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Monday, November 6, 2000
Bulldogs The man standing outside the Beiden Field locker room barely resembled the cool, calm and collected character he plays on those TV commercials.
bulldoze dimming
Warriors
It's a cold, hard fact, but the
Hawaii defense isn't
getting the job doneBy Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin
Instead, University of Hawaii head coach June Jones looked more like a man who had lost something near and dear to him as he waited patiently for his players to make their way through the maze of people attending last Saturday's Western Athletic Conference game at Fresno State.
Jones didn't say much to the inner circle of coaches and friends gathered around him. Once in a while he would pat a player on the helmet or say something briefly only they could hear. But it was clear Jones was wondering what went wrong and could anything be done to correct it over the last month of the season.
For only the second time in his brief stint as head coach, Jones is straddled with a losing record. The team will finish below the .500 mark for the sixth time in seven seasons with the immediate future equally dim.
Despite a 14-0 outbreak that had the second-largest crowd in Fresno State history sitting in stunned silence, a series of bad breaks and questionable calls by officials had the momentum swinging the other way by quarter's end. Add a defense that can't stop anyone and it quickly spelled a 45-27 victory for the Bulldogs.
It could have been worse had Fresno State head coach Pat Hill possessed the mentality of Southern California counterpart Paul Hackett. But fortunately for Jones, Hill put the Bulldogs back in the house in the fourth quarter to keep from rubbing in the obvious disparity between the two teams.
Last year, these two put on quite a show at Aloha Stadium in a game Hawaii won in double overtime en route to qualifying for its first postseason appearance since 1992. But while Fresno State is on the brink of its second consecutive bowl appearance, Hawaii is not, and judging by their play Saturday night, the Warriors won't be making any return engagements soon.For one thing, the defense isn't very good. Talk about injuries if you want to and blame it on inexperience for good measure. But here are the cold, hard facts. The defensive front is undersized at the ends. Rinda Brooks is the only linebacker prepared to play at the Division I level. And the cornerbacks can't seem to cover anybody most of the time.
Safeties Nate Jackson and Jacob Espiau do their part every game. Not only are they being asked to help bail out Flex Armstrong, Shawndel Tucker and newcomer Hyrum Peters at the back end, they also are making a majority of the tackles on the front side. Most coaches will tell you that if your safeties are at the top of the defensive tackle chart, trouble looms.
First-year defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa blamed this week's lackluster performance on a new look Fresno State threw at them that included more tight ends than have played in Hawaii for the past two decades.
The Bulldogs lined up in this conservative set and broke off chunks of yardage that kept them headed for the end zone for most of the night. When junior quarterback David Carr wasn't handing off the football to four running backs who produced three touchdowns and 209 yards, he was completing nearly every pass he threw for 257 yards and two more scores. It was a thorough performance that left Lempa wondering what drawing board he would turn to next.
"We didn't do a good job in any phase of the game," Lempa said. "They lined up in a two or three tight end formation that we hadn't seen before and ran right down our throats. That set up the passing game very well. We aren't tackling very well and we're being dominated up front. It's difficult to take."
The offense had one of the more balanced performances of the season, but it had little effect on the outcome as the Warriors dropped their third game in a row. Backup quarterback Nick Rolovich fell 3 yards shy of 300, completing 26 of 44 passes, including touchdown tosses to Ashley Lelie and Craig Stutzmann.
But when your opponent is scoring on seven of its first 10 drives, including an 81-yard touchdown return off a blocked field goal, it's tough to keep pace. Last week, everyone's attention was centered on whether Tim Chang would be under center, but that's hardly the problem.
What is a concern is how quickly this team reverted back to its 1998 form on nearly every level. The one constant has been the solid play of the offensive line. Despite Vince Manuwai sitting this one out with a bad hamstring, the five guys up front did another admirable job of protecting the quarterback.
But that aside, Hawaii is a struggling football team that isn't likely to find its way this season. The last real chance to get a win is this weekend against the University of Nevada, and even that game is in doubt given the current state of affairs.
"We need to get a win in the worst way," Jones said. "It would do a lot to lift our morale. Right now, we're not getting it done. There are a lot of reasons for that, but it's up to us as coaches to get this thing turned around so we can build toward next season."
UH Athletics
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Next week
Nevada vs. Hawaii
6:05 P.M.Saturday
As poorly as the University of Hawaii has played lately, the Warriors aren't struggling quite as mightily as Nevada, partly because the Wolf Pack's schedule has been more difficult. Struggling Wolf Pack
up next for WarriorsBy Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinNot only has first-year head coach Chris Tormey had to overcome the difficulty of his team's first run through the more difficult Western Athletic Conference, he also has played nationally ranked teams Oregon and Colorado State. The only win Nevada has managed this season was at Wyoming.
"We're integrating a lot of young players into our new offensive and defensive systems, and it takes time to make the adjustments," Tormey said. "At times, we've played well, but we just haven't been able to sustain it over four quarters."
Nevada is coming off a 45-22 loss at home to Texas-El Paso. The Wolf Pack hasn't won a league game in five tries. This weekend's meeting could determine whether Hawaii finishes in last place. A loss would guarantee at least a tie.
The star for Nevada continues to be quarterback David Neill. He missed the last game vs. the Miners with a variety of bumps and bruises. He's still considered one of the best young quarterbacks in the league, despite his team's struggles in 2000.
Much like Hawaii, Nevada likes to pass the football. Don't be surprised if this winds up a four-hour game with as many as 100 passes being thrown. Brett Staninger replaced Neill over the weekend, completing 21 of 47 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw three interceptions.
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Conference standings
Overall Conference W L T PCT. W L T PCT. PF PA Texas-El Paso 7 2 0 .778 6 0 0 1.000 231 99 San Jose St. 7 3 0 .700 5 1 0 .833 227 175 Texas Christian 7 1 0 .875 4 1 0 .800 160 61 Fresno St. 5 3 0 .625 4 1 0 .800 177 107 Tulsa 3 6 0 .333 2 3 0 .400 69 121 Rice 3 6 0 .333 2 4 0 .333 137 143 Southern Methodist 2 7 0 .222 1 4 0 .200 80 152 Hawaii 1 7 0 .125 1 6 0 .143 160 259 Nevada 1 8 0 .111 0 5 0 .000 90 214 Last week's results
Fresno St. 45, Hawaii 27
Rice 43, Southern Methodist 14
Texas-El Paso 45, Nevada 22
San Jose St. 27, Texas Christian 24Coming up Saturday
Nevada at Hawaii
Fresno St. at Texas Christian
Tulsa at Southern Methodist
Rice at Texas-El Paso
Season statistics
TEAM
Hawaii Opp FIRST DOWNS 157 172 Rushing 26 100 Passing 117 55 Penalty 14 17 RUSHING YARDAGE 527 1762 Yards gained rushing 663 1948 Yards lost rushing 136 186 Rushing Attempts 152 415 Average Per Rush 3.5 4.2 Average Per Game 65.9 220.3 TD’s Rushing 7 20 PASSING YARDAGE 2487 1410 Att-Comp-Int 407-204-16 187-107-3 Average Per Pass 6.1 7.5 Average Per Catch 12.2 13.2 Average Per Game 310.9 176.3 TDs Passing 16 12 TOTAL OFFENSE 3014 3172 Total Plays 559 602 Average Per Play 5.4 5.3 Average Per Game 376.8 396.5 KICK RETURNS No.-Yards 40-750 27-495 PUNT RETURNS No.-Yards 21-213 17-140 INT RETURNS No.-Yards 3-38 16-314 FUMBLES-LOST 15-7 15-8 PENALTIES-YARDS 87-609 64-495 PUNTS-AVG 46-36.3 38-37.6 TIME OF POSS. 25:24 34:36 3RD DOWN CONV. 42/121 54/125 4TH DOWN CONV. 8/19 6/11
RUSHING
Att. Yds. TD Long Fenderson 53 297 2 31 Weaver 30 116 1 15 Thompson 29 103 0 18 Mitchell 6 43 1 26 Rolovich 8 21 0 18 Grant 8 20 1 9 Tinoisamoa 1 0 0 0 Stutzmann 1 -2 0 0 Team 2 -3 0 0 Berryman 1 -11 0 0 Harris 1 -11 0 0 Chang 11 -20 2 5 Liana 1 -26 0 0
RECEIVING
No. Yds. TD Long Lelie 46 686 7 51 Colbert 44 585 2 17 Stutzmann 34 436 5 31 Harris 24 327 2 26 Fenderson 17 67 0 17 Weaver 13 122 0 14 Welch 11 101 0 16 deLaura 7 96 0 26 Thompson 4 36 0 17 Mitchell 2 13 0 7 Grant 1 9 0 9 Sims 1 9 0 9
PASSING
Att. Comp. Int. Yds. TD Chang 268 140 12 1653 10 Rolovich 136 63 4 815 6 Gilbride 2 1 0 19 0 Kauka 1 0 0 0 0
PUNTING
No. Yds. Avg. Long McBriar 24 875 36.5 63 Berryman 22 795 36.1 65
TACKLES
UT AT TT Espiau 58 29 87 Brooks 58 20 78 Jackson 37 30 67 Kemfort 28 25 53 Armstrong 34 13 47 Tinoisamoa 27 10 37 Smith 23 13 36 Brown 24 10 34 Peters 20 10 30 Correa 16 10 26 Garner 14 10 24 Iosua 13 11 24 Fuga 17 6 23 Tucker 22 1 23 Sims 15 6 21 Liana 11 8 19 Miller 13 4 17 Dietschy 14 1 15 Ala 9 2 11 Samuseva 5 4 9 Avila 6 2 8 Alapa 4 2 6 Butts 2 4 6 Clowers 3 3 6 Williams 4 0 4 Correia 1 2 3 Fenderson 3 0 3 Gilmore 2 1 3 Berryman 2 0 2 Campbell 2 0 2 deLaura 2 0 2 Grant 2 0 2 Jackson 2 0 2 Riccardi 2 0 2 Ala 0 1 1 Kauka 0 1 1 Welch 1 0 1 Wright 1 0 1
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