Full Court Press
YOU might be able to forgive 103 points and more than a half-mile in passing yards from two teams whose defenses weren't well acquainted with the forward pass. Warriors will need a
defense to win againPerhaps it would be understandable for Miami (Ohio) University's Ben Roethlisberger completing his first dozen passes or the Warriors scoring points on their final five drives if practice was spent defending only the run. But that's not the case.
Hawaii defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa should make secondary coach Rich Miano run laps after practice tomorrow for allowing the Miami offense to pass up and down the field as if no one were there.
Press box chatter centered on, "Whoever has the ball last will win the game." And sure enough, Justin Ayat's 24-yard field goal as time expired proved to be the difference in Hawaii's 52-51 victory.
Afterward, head coach June Jones wondered where everyone was as Hawaii drew the smallest crowd of the year at 29,703. Funny, UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida must have forgotten to tell Jones about all the freebies handed out last week to get a turnstile count of 40,000.
True, the fans who attended Saturday night's shootout got their money's worth in terms of entertainment. But this isn't football in its purest form. As well as both offenses executed when it counted most, the lack of a credible defense contributed to this offensive show.
Miami wasn't particularly good on defense. Hawaii wasn't much better, but it made for an interesting story line. But it's unlikely upcoming Mountain West Conference opponents Air Force and Brigham Young will be as accommodating as the visiting RedHawks.
The Falcons have struggled of late and need to win their final two games to be bowl eligible. BYU wrapped up the Mountain West title over the weekend by rallying to beat Utah with two touchdowns late, something Jones watched on the Aloha Stadium Jumbotron while his team warmed up for Miami.
Air Force has the nation's fourth-best rushing offense and poses problems for Hawaii's suddenly beleaguered defense. The option is not a friend of the zone blitz, evidenced by the Warriors' record against the old-fashioned offense. Jones has won only once against option teams in a half-dozen tries.
BYU comes to town two weeks later with the nation's best offense and a possible BCS bid at stake. Stumble against the Warriors and the ninth-ranked Cougars will find themselves in the Liberty Bowl. Beat an upstart Hawaii team and BYU has a chance to pocket major New Year's Day bucks.
EITHER WAY, HAWAII figures to have its hands full against two of its old rivals. In the past, both schools have rarely lost to Hawaii, home or away. If Jones wants to make a case for having turned around the program, he needs to win at least one of these --and preferably both.
Hawaii is bowl eligible, but not exactly on anyone's wish list just yet. The Warriors can't win the WAC and will likely finish in the middle of the pack, too far removed from league postseason venues in the Humanitarian Bowl or the Silicon Valley Football Classic, and is geographically challenged everywhere else.
If you can only get 30,000 fans interested enough to see you at a captive setting, it's tough to make a case for your program on the mainland. Not that this team isn't exciting or deserving of consideration, but against a quality opponent like the two waiting on the horizon, Hawaii doesn't figure to pass for 500 yards or score 50-something points.
Paul Arnett has been covering sports
for the Star-Bulletin since 1990.
Email Paul: parnett@starbulletin.com.