Sports Watch
A lot of people in Hawaii eat rice for breakfast. Can Hawaii's football Rainbows eat Rice for lunch? Rainbows are
surprising themselvesIf they do this Saturday at Aloha Stadium, the 'Bows would win their fifth straight game and have a 3-0 start in the Western Athletic Conference in what has already been a remarkable turnaround season under first-year coach June Jones.
How significant is that? The last time the Rainbows were 5-1 was in 1992, when they went on to win the WAC championship and the Holiday Bowl.
As for a 3-0 start in conference play, you'd have to go back to 1981, when Dick Tomey was the coach.
In fact, if the Rainbows can beat the Owls in their first-ever meeting, the five victories in six games under Jones would equal the number of wins his predecessor, Fred vonAppen, had in three years.
Nobody knows the feeling of how bad those days were better than Kaulana Noa.
After only five victories in his 37 starts at right tackle, the 6-foot-5, 316-pound senior is enjoying every moment of the four-game winning streak.
NOA played perhaps his best game Saturday against Texas-El Paso as he easily handled its star defensive end, Brian Young, in UH's impressive 33-3 victory.
Young, a touted preseason All-WAC pick, had no sacks and only two tackles.
"That kid is going to play in the NFL, and Kaulana rose to the challenge," Jones said.
"You've got hand it to Kaulana Noa" said quarterback Dan Robinson. "That guy didn't touch me all night."
Led by Noa, the offensive line that included Adrian Klemm, Andy Phillips, Dustin Owen and Manly Kanoa didn't allow a single sack. With all the time in the world, quarterback Robinson threw for 344 yards and two touchdowns as the Rainbows won going away.
"I could have walked in, the line blocked so well," said Afatia Thompson, who scored his first collegiate touchdown.
The defense and special teams - especially on kickoff coverage - also came up big.
"Our guys are getting better with every snap," said Rainbow defensive coordinator Greg McMackin, whose unit has now gone 10 quarters without giving up a touchdown.
It's the first time since 1979 that the 'Bows haven't given up a TD in back-to-back games.
UTEP, which scored 54 points to beat New Mexico State the week before, never got inside UH's 20-yard line.
One major reason was the kamikaze play of the kickoff team, which forced the Miners to start drives from their 28, 14, 9, 18 and 28.
Meanwhile, the Rainbows' high-pressure offense, which produced 532 total yards, took its toll on the Miners, who got burned deep when they blitzed.
Channon Harris and Dwight Carter did just that, breaking tackles in scoring on TD catches of 48 and 24 yards, respectively, in the second half to turn the game into a rout.
"When you blitz, the offense is set up that you're one-on-one and if you don't make your tackle, it's a touchdown," Jones said.
Harris did a "Lambeau Leap" after his score, incurring a 15-yard penalty for excessive celebration.
"Once I got that in, I knew it was going to break the game open," Harris said. "It was worth it, but I know I'm going to hear it from the coaches.
"Nobody expected us to be 4-1," he added.
Even Jones. "I would never have guessed that we'd be 4-1 sitting here right now."