Friday, December 24, 1999
THE PLAYS TO WATCH
When Hawaii has the ball:
Robinson-to-Carter
Hawaii head coach June Jones can tell if Dan Robinson is on or not just by watching him in warmups. Without the senior quarterback, Jones shudders to think where he would be right now -- certainly not in the Oahu Bowl.
splits the seamRobinson set 30 school records en route to passing for 3,853 yards and 28 touchdowns. But he has also thrown 18 interceptions and is coming off a woeful performance in the regular-season ending loss to Washington State.
"I accept the responsibility for that loss," Robinson said. "This is a second chance for us to show what we can do as a football team. A game like this one is why you suit up and play."
Wideout Dwight Carter, and slotbacks Craig Stutzmann and Channon Harris will have to look for holes in the Oregon State secondary. The threesome combined to catch 196 passes for 2,801 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Like Oregon State, Hawaii uses a one-back set, forcing teams to abandon their base defense for the ever-popular nickel packages. Jones has seen the 4-2-5 alignment all season and expects the same from the Beavers.
Watch for running backs Afatia Thompson and Avion Weaver against this defense. The two backs combined for 1,080 yards and seven touchdowns, disproving the adage that you can't run in the run-and-shoot.
Middle linebacker Jonathan Jackson and strong safety Terrence Carroll are forces to be reckoned with for any offense. The team's top two tacklers have 150 between them. Jackson not only has four sacks, but three interceptions as well.
"They run a standard 4-3 pro defense with very good athletes," Jones said. "They'll probably give us a similar look to a lot of other teams. We just have to go out and execute against it. We struggled a bit in our last game, so, I look for us to come out and play a good game against Oregon State."
If you're going to deal effectively with Oregon State's offense, you have to figure out a way to stop running back Ken Simonton. The sophomore scatback rushed for a 100 yards or more in a school-record eight games this season. Toss sweep is OSU’s
bread and butterHad he not suffered a rib injury in late October against UCLA, it is likely the 5-foot-7, 175-pounder would have finished among the top five nationally in several key offensive categories. He still managed 1,329 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns.
"You've got to figure out a way to keep him from hurting you and that's not easy," UH defensive coordinator Greg McMackin said. "He can get it up in there in a hurry and break a big one on you.
"They also throw the ball well. Their quarterback (Jonathan Smith) has an accurate arm who doesn't throw a lot of interceptions. He also has some big-play receivers in this three-wide offense, so, it's definitely going to be a challenge for us."
Smith threw for 2,784 yards and 15 touchdowns. His favorite targets are flanker Roddy Tompkins, and wideouts Imani Percoats and Robert Prescott. The threesome combined to catch 118 passes for 1,876 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Hawaii counters with a defense that faded down the stretch. Nagging injuries to the front four kept the linebackers very busy. Jeff Ulbrich and Yaphet Warren led the Rainbows in tackles with 273 between them, including 13 quarterback sacks.
Hawaii's team speed could help counter Simonton's effectiveness on the perimeter, but the Rainbows' secondary can ill-afford to cheat toward the line of scrimmage or risk giving up the big plays deep.
Cornerback Quincy LeJay, and safeties Nate Jackson and Dee Miller have to be wary of Tompkins. He is averaging 21.3 yards a catch and is Smith's big-play target.
Paul Arnett, Star-Bulletin
