Sidelines
THE pass was perfect. Not pretty perfect, not smooth perfect, but somehow, even better, you liked it when it got there. Like the man who threw it, it just got the job done. UH awaiting the
best kind of big gameAll his receivers were covered, locked up tight in man to man, and so Nick Rolovich went to Ashley Lelie, who was double covered.
Lelie was deep, but the ball wasn't. No problem. In mid-stride, Lelie adjusted to the underthrow, his opponents unable to stop in time, and cruised in for what, in a game, would have been a sure score. Later, a relaxed Rolovich would admit that the throw was short on purpose, a senior's crafty shortcut. But his teammates already knew that.
"Hey Rolo!" came the yell from the Hawaii defensive sideline at yesterday's practice. "No do that to us again!"
Everybody knows it. Rolo is the hot man. It's official now, with the coach's seal of approval and everything. He'd never confirm it under direct questioning, but there are signs that June Jones may have switched horses, at least for now. That's fine. This game calls for a seasoned vet. Under the circumstances, it wasn't a big surprise.
But it was for Timmy Chang, who seemed to be under the impression that when he felt ready to go, he'd get his starting job back. (Where'd he get that idea?) It's Chang's first big football heartbreak, a tough, tough thing to swallow emotionally. It was sudden and jarring and harsh, and it'll change him. His innocence is gone now. He'll come back just a little calloused, a little hardened. And maybe that was the plan.
Rolo understands. His football dreams had already been suffocated, and he'd come back for more, grabbed new ones, persevered, made plays that weren't pretty but were somehow perfect.
That's the kind of guy you want stepping into the face of tomorrow's big-game pressure -- a guy whose heart has already been broken.
This is a different kind of big game, the best kind of big game. A big game for all the right reasons.
Montana on Maui was big because Hawaii simply could not afford to lose to a I-AA team two years in a row. SMU was a "must-win" because the season was on the brink of falling apart. But Fresno State is different. This is a big game not because of what will happen if you lose, but because of what will happen if you win.
"You're not going to be seeing us relaxed come Friday," junior guard Vince Manuwai said. "Everybody's going to be pumped up and it's gonna explode one time."
We'll see. One of the best matchups is Manuwai against Alan Harper, Fresno's ferocious defensive tackle, Godzilla in a red helmet. Harper is one of the top two or three players at his position in the country. UH coaches like to say the same about Manuwai.
"We're looking forward to it," offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh said.
They are. They all are, which is why this is the best kind of big game.
Kalani Simpson's column runs Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
He can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com