Monday, November 22, 1999

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Kaulana Noa holds up receiver Channon Harris after
a Harris touchdown catch against Navy.

‘You can only
enjoy the ride’

A WAC title, bowl bid and
record-breaking performances
haven't changed UH's approach

Next: Washington State
UH is No. 2 in passing
Standings and stats

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

Don't ask Hawaii defensive tackle Tony Tuioti to explain what has happened this season. He can't. Don't ask Rainbows head coach June Jones to look beyond this week's opponent to the Oahu Bowl. He won't. And don't ask Dan Robinson if he's editing a scrapbook that has all his awards listed alphabetically and numerically. He isn't.

What all of these men are doing is preparing for Washington State this Saturday at Aloha Stadium in much the same manner they have for the previous 11 opponents. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

"We spend about a day or two enjoying each win and then it's back to work," Robinson said after Hawaii secured a 48-41 nonconference victory over the Naval Academy. Robinson set 11 records in the win, including most yards in a game (530) and most in a career (5,784 yards).

"But I would trade in all those records if it meant we could set the team mark for the best turnaround in history. That means something to us as players."

Hawaii's eighth victory of 1999 already is the single-best turnaround by a team that finished winless the previous season and ties the NCAA mark for best overall turnaround set in 1940 by Stanford and tied by Purdue in 1943.

If Hawaii knocks off Washington State this weekend, it will complete the single-best turnaround in NCAA history, a record that could stand for a very long time.

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Hawaii linebacker Yaphet Warren blocks a kick by
Navy's Tim Shubzda.

"I can't explain to you how it feels to have a chance to go from zero to 10 wins in one year," Tuioti said. "It's like being on a roller coaster. You can't get off. You can only enjoy the ride."

Jones has never been on a ride quite like this. Prior to Saturday night's game, he accepted the WAC championship trophy from league commissioner Karl Benson and a bid from Lenny and Marcia Klompus to play in next month's Oahu Bowl.

If he doesn't win national coach of the year, Hawaii Gov. Ben Cayetano should demand a recount.

"We wouldn't be standing here holding the WAC trophy or accepting a bowl bid if it weren't for Coach Jones," Robinson said. "He's the reason we are where we are."

Where the Rainbows are is difficult to fathom for any clear-thinking individual. Not even Jones thought the Rainbows would win at least eight games and play in the Christmas Day doubleheader.

But thanks to an offense that has generated 137 points in Hawaii's last three victories, the Rainbows are beginning to receive the kind of national publicity the league sorely needs.

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
UH quarterback Dan Robinson coughs up the ball
as he is hit by Navy nose guard Gino Marchetti.

If TCU wins Friday at home against SMU, the WAC will have three teams taking part in the postseason. Fresno State will play either BYU, Utah or Wyoming in the Las Vegas Bowl; Hawaii faces Oregon State in the Oahu Bowl and TCU would meet East Carolina in the Mobile Bowl.

"Who would have thought Hawaii would pull off something like this," Benson said after the game. "Watching this team this year and the one that didn't win a game last year, it's hard to believe it's the same team. June Jones should win coach of the year."

You won't get any argument from any of the UH players. Despite opening the season with a 62-7 loss to Southern California to extend the nation's longest losing streak to 19 games, the Rainbows have bounced back in a big way, winning eight of their last 10 games.

"You don't really think about any of those individual honors until after the season is over," Jones said. "This is a team game. We're not going to think about anything else until after our game with Washington State. I think our players realize that our approach this season has been successful. There's no need to change anything now."

Hawaii will hold a regular week of practices, including one on Thanksgiving Day. The traditional senior walk will also be held after the game. There are 19 seniors on this 8-3 club, including 11 starters and a half-dozen fifth-year guys.

"I've said all along that this season was dedicated to our seniors because these guys have been through so much," Jones said. "We've still got some unfinished business to take care of, but this has been a great tribute to them."

NEXT GAME vs. Washington State, Nov. 27, 6:05 p.m. Rough season for Washington State By Paul Arnett Star-Bulletin Washington State will be the first of back-to-back Pac-10 opponents for Hawaii. The Rainbows will also play Oregon State in the Oahu Bowl on Christmas Day. The Cougars have struggled this season with their most recent loss coming at Washington, 24-14, to drop the Cougars to 2-9. "They've had their problems this year, but Washington State is still a Pac-10 team with quality athletes," Jones said. Former St. Louis School standout quarterback Jason Gesser has recovered from a wrist injury that sidelined him for most of the season. The redshirt freshman attempted only one pass in the loss to Washington, but could see more playing time against the Rainbows this weekend.

UH is No. 2 passing
team in the nation

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii would need to pass for about 1,000 yards this weekend to overtake Louisiana Tech, but considering what the Rainbows went through last year, being No. 2 in the nation in passing doesn't sound half bad.

Hawaii trails future WAC member Louisiana Tech by about 67 yards a game. The Rainbows are averaging 335.2 yards a game through the air and have moved to 16th in the nation in total offense with a 425-yards-per-game average.

Last year, the Rainbows finished 100th in the nation in total offense, averaging 293.7 yards a game. They were No. 112 of 113 teams in scoring, averaging 12.4 points a game. Hawaii is averaging 18 more points in 1999, good enough for 28th nationally.

"It's great for our kids to be ranked that high and to show so much improvement from where we were six months ago," UH head coach June Jones said yesterday. "Our coaches and our players bought into the system and it has paid off in a big way."

The key offensive figures for the Rainbows are quarterback Dan Robinson and wideout Dwight Carter. Robinson is ranked sixth nationally in total offense (319.2 yards) and Carter is No. 7 in receiving yards (104.45 a game).

Fellow wideouts Channon Harris and Craig Stutzmann are also making their presence felt. Harris is 49th nationally, averaging 75 receiving yards a game and Stutzmann is tied for No. 41 in receptions a game at 5.2. Carter is tied for 16th nationally in this category at 6.6 catches a game.

"The way they played us made it easy for our guys to get open," said Carter, who had 10 catches in the win over Navy, including two for touchdowns. "The individual marks are great, but our main goal is to keep winning."

Cornerback Quincy LeJay shot up to 11th in the nation in interceptions, averaging .55 a game. He has six for the season, including three returns for touchdowns.

Conference Standings

			Overall				Conference
 			W	L	T	 PCT.	 W	L	T	PCT.	PF	PA
x-Hawaii		8	3	0	 .727	 5	 2	0	.714	214	161
x-Fresno State		8	4	0	 .667	 5	 2	0	.714	226	141
Texas Christian		6	4	0	 .600	 4	 2	0	.667	224	123
Southern Methodist	4	5	0	 .444	 3	 2	0	.600	107	92 
Rice			5	6	0	 .455	 4	 3	0	.571	 198	161
Texas-El Paso		5	7	0	 .417	 3	 4	0	.429	183	235
San Jose State		3	7	0	 .300	 1	 5	0	.167	120	268
Tulsa			2	9	0	 .182	 1	 6	0	.143	129	220

x-Clinched tie for conference title

Last Week's Results

Hawaii 48, Navy 41
SMU 28, Tulsa 14
TCU 52, UTEP 24
Fresno St. 63, San Jose St. 12

Coming Up Friday

SMU at TCU, 10 a.m.

Coming Up Saturday

Washington St. at Hawaii, 6:05 p.m.

Season Statistics

TEAM
			Hawaii	Opp
FIRST DOWNS		236	234
 Rushing		57	111
 Passing		158	99
 Penalty		21	24
RUSHING YARDAGE		985	 2017
 Yards gained rushing	1262	2389
 Yards lost rushing	277	 372
 Rushing Attempts	275	 518
 Average Per Rush.	3.6	 3.9
 Average Per Game	89.5	183.4
 TDs Rushing		13	21
PASSING YARDAGE		3690	2142
 Att-Comp		526-278	 326-192
 Had intercepted	16	16
 Average Per Pass	7.0	6.6
 Average Per Catch	13.3	11.2
 Average Per Game	335.5	 194.7
 TDs Passing		27	16
TOTAL OFFENSE		4675	4159
 Total Plays		801	844
 Average Per Play	 5.8	 4.9
 Average Per Game	425.0 	 378.1
KICK RETURNS
No. -Yards	40-775	54-1021
PUNT RETURNS
No. -Yards	32-253	27-202
INT RETURNS
No. -Yards	16-272	 16-145
FUMBLES-LOST	25-15	29-16
PENALTIES-YARDS	111-964	108-823
PUNTS-AVG	54-41.2	63-40.5
TIME OF POSS.	26:20	33:40
3RD-DOWN CONV.	59/155	69/170
4TH-DOWN CONV.	8/18	 7/17

RUSHING
		Att.	Yds.	TD	Long
Weaver		100	565	4	47
Thompson	87	428	3	38
Stutzmann	6	36	1	9
Fenderson	2	22	0	11
Grant		5	17	0	13
Phillips	0	6	0	0
Liana		1	5	0	5
Harris		1	3	0	3
Sims		2	2	0	5
Garland		1	1	0	1
Gray		1	1	0	1
Skinner		1	1	0	1
Team		1	-1	0	0
Ho-Ching	1	-1	0	0
Harrison	8	-13	1	5
Robinson	58	-87	4	14

PASSING
		Att.	Com.	Int.	Yds.	TD
Robinson	505	269	15	3599	27
Harrison	20	9	1	91	0
Ho-Ching	1	0	0	0	0

RECEIVING
		No.	Yds.	TD	Long
Carter		73	1149	8	74
Stutzmann	58	605	8	34
Harris		53	825	6	48
Lelie		32	454	2	43
Thompson	26	212	0	25
Weaver		16	153	0	29
Brooks		7	187	3	80
Gray		3	31	0	18
Sims		2	57	0	46
Butts		2	14	0	14
Colbert		2	7	0	8
de Laura	1	7	0	7
Noa		1	-1	0	0
Owen		1	-3	0	0
Robinson	1	-7	0	0

PUNTING
	No.	Yds.	Avg.	Long
Shrout	53	2224	42.0	60

TACKLES
		UT	AT	TT
Ulbrich		39	112	151
Y. Warren	26	70	96
D. Miller	26	50	76
LeJay		19	52	71
Paul		17	50	67
Jackson		19	44	63
Kemfort		12	44	56
Tuioti		7	34	41
A. Smith	11	30	41
Correia		8	33	41
Tucker		15	21	36
Austin		13	18	31
Iosua		6	20	26
Sims		4	18	22
Avila		2	18	20
Elam		3	14	17
Ho-Ching	5	12	17
Fuga		1	15	16
Espiau		5	11	16
Garnier		5	9	14
Fenderson	2	8	10
Armstrong	1	9	10
Garner		0	9	9
Espinoza	2	6	8
C. Brown	4	4	8
Phillips	1	7	8
Campbell	2	5	7
Williams	3	4	7
Liana		1	3	4
Morgan		0	4	4
Shrout		2	2	4
Dietschy	0	3	3
Butts		2	1	3
Lelie		1	1	2
Harris		1	1	2