Friday, December 24, 1999
Oregon State and Hawaii
By Paul Arnett
present an unlikely matchup
-- and two great stories --
for the second Oahu Bowl
Star-BulletinA YEAR AGO, June Jones was preparing for the Arizona Cardinals in what would be his final hours as the interim main man of the San Diego Chargers. He had already decided to ignore the pleas of his players and the advice of his friends to give head coaching in the National Football League one last try. But Jones wouldn't hear of it.
Instead, the financially comfortable Jones opted to return to one of his many haunts and see if he had enough magic in his spirit to turn around a program described by his predecessor to be a mule competing in the Kentucky Derby.
Granted, this ship is far from fully righted as the Rainbows prepare for tomorrow afternoon's Oahu Bowl with Oregon State. The game not being a sellout with three other teams in town for the second annual Christmas Day doubleheader demonstrates several years of neglect can't be repaired in one season.
But Hawaii just being here with fellow Cinderella Oregon State is a giant step for a program that's only claim last December was that it owned the longest losing streak in Division I.
Jones came riding in on a white horse and, like a practiced politician, promised better days lie ahead. He said all the right things. He pressed all the right flesh. And he boldly predicted the Rainbows were about to embark on the greatest turnaround in NCAA history.
Yeah right, said the cynics at last summer's Western Athletic Conference meetings after big Adrian Klemm echoed those sentiments at the media day in Dallas. The talented offensive lineman looked at a favorable schedule that included nine home games and proclaimed, "Other than USC, we should be competitive with every team on our schedule.''
Perhaps Klemm should start his own psychic hotline once the NFL thing comes to an end. He was so uncannily accurate, you'd think he just stepped out of a time machine.
Not all of his teammates might have agreed once fall camp began. In the only full-contact practice of the season, Jones' mentor, Mouse Davis, watched from the sidelines in disbelief.
What he saw resembled the first practice of the Mean Machine in the old Burt Reynolds movie, "The Longest Yard.'' Holding a sheet of plays he knew by heart, Davis would sometimes dance when Dan Robinson failed to make the proper read, or turn away with a pained expression on his face when the football went left, but Dwight Carter turned right.
Jones walked off with Davis and said, "We've got a long way to go, Coach."
"And not much time to get there,'' Davis said, finishing Jones' sentence.
Now, four months later, Jones will find out if the Rainbows have really arrived as they prepare for the Beavers of the Pac-10. Led by two-time national champion coach Dennis Erickson, Oregon State may be the best team Hawaii faces this season.
Like Jones, Erickson opted for the college game after his four-year stay with the Seattle Seahawks ended abruptly last season. He picked up where current San Diego Chargers head coach Mike Riley left off to produce OSU's first postseason appearance since LBJ was in office and its first winning campaign in nearly three decades.
If there's a more unlikely bowl matchup than this, let it speak now or forever hold its peace.
"This is a game that best describes what college football is all about,'' Erickson said. "I doubt very seriously that June ever thought we'd be standing across the sidelines from one another in a bowl game.
"These two staffs do a lot of the same things offensively and defensively. We've been successful doing these things. I think the fans are going to see a very exciting ballgame.''
Most of the fans will likely be pulling for the Rainbows, who will play in their 10th game at Aloha Stadium this season. Hawaii is a rather average 5-4 in the islands this season and a remarkable 3-0 on the road.
In some ways, it's easier to prepare for a game on the road because of the lack of distractions. This week, the Rainbows have played tourists as well as anyone with trips to Pearl Harbor, the Polynesian Cultural Center and the water park in Kapolei.
"But when it's been time to concentrate on football, we've done that,'' said senior quarterback Dan Robinson. "We've had some good practices this week. The coaches have prepared us. It's up to us to perform on the football field.''
The key will be how well Robinson's offensive line pass protects against a good, if not flashy defensive front led by end DeLawrence Grant. If Robinson can get into a rhythm, he has a better chance of deciphering one of the best secondaries around.
Cornerbacks Dennis Weathersby and Keith Heyward-Johnson are going to spend most of the afternoon locked on UH wideouts Dwight Carter and Ashley Lelie, respectively.
"We're going to mix our coverages,'' Heyward-Johnson said. "But we'll be playing a lot of man throughout the afternoon.''
If that's true, then it will differ somewhat from the traditional zone blitz where defensive backs and ends often trade responsibilities. It's an aggressive package that OSU coordinator Willy Robinson learned from Hawaii counterpart Greg McMackin.
"It's going to be something of a chess match,'' McMackin said. "Since we're so much alike defensively, we'll be trying to do different things. But it all comes down to execution and who makes the big plays.''
Linebackers Yaphet Warren and Jeff Ulbrich will be doing their best to contain big-play running back Ken Simonton. The OSU tailback amassed back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. Only a sophomore, Simonton is 196 yards shy of setting the all-time Beavers rushing record. He already set the team scoring mark with 184 points.
"Their linebackers pursue well to the football, but their team isn't that big,'' Simonton said. "They're defense is based on speed like ours. They have two big tackles in there who engage the offensive line, allowing the linebackers to flow to the gaps. I've just got to try to get up in there and see if I can break one.''
OSU's passing game isn't half-bad, either. Sophomore quarterback Jonathan Smith is third in the Pac-10 and No. 26 nationally, averaging 245 yards a game. Unlike Robinson, who is a strapping 6-foot-4, Smith is a diminutive 5-10 who needs a clear passing lane to get the ball out to his receivers.
"Coach Erickson pretty much knows what Hawaii's defense is going to do,'' Smith said. "But you still have to go out there and perform. It's going to be tough playing a bowl game in their back yard, but we just have to focus and get ready like any other road game.''
This is a statement-making matchup for both programs. Both have had good seasons. But both need a win to be taken seriously in the upper levels of Division I football.
"This is an important game for our program, but we're trying to approach it the same way we did the others,'' Jones said. "We've had some good practices this week. We're looking forward to competing against a good Oregon State team.''
