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Monday, October 30, 2000
Spartans spin You gotta love a team like San Jose State. Playing from the heart for a fallen teammate, the Spartans found a way to overcome emotional distress and spend that energy procuring a much-needed victory 2,500 miles away from home.
victory out of
WACky game
Chang throws for over 400 yards,
but is injured and forced to leave
the game in UH's wild 57-48 loss
Whitaker whizzes by
By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin
But folks, these California dreamers will be fortunate to win another game.
Despite some of the strangest calls ever made on special teams, a pack of personal fouls that isn't doing anyone any good and a penchant for backbreaking turnovers, somehow the University of Hawaii Warriors were in this wacky conference game to the end.
Thank a San Jose State defense that lived up to its last-in-the-nation billing to produce a higher-scoring game than the two basketball teams will likely manage when they meet this winter. Associate WAC commissioner Jeff Hurd was at the 57-48 game won by the Spartans last Saturday night that kept their postseason hopes alive.
When a reporter pointed out the two teams have scored a combined 208 points in the last two meetings, Hurd said, "And I've seen every (point)," as a beleaguered smile spread across his face. He was also at the 62-41 victory for Hawaii at San Jose State last year.
Last year, UH held off repeated attacks by the Spartans. This year, the Warriors scored 42 second-half points and still lost by nine. Yikes. Where's the defense? Unfortunately for coordinator Kevin Lempa, statistically too close to San Jose State for comfort.
Now, the Warriors face the unenviable task of picking themselves up from the deck of a 1-6 ship, just in time to travel to hostile Bulldog Stadium to play Fresno State. The last time Hawaii was there in 1998, Fresno State won with a 51-12 shellacking. If ever there was a performance worthy of Fred vonAppen's firing, that loss was it.
This year's team can find comfort in falling behind, but not mailing it in at the first signs of distress. Two years ago, a 28-6 halftime deficit like the one last Saturday night usually led to a 35-point loss.But the 2000 version made a go of it over the final 30 minutes against San Jose State to give the sobering fans something to cheer about. Combine a gritty performance by freshman quarterback Timmy Chang (34-of-64 for 403 yards before getting leveled by San Jose State's Josh Parry and leaving the game with a concussion) and a Spartan defense trying to give the show away, and suddenly the Warriors were down by only two (50-48) with six minutes left.
If San Jose State tries that trick this Saturday against Texas Christian, Heisman Trophy candidate LaDainian Tomlinson might rush for 500 yards. But against Hawaii, it was enough to turn to Deonce Whitaker and hand off the victory to him.
Some UH defenders said Whitaker was better than Tomlinson and would prove it some day in the National Football League. Whitaker reminded veteran UH football fans of former San Diego State great Marshall Faulk by the way the diminutive, but still powerful back exploded into the secondary on the tail end of a massive offensive line.
"Sometimes you would look up and there he would be, running by you," free safety Nate Jackson said. "You have to make a play right away against him or he would be gone."
Whitaker took advantage of Hawaii's defense to the tune of 278 yards rushing on 34 carries, including a long of 45. He also caught a 27-yard touchdown pass where he faked linebacker Robert Kemfort nearly out of his shoes for the first of six San Jose State scores.
Last year, Whitaker managed only 22 yards on 10 carries and wasn't a factor, due in part to a bad ankle sprain. And while Hawaii yielded 34 points in the fourth quarter of that win, the Spartans only had 342 total yards, 37 of those on the ground.This year, San Jose State managed 512 yards on 72 plays. That's 7.1 yards a snap. Throw in 71 yards of penalties for good measure and it's little wonder why Jones fell to 10-10 as Hawaii's head coach.
If this trend continues defensively, there will have to be some hard questions asked and answered during the off-season. True, injuries have played a part, much as they did in 1998 when that team finished with only a dozen defenders standing after the season-ending loss to Michigan.
"We were talking about that the other day," senior running back Afatia Thompson said. "Some of the older guys were saying how similar it was because we've had so many guys sidelined this year, too."
Jones doesn't mind offering that as a fact, just not as an excuse. Saturday night's starting lineup was nearly the same as the one against Portland State. The notable exception is Bronson Liana at outside linebacker.
He replaced Anthony Smith as the starter several weeks ago, but Smith had plenty of minutes in the loss to San Jose State. He came in for the injured Kemfort in the first quarter to finish third on the team in tackles with nine, two off the pace set by safety Jacob Espiau.
The problem isn't inexperienced personnel or first-year starters trying to find their way. It's blown assignments at a continued alarming rate. The defense has forced only 10 turnovers in seven games. The offense has turned the ball over 21 times, a key reason for Hawaii's recent demise.
"We've got to find a way to start doing better," Jones said. "Right now, we remain our own worst enemy."
Next week
Hawaii vs. Fresno State - 2:05 P.M. HST Saturday - At Fresno, Calif.
Much like San Jose State and its drive toward a possible Silicon Valley Bowl bid, Fresno State is still very much alive in the Western Athletic Conference postseason chase as well. Fresno State aiming
for Silicon Valley BowlBy Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinThe Bulldogs have lost a league game to Texas-El Paso, just like the Spartans. The two teams are probably battling for a bowl bid in San Jose, Calif., with the winner of the Spartans-Bulldogs game in several weeks probably casting the deciding vote.
But for that to happen, Fresno State can ill afford to stumble and fall against Hawaii this Saturday night at Bulldog Stadium, a place where head coach Pat Hill rarely loses. With last Saturday's victory over the University of Tulsa, Fresno State ran its win streak at home to 13 games. Hill is 17-3 at Bulldog Stadium and knows an unexpected loss to Hawaii would wreck his postseason plans.
Quarterback David Carr threw a career-high four touchdown passes in the first half of Fresno State's 34-12 victory over Tulsa. The Bulldogs are 4-3 for the season and 3-1 in league play. For them to be selected over San Jose State in the Silicon Valley Bowl, they need to have a better record than the Spartans and beat them when the two meet next month.
"We're not worried about any of that right now," Hill said. "Our main goal is to win each weekend the rest of the way and everything else takes care of itself. We already have one league loss. We don't want another one and wind up on the bubble."
Fresno State leads the series with Hawaii, 17-14-1 and is 9-3-1 vs. UH at home.
"It's one of the toughest places to play in the league," UH head coach June Jones said. "Not too many teams go in there and get a win. We just have to do a better job with the unnecessary penalties and the turnovers. We've got to get around to addressing those issues or we're going to have a tough time getting a win there."
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii