawaii's ground game—including shovel passes—and clamped down on the Warriors' short routes, inviting Funaki to try to make plays downfield.
“;In the second half they started adjusting a little bit more to stop the outs and the quick hitches,”; said Salas, who snagged five throws in sometimes spectacular fashion for a team-high 75 yards. Running backs Daniel Libre and Leon Wright-Jackson had one reception each, both for no gain, after Kealoha Pilares left the game with a foot injury.
With the Warriors forced into third-and-long situations, the Boise State front then harried Funaki into off-target throws and dropped him for five sacks.
“;On third down we knew we wanted to bring pressure,”; Boise State safety Jeron Johnson said. “;Our defensive line got pressure and we had five interceptions. That was our game plan, to bring pressure, and it worked.”;
The Hawaii defense held Boise State to 111 rushing yards, as Jeremy Avery picked up 45 and Ian Johnson had 41. But facing four sudden-change situations in the second half, the Warriors gave up two Kellen Moore touchdown passes and a field goal after UH's first three turnovers of the half.
“;Short field, long field, it doesn't matter,”; linebacker Adam Leonard said. “;We pride ourselves on getting three-and-outs. We have to come out and play no matter where it is on the field.”;
The loss sends the Warriors into the second half of the season facing yet another test of resiliency with the WAC title out of reach.
“;Our team are veterans and we all know what we have to do,”; Elimimian said. “;We have to stay together and just keep playing hard because we've still got two out of three goals in front of us. We're veterans and we'll keep together.”;
Alexander sticks with it
Playing for the first time since a rough Division I debut in UH's season opener at Florida, junior Greg Alexander finished Friday's game in relief of Funaki. He completed three of four passes in UH's final drive.
“;I think Greg made a lot of improvement,”; Rolovich said. “;I have to give him credit for staying the course ever since Florida. He took a lot of heat and he never flinched. It's nice to see as a coach, instead of someone pouting.”;
Offensive lineman Laupepa Letuli made his first start since the Florida game, playing left guard for the first time this season. Linebacker R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane got his second start and finished with four tackles, one for a loss, and forced a fumble.
TEAM STATISTICS
| Hawaii | OPP |
|
| FIRST DOWNS | 124 | 139 |
| Rushing | 44 | 62 |
| Passing | 66 | 63 |
| Penalty | 14 | 14 |
| RUSHING YARDAGE | 786 | 1,157 |
| Yards gained rushing | 1,003 | 1,360 |
| Yards lost rushing | 217 | 203 |
| Rushing attempts | 215 | 270 |
| Average per rush | 3.7 | 4.3 |
| Average per game | 112.3 | 165.3 |
| Touchdowns rushing | 7 | 13 |
| PASSING YARDAGE | 1,491 | 1,431 |
| Att-Comp-Int | 129-233-17 | 120-217-7 |
| Average per pass | 6.4 | 6.6 |
| Average per catch | 11.6 | 11.9 |
| Average per game | 213.0 | 204.4 |
| Touchdowns passing | 8 | 10 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE | 2,277 | 2,588 |
| Total plays | 448 | 487 |
| Average per game | 325.3 | 369.7 |
| KICK RETURNS: No-Yds | 38-720 | 22-517 |
| PUNT RETURNS: No-Yds | 12-(-4) | 16-213 |
| INT. RETURNS: No-Yds | 7-61 | 17-197 |
| FUMBLES-LOST | 15-7 | 14-7 |
| PENALTIES-YARDS | 62-565 | 53-443 |
| PUNTS-Yards | 36-1,368 | 28-1,216 |
| TIME OF POSSESION/GAME | 30:56 | 29:04 |
| 3RD-DOWN CONVERSIONS | 23/89 | 35/103 |
| 4TH-DOWN CONVERSIONS | 4/8 | 9/16
|
| RUSHING |
|||||||
| G | Att | Net | Avg | TD | Long |
||
| Pilares | 7 | 45 | 236 | 5.2 | 4 | 34 |
|
| Libre | 6 | 45 | 215 | 4.5 | 1 | 16 |
|
| Funaki | 7 | 62 | 191 | 3.1 | 1 | 33 |
|
| Wright-Jackson | 7 | 24 | 95 | 4.0 | 1 | 16 |
|
| Rego | 7 | 14 | 76 | 5.4 | 0 | 19 |
|
| Farmer | 4 | 4 | 21 | 5.2 | 0 | 9 |
|
| Washington | 7 | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 12 |
|
| TEAM | 4 | 2 | -2 | -1.0 | 0 | -0.5 |
|
| Rausch | 1 | 1 | -4 | -4.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Peoples | 4 | 2 | -5 | -2.5 | 0 | 0 |
|
| Alexander | 2 | 10 | -20 | -5.0 | 0 | 13 |
|
| Graunke | 3 | 4 | -20 | -5.0 | 0 | 2 |
|
| Total | 7 | 215 | 786 | 3.7 | 7 | 34
|
| PASSING |
|||||||
| G | Att | Comp | Int | Yds | TD | Long |
|
| Funaki | 7 | 145 | 83 | 11 | 988 | 5 | 53 |
| Graunke | 3 | 56 | 30 | 3 | 388 | 3 | 42 |
| Alexander | 2 | 25 | 14 | 2 | 101 | 0 | 29 |
| Rausch | 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 9 |
| Total | 7 | 233 | 129 | 17 | 1,491 | 8 | 53
|
| RECEIVING |
||||||
| G | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|
| Washington | 7 | 32 | 300 | 9.4 | 1 | 39 |
| Salas | 7 | 25 | 380 | 15.2 | 2 | 41 |
| Bain | 7 | 23 | 227 | 9.9 | 2 | 33 |
| Pilares | 7 | 16 | 140 | 8.8 | 1 | 23 |
| Lane | 7 | 10 | 216 | 21.6 | 2 | 53 |
| Wright-Jackson | 7 | 9 | 71 | 7.9 | 0 | 20 |
| Medeiros | 6 | 5 | 47 | 9.4 | 0 | 24 |
| Libre | 6 | 4 | 13 | 3.2 | 0 | 6 |
| Pollard | 4 | 3 | 59 | 19.7 | 0 | 29 |
| Taylor | 4 | 2 | 38 | 19.0 | 0 | 26 |
| Total | 7 | 129 | 1,491 | 11.6 | 8 | 53
|
| TOTAl OFFENSE |
|||||||
| G | Plays | Rush | Pass | Tot | Avg |
||
| Funaki | 7 | 207 | 191 | 988 | 1,179 | 168.4 |
|
| Graunke | 3 | 60 | -20 | 388 | 368 | 122.7 |
|
| Pilares | 7 | 45 | 236 | 0 | 236 | 33.7 |
|
| Libre | 6 | 45 | 204 | 0 | 204 | 34.0 |
|
| Wright-Jackson | 7 | 24 | 95 | 0 | 95 | 13.6 |
|
| Alexander | 2 | 35 | -15 | 101 | 86 | 43.0 |
|
| Rego | 7 | 14 | 76 | 0 | 76 | 10.9 |
|
| Farmer | 4 | 4 | 21 | 0 | 21 | 5.2 |
|
| Rausch | 1 | 8 | -4 | 14 | 10 | 10.0 |
|
| Washington | 7 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 1.3 |
|
| TEAM | 4 | 2 | -2 | 0 | -2 | -0.5 |
|
| Peoples | 4 | 2 | -5 | 0 | -5 | -1.2 | |
| Total | 7 | 448 | 786 | 1,491 | 2,277 | 325.3
|
| SCORING |
|||||
| TD | FG | 1XP | 2XP | Tot |
|
| Kelly | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 35 |
| Pilares | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| Salas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Lane | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Bain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Washington | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Funaki | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Libre | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Wright-Jackson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Mouton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Graunke | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 16 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 133
|
| PUNTING |
||||
| No. | Yds | Avg | Long |
|
| Grasso | 35 | 1,367 | 39.1 | 53 |
| TEAM | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 |
| Total | 36 | 1,368 | 38.0 | 53
|
| PUNT RETURNS |
|||||
| No. | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|
| Washington | 10 | 2 | 0.2 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | 10 | 2 | 0.2 | 0 | 3
|
| KICK RETURNS |
|||||
| No. | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|
| Mouton | 24 | 514 | 21.4 | 1 | 90 |
| Taylor | 9 | 134 | 14.9 | 0 | 30 |
| Lane | 5 | 72 | 14.4 | 0 | 21 |
| Total | 38 | 720 | 18.9 | 1 | 90
|
| TACKLES |
||||||||
| G | UT | AT | Tot |
|||||
| Elimimian | 7 | 26 | 24 | 50 |
||||
| Veikune | 7 | 27 | 14 | 42 |
||||
| Dowling | 7 | 22 | 15 | 37 |
||||
| Satele | 7 | 19 | 15 | 34 |
||||
| Robinson | 7 | 19 | 14 | 33 |
||||
| Fonoti | 7 | 19 | 13 | 32 |
||||
| Monteilh | 7 | 17 | 13 | 30 |
||||
| Leonard, A. | 6 | 16 | 13 | 29 |
||||
| Roberts | 7 | 22 | 6 | 28 |
||||
| Leonard, J. | 7 | 16 | 11 | 27 |
||||
| Mouton | 7 | 20 | 7 | 27 |
||||
| Watson, Keala | 7 | 10 | 9 | 19 |
||||
| Kiesel-Kauhane | 7 | 11 | 6 | 17 |
||||
| Thomas | 7 | 8 | 8 | 16 |
||||
| Tufaga | 7 | 5 | 3 | 8 | ||||
| Allen-Jones | 7 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
||||
| Silva | 7 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
||||
| Rego | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
||||
| Smith | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
||||
| Porlas | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
||||
| Ingram | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
||||
| Meatoga | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
||||
| Lolotai | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
||||
| Davis | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
||||
| Kafentzis | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
||||
| Paredes | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
||||
| Ahmad | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
||||
| Washington | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
||||
| Laeli | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
||||
| Clore | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
||||
| Bryant | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
||||
| Purcell | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
||||
| Kia | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 Watson, Keahi | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Savaiigaea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
||||
| Libre | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
||||
| Funaki | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
||||
| Kelly | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
||||
| Salas | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
||||
| Total | 7 | 300 | 191 | 491
|
MISC.
Sacks (No.-Yds): Satele 1-16, Fonoti 1-13, Elimimian 1-9, Leonard, A. 1-8, Robinson 1-8, Allen-Jones 1-7, Mouton 1-7, Dowling 1-3. Total: 8-71.
Interceptions (No.-Yds): Monteilh 3-13, Thomas 1-24, Bryant 1-11, Roberts 1-9, Satele 1-4. Total: 7-61.
Fumbles (Forced-Recovered): Fonoti 1-4, Thomas 1-0, Kiesel-Kauhane 1-0, Tufaga 1-0, Rego 1-0, Elimimian 1-0, Roberts 1-0. Total: 7-4.
Blocked kicks: Watson, Mahaley. Total: 2.
