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Monday, September 18, 2000
Warriors look The skeptics took one look at the season-opening loss to Portland State and decided to give the benefit of the doubt to someone else.
within for renewed
strength to joust
with UTEP
Skepticism continues
UTEP eyes UH
as CBS Sportsline drops
Hawaii 37 places
StatsBy Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinCBS Sportsline's well-respected college football poll dropped the University of Hawaii from No. 62 nationally to No. 99 following the Warriors' loss to the Vikings.
Entering this weekend's Western Athletic Conference opener at Texas-El Paso, the Warriors find themselves ranked right down there with Duke and Arkansas State. Not a pretty picture from any angle.
The Warriors were so upset about the perceived abandonment by the press and the local fans, they've opted not to talk with anyone this week, preferring to focus on the task at hand -- getting better and in a hurry.
Jones told media relations director Lois Manin about the team vote at the end of last night's practice at Cooke Field. Several players apologized for the decision, saying it was meant more for them than anyone else.
But even the normally congenial June Jones was upset by the fans' response last week, saying, "Everyone else may have jumped off the bandwagon, but we're all sticking together."The reason the national pundits went looking for another Cinderella is because too often programs like Hawaii's appear on the national radar briefly, but generally fade back into the woodwork, not to be seen again for another several seasons.
As for the local folks, too many were involved with the two most recent season-opening debacles. Not only were the Warriors' performances on the field subpar --they lost to Southern California and Portland State by a combined score of 107-27 --but the traffic jams were even worse.
Last season's trouncing by the Trojans had a residual effect that lasted all the way to the disappointing crowd at the Oahu Bowl. And just when fans thought it might be safe to return to Aloha Stadium for this year's season opener, like Lucy with Charlie Brown, they pulled the football away again.
The next two games take on even more import after the way UTEP hung with Texas A&M over the weekend -- the Miners actually led at the half --and after Tulsa hung on for a big win at Rice University.
Tulsa has improved under the direction of new coach Keith Burns. Two weeks ago, the Golden Hurricane kept things close with the Cowboys of Oklahoma State before losing by 10.
Tulsa will be here for Hawaii's next home game on Sept. 30. What once looked like a promising 3-0 start in September could take on a reverse appearance should the Warriors play as inconsistently as they did in the loss to the Vikings.
By all accounts, last week's workouts were among the best since the newcomers reported to camp on Aug. 8. Early on, Jones tried to turn a negative into a positive by saying the University of Texas dropping off the schedule was a good thing to help the Warriors prepare for the coming campaign.
That may have been true had Hawaii taken care of business against Portland State.
"But for me, I wish we could have played another game right away," first-year quarterback Nick Rolovich said last week. "You want to get that bad taste out of your mouth as fast as you can.
"But the good thing is, we practiced with more intensity. This was kind of a wake-up call. We need to go to UTEP and play a good game."
Last year, Hawaii played one of its better games against UTEP, winning at home, 33-3. The Miners tried to come in the night before, a commando tactic most will say is not a good one.
The Warriors are leaving on Wednesday night. They will spend Thursday in Dallas, adjusting to the long trip and five-hour time change. Jones said the Warriors will practice Thursday night at a local high school, travel to UTEP on Friday, have a normal walk-through upon arrival and then get ready for Saturday night's meeting at the Sun Bowl.
This will be UTEP's fourth game overall and second WAC outing. The Miners are 1-2 for the season, but their one win was against conference opponent Southern Methodist.
"They look pretty similar to the team we played last year," Jones said. "They may be a little stronger defensively, but the offense is pretty much the same.
"This is a big game for us. You want to get off to a fast start in your league. We feel like we know how to travel. We had success last year (Hawaii went 3-0 on the road), so we'll take a similar approach."
How's that for purdy? After living through a week of criticism -- both external and self-inflicted ---- the Horned Frogs left Amon Carter Stadium on Saturday smiling, thanks to a stylistically pleasing 41-14 whipping of Northwestern.
The Big Ten Conference Wildcats beat TCU, 17-7, last year, and the Frogs were coming off a 41-10 victory against Nevada the previous week that, despite the score, left plenty to nitpick.
It wasn't perfect, but the 20th-ranked Frogs (2-0) did offer a glimpse of how good they can be before a national television audience.
Heisman hopeful tailback LaDainian Tomlinson rumbled for 243 yards on 39 carries and scored twice.
Not only has Texas-El Paso played two more games than the University of Hawaii, the caliber of competition in the Miners' first three meetings is above reproach. UTEP turns
attention to HawaiiBy Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinThey've lost at Oklahoma and Texas A&M, and have already knocked off Southern Methodist University in their Western Athletic Conference opener at home.
Now, they turn their attention to the Warriors, a team that embarrassed them last year, 33-3. Rocky Perez is becoming one the league's better quarterbacks, while tight end Brian Natkin and wideout Lee Mays are among the best receivers in the league.
Mays has 18 receptions for 271 yards and three touchdowns. Natkin counters with 15 catches for 179 yards. He has yet to haul in a TD catch, but is considered to be the best tight end in the WAC.
Despite playing three good teams, Perez has managed to throw the football well. He has an efficiency rating of 137.74 by completing 49 of 84 passes for 606 yards and six touchdowns. He has thrown only two interceptions.
"They look like they pass the ball better than they run," Jones said. "They were right in there against Texas A&M for a half, and they already beat SMU, so, this is going to be a big opponent for us."
Over the years, Hawaii has had some success at UTEP. Prior to last season, the Warriors' last WAC road win was in October of 1992 against the Miners. They are 15-11 lifetime vs. UTEP and 5-4 at the Sun Bowl.
Conference standings
Overall Conference W L T PCT. W L T PCT. PF PA Texas Christian 2 0 0 1.000 1 0 0 1.000 41 10 Texas-El Paso 1 2 0 .333 1 0 0 1.000 37 20 Tulsa 1 2 0 .333 1 0 0 1.000 23 16 San Jose St. 2 1 0 .667 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Hawaii 0 1 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Fresno St. 0 2 0 .000 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Rice 1 2 0 .333 0 1 0 .000 16 23 Southern Methodist 1 2 0 .333 0 1 0 .000 20 37 Nevada 0 2 0 .000 0 1 0 .000 10 41 Last week's results
TCU 41, Northwestern 14
Tulsa 23, Rice 16
North Carolina St. 41, SMU 0
Texas A&M 45, UTEP 17
San Jose St. 47, Southern Utah 7
Coming up Saturday
Rice at Oklahoma
Nevada at Wyoming
San Jose St. at Southern Cal
Louisiana Tech at Tulsa
Tulane at So. Methodist
Arkansas St. at TCU
Hawaii at Texas-El Paso
California at Fresno St.
Season statistics
TEAM
Hawaii Opp FIRST DOWNS 23 16 Rushing 3 8 Passing 18 7 Penalty 2 1 RUSHING YARDAGE 53 196 Yards gained rushing 80 217 Yards lost rushing 27 21 Rushing Attempts 20 50 Average Per Rush 2.7 3.9 Average Per Game 53.0 196.0 TD’s Rushing 0 3 PASSING YARDAGE 367 235 Att-Comp-Int 57-28-2 24-12-0 Average Per Pass 6.4 9.8 Average Per Catch 13.1 19.6 Average Per Game 367.0 235.0 TDs Passing 2 1 TOTAL OFFENSE 420 431 Total Plays 77 74 Average Per Play 5.5 3.2 Average Per Game 420 431 KICK RETURNS No.-Yards 7-158 3-34 PUNT RETURNS No.-Yards 2-0 2-6 INT RETURNS No.-Yards 0-0 2-32 FUMBLES-LOST 2-1 2-1 PENALTIES-YARDS 9-65 8-90 PUNTS-AVG 6-40.2 5-38.8 TIME OF POSS. 25:58 34:02 3RD DOWN CONV. 4/15 10/21 4TH DOWN CONV. 0/3 1/2
RUSHING
Att. Yds. TD Long Weaver 8 39 0 13 Thompson 7 33 0 18 Stutzmann 1 -2 0 0 Rolovich 4 -17 0 2
PASSING
Att. Comp. Int. Yds. TD Rolovich 57 28 2 367 2
RECEIVING
No. Yds. TD Long Lelie 6 92 2 25 Stutzmann 6 82 0 31 Harris 6 79 0 26 Colbert 5 51 0 17 Weaver 4 46 0 14 Thompson 1 17 0 17
PUNTING
No. Yds. Avg. Long Berryman 6 241 40.2 65
TACKLES
UT AT TT Brooks 10 4 14 Espiau 8 4 12 Miller 6 4 10 Armstrong 8 1 9 Iosua 6 1 7 Kemfort 1 5 6 Tucker 4 1 5 Alapa 3 1 4 Brown 3 0 3 Garner 1 2 3 Correa 1 1 2 Correia 0 2 2 Gilmore 1 1 2 Smith 1 1 2 Avila 1 0 1 Butts 1 0 1 Campbell 1 0 1 Fuga 1 0 1 Grant 1 0 1 Pinkney 1 0 1 Sims 0 1 1 Tinoisamoa 0 1 1 Williams 1 0 1
2000 UH Football Special
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