Monday, October 11, 1999
Rainbows realize
4-2 beats 0-6, but ...
Sure, they're happy they've
had some success, but letting Rice
get away makes a run for
the WAC title tougherBy Paul Arnett
Robinson, Carter still among leaders
Star-BulletinJune Jones is like a fishermen in a marlin tournament who reeled in enough to win the new boat, but could only think about the one that got away.
Yes, he's very happy about being 4-2 at the midpoint of the season. Last summer, he would have taken that record, no questions asked. But Saturday night against Rice, he wanted to land a perfect Western Athletic Conference record entering this week's only bye of the season.
Living on Tulsa time in two weeks would have been a lot less stressful at 5-1 overall and 3-0 in WAC play. Now, the Rainbows have to sit and stew about the 38-19 loss to the Owls.
Once they return to the field, it won't be in the comforting confines of Aloha Stadium. Instead, the important league game will be 4,000 miles away in the eastern regions of Oklahoma.Granted, Tulsa would probably resemble Texas-El Paso here in Honolulu. But in the Golden Hurricane's back yard, the Rainbows may find Tulsa will be all they can handle.
"We let a game get away at home against a team we didn't expect to lose to,'' Jones said. "Now, we have to go on the road and get that win back. This will be a challenging test for us.''
If Hawaii entertains any real thoughts of postseason play, then Tulsa surely is a must-win game. In the following weeks, the Rainbows return home to play rejuvenated Texas Christian, hit the road to face fellow conference upstart San Jose State, and then come back to square off with Fresno State to close out the conference chase.
"I believe Hawaii is going to determine who wins the conference race,'' Rice head coach Ken Hatfield said. His Owls currently are in first place with a 2-0 league mark. "They still have to play three of the better teams in our league and two of those games are at home for them.
"I thought we stayed in there in the first half when they had a lot of chances to put this thing away. They miss the field goal before the half and we score on the first play of the second half. After that, I thought we were in the driver's seat.''
Equipped with an offense that is as foreign to Jones as an old Volkswagen bus, Rice showed how the option can leave the run-and-shoot in the dust.
Hawaii had five series of three-and-out, which simply doesn't mix with the time-consuming option offense of Rice. The Owls survived a rash of mistakes by the Rainbows at point-blank range and made them pay for it with four second-half touchdowns.
"We really weren't having a lot of success on the perimeter because of their team speed,'' Rice offensive coordinator David Lee said. "They were doing a fairly goo
d job with the dive play, but they didn't have a plan for Chad Richardson."He has really come into his own the last few weeks,'' Lee said of the quarterback who rushed for 168 yards on 28 carries. He ran for three touchdowns and passed for another that broke open the game in the third quarter.
"But give June and his staff a lot of credit,'' the former UTEP head coach said. "They have a plan that's going to work here. If they make a play here or there, they're probably winning this game and not us.''
The fact Hawaii had numerous chances to win just added to the deflated feeling that was pervasive in the losing locker room. It's one thing to get blown out as in the opener with USC. It's quite another to lose to a team every man in the room believed they would beat.
"I shoulder the responsibility for this one,'' senior quarterback Dan Robinson said. "I had a bad night. I missed a lot of guys who were wide-open. When I needed to step up and make plays to help our defense out, I didn't do it.
"Yeah, if you had told me we would be 4-2 right now, I'd have been very happy. But the thing is, we could have won this game and we didn't. We left our defense out there too long and they killed us with the option.''
Especially in the second half when Richardson quickly turned things around with a 60-yard touchdown run on the opening play of the third quarter.
"That play kind of set the tone for the rest of the game,'' said UH middle linebacker Jeff Ulbrich, who led the Rainbows with 18 tackles, including two for losses. "We had done a pretty good job in the first half, so to let that happen really set us back.
"But here's the thing, we still have a very good record going into the bye week. We need some time off to get healthy and then come back and make a statement by winning in Tulsa. We've come too far to let things get away.''
Defensive tackle Tony Tuioti agreed with his fellow senior.
"This is disappointing because we lost a game we should have won,'' Tuioti said. "There's a big difference between 5-1 and 4-2. But there's also a big difference between 4-2 and 0-6. And we can't afford to forget that.''
Robinson, Carter still
By Paul Arnett
among leaders
Star-BulletinNumbers don't always tell the whole story.
Dan Robinson is ranked No. 6 nationally in total offense, averaging 315.3 yards a game. But the senior is not ranked among the top 50 in passing efficiency, a complicated system that rates a quarterback's overall performance.
The Rainbows are also a gaudy No. 4 in the nation in total passing yards with 333.5 a game. But they only come in at No. 31 in total offense -- averaging 407.8 yards because they don't run the ball much.
Wideout Dwight Carter is also caught up in the national numbers' game. He is rated No. 5 in receiving yards, averaging 117.17 a game. He is also 15th in the nation in receptions, averaging 6.8 catches a game.
But what does it say when a 60-yard completion he managed in the first half resulted in only an Eric Hannum field goal? And how can you rate what effect his slip in the end zone had to the eventual outcome of the game?
Carter appeared to be breaking open when he slipped to the turf. Robinson's pass found its way into the hands of Rice defender Greg Gatlin and it was all downhill after that.
"We had our chances, we just didn't execute and make plays when we needed to most," UH head coach June Jones said. "I know a knock on this offense is we can't score inside the 20.
"The numbers don't bare that out. They did tonight because we didn't do a good job inside the 20, but it's not usually that way. This offense can score inside the 20."
Hawaii got into the red zone six times and produced all of the Rainbows' points in the 38-19 loss to Rice. But twice they failed to score and it was those missed opportunities that bore out the loss.
"Put the blame on me," Robinson said. "The line gave me the time, I just didn't throw the ball well and that resulted in a lot of the drops."
The Rainbows fell out of the top 50 in all of the major defensive categories. They are still doing fairly well on special teams, however, a tribute to the coaching of assistant Dennis McKnight.
Punter Chad Shrout is ranked No. 17 in punting, averaging 43.14 yards a kick. Return man Jamal Garland is ranked No. 46 on kickoff returns (22.88 yards) and No. 38 on punt returns with a 9.95 average.
Hawaii is rated No. 42 in punt returns with the same average and is No. 15 in net punting, averaging 39.4 yards an exchange.
THIS WEEK
Week off good time
to heal, reflectNEXT GAME AT TULSA
By Paul Arnett
OCT. 23, 9:05 A.M. HST
Star-BulletinIf there were ever a good moment for a bye week, this one would be it.
It gives the Rainbows time to heal some aches and pains and a week to reflect on the accomplishments of the season.
Granted, the loss to Rice was a setback, but one not totally unexpected. The Owls aren't a national power, but they are among the best teams in the Western Athletic Conference.
"Nobody thought we would be 4-2, so we should feel good about that," senior quarterback Dan Robinson said.
Hawaii will practice lightly this week and then prepare for the road trip to Tulsa, Okla., to begin the second half of the season.
CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Overall Conference W L T PCT. W L T PCT. PF PA Rice 3 3 0 .500 2 0 0 1.000 58 29 Fresno State 4 2 0 .667 1 0 0 1.000 26 19 Hawaii 4 2 0 .667 2 1 0 .667 72 41 San Jose State 3 3 0 .500 1 1 0 .500 34 52 Texas-El Paso 3 3 0 .500 1 1 0 .500 45 61 Texas Christian 2 3 0 .450 1 1 0 .500 61 26 Tulsa 1 4 0 .200 0 2 0 .000 20 54 Southern Meth 0 5 0 .000 0 2 0 .000 28 62LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
Rice 38, Hawaii 19TCU 42, San Jose St. 0
UTEP 42, SMU 28
Fresno St. 44, Colorado St. 13
COMING UP THURSDAY
Fresno St. at SMU, 3 p.m.
COMING UP SATURDAY
San Jose St. at Rice, 8 a.m.Tulsa at TCU, 3:05 p.m.
UTEP at Arizona, 4 p.m.
SEASON STATISTICS
TEAM
Hawaii Opp FIRST DOWNS 111 121 Rushing 28 62 Passing 78 47 Penalty 5 12 RUSHING YARDAGE 446 1094 Yards gained rushing 594 1289 Yards lost rushing 148 195 Rushing Attempts 133 304 Average Per Rush. 3.4 3.6 Average Per Game 74.3 182.3 TDs Rushing 5 12 PASSING YARDAGE 2001 1018 Att-Comp-Int. 271-145-12 154-89-7 Average Per Pass 7.4 6.6 Average Per Catch 13.8 11.4 Average Per Game 333.5 169.7 TDs Passing 11 6 TOTAL OFFENSE 2447 2112 Total Plays 404 458 Average Per Play 6.1 4.6 Average Per Game 407.8 352.0 KICK RETURNS No. -Yards 23-419 28-480 PUNT RETURNS No. -Yards 19-189 17-107 INT RETURNS No. -Yards 7-93 12-92 FUMBLES-LOST 14-8 13-5 PENALTIES-YARDS 56-469 46-338 PUNTS-AVG 29-43.1 36-39.6 TIME OF POSS. 25:00 35:00 3RD-DOWN CONV. 27/80 34/95 4TH-DOWN CONV. 3/8 4/12RUSHING
Att. Yds. TD Long Weaver 46 234 2 20 Thompson 39 184 1 38 Fenderson 2 22 0 11 Stutzmann 4 19 0 9 Grant 4 15 0 13 Liana 1 5 0 5 Skinner 1 1 0 1 Garland 1 1 0 1 Harrison 6 -17 1 14 Robinson 29 -18 1 14PASSING
Att. Com. Int. Yds. TD Robinson 255 137 11 1910 11 Harrison 15 8 1 91 0 Ho-Ching 1 0 0 0 0RECEIVING
No. Yds. TD Long Carter 41 703 4 62 Stutzmann 30 273 3 26 Harris 28 444 2 48 Lelie 15 223 0 43 Thompson 9 69 0 19 Weaver 7 79 0 29 Brooks 5 116 2 80 Gray 3 31 0 18 Sims 2 57 0 46 Colbert 2 7 0 8 de Laura 1 7 0 7 Noa 1 -1 0 0 Robinson 1 -7 0 0PUNTING
No. Yds. Avg. Long Shrout 29 1251 43.1 60TACKLES
UT AT TT Ulbrich 25 59 84 D. Miller 19 25 44 Y. Warren 11 30 41 Le Jay 7 30 37 Paul 8 25 33 Kemfort 10 21 31 A. Smith 7 24 31 Tuioti 6 18 24 Austin 10 13 23 Tucker 7 13 20 Harrison 10 9 19 Correia 4 14 18 Espiau 5 11 16 Iosua 4 12 16 Elam 3 11 14 Ho-Ching 4 10 14 Sims 3 11 14 Avila 2 9 11 Fuga 1 9 10 Garnier 3 6 9 Garner 0 8 8 Jackson 1 7 8 C. Brown 3 3 6 Fenderson 2 3 5 Campbell 1 3 4 Espinoza 1 3 4 Morgan 0 4 4 Armstrong 0 3 3 Dietschy 0 3 3 Lelie 1 1 2 Jackson 1 0 1 Liana 1 0 1 Owen 1 0 1 Robinson 0 1 1 Shrout 0 1 1 Williams 1 0 1
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