Friday, January 4, 2002

[ UH WARRIOR FOOTBALL ]

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Warriors left bowl-less
and poll-less

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By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com

Hawaii got no bowl, and in the end, no spot in either poll.

UH was left out of the college football postseason despite a 9-3 record, and the Warriors received no solace after the voting was done last night.

Hawaii won eight of its last nine games, including a convincing 72-45 season-ending rout of Brigham Young on Dec. 8.

But the Warriors got only enough support nationwide to finish 28th in the Associated Press (media) poll and 32nd in the USA Today/ESPN (coaches) rankings.

UH coach June Jones was disappointed.

"We deserve it, we beat two top 20 teams and played as well as anyone down the stretch," he said.

Hawaii finished the regular season 26th in the AP poll, so it was conceivable that UH could jump into the Top 25 after the bowl games -- especially if teams on the cusp of the rankings lost their games.

But Louisville, Florida State and Toledo -- ranked 23rd to 25th going into the bowls -- all won.

And Brigham Young lost to Louisville, taking some of the luster off the Warriors' blowout of the Cougars.

Hawaii wasn't forgotten by all the voters, however.

"I have them No. 21," Todd Harmonson of the Orange County Register said. "I watched them most the season and I really like the way they finished. They should have been in a bowl game. They're by far the best team that didn't get in a bowl."

Star-Bulletin Sports Editor Paul Arnett gave Hawaii a 25th-place vote last night.

UH's highest ranking in a final AP poll was 20th after the 1992 season, when the Rainbows won the Western Athletic Conference championship and beat Illinois in the Holiday Bowl.

The Rainbows were also ranked as high as 23rd during the 1989 and 1993 seasons.

UH was ranked for the first time by AP in 1981, when it reached No. 18 after starting the season 7-0 before losing to Brigham Young.

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UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii