Warriors 'D' has They're both coming off games in which their teams beat up on inferior foes, but the coaches for Hawaii and Boise State both said yesterday that improvement must be made in order to win this week at Bronco Stadium.
no time to enjoy
great game
Boise State's offense has been
just as impressive as UH'sStar-Bulletin staff
June Jones called the Warriors' 42-10 win over Southern Methodist the best overall defensive game Hawaii has had in his tenure. And despite six turnovers, he noted offensive strides as well.
"But we're going to have to be even better this week to beat probably the best team we're playing so far," he said. That would be Boise State.
The Broncos, meanwhile, are coming off a wildly successful, if wildly uneven, 63-38 win over Utah State.
"We're going to have to play a lot better than we have been the past few weeks to win the game Saturday," Boise State coach Dan Hawkins said.
The Broncos got 376 passing yards and five touchdowns from quarterback B.J. Rhode, big brother of UH reserve Jeff Rhode.
The elder Rhode is 3-0 as a starter since taking over for all-conference candidate Ryan Dinwiddie, who suffered a broken ankle in a Sept. 7 loss at Arkansas.
Hawkins said that Rhode's success is a testament to the fifth-year senior's preparation as a backup. Rhode is an "extremely bright kid," who is "one of the first guys in here every morning watching tape, and working on the game plan."
As for Jones' quarterbacks, Tim Chang played well in the second half, the coach said.
"We just need to play more consistently and I'm sure (Saturday's performance) will help him get a little more consistency, too, a little more confidence," Jones said.
"His hand, I think, is well."
Chang may have also gained confidence from a 19-yard touchdown run that left SMU defenders splattered on the end-zone turf.
"I'll let you think that Timmy was the one that hurt (SMU corner Kevin Garrett)," Jones told assembled media. "But it was the other SMU guy that hit him. They missed Timmy and hit him.
"But Timmy thinks it was him."
Jones was not yet sure if UH will work with two or more quarterbacks again.
He did know one thing:
"Boise State will be a real test," he said. "They don't lose at home."
Another look for Bass: Hawaii coaches will have a better idea today of leading rusher Mike Bass' availability for the rest of the season. Bass injured his right knee in the third quarter Saturday night after averaging 10 yards per carry against SMU.
"We think he may have a partial tear of his ACL, but that's preliminary," Jones said yesterday.
Head team physician Dr. Andrew Nichols had previously examined the results of Bass' MRI, but another team doctor, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jay Marumoto, was to take another look last night.
Bass' absence opened the door for junior John West, who scampered for 59 yards and a touchdown against the Mustangs after Bass left the game.
Jones said he was not surprised by West's performance.
"Yeah, we knew that after last spring," Jones said. "Go back and look at what we said about him, we thought that he was a really good runner. And he finally got a chance to get in there, and that was good."
West ran 8 yards for a touchdown on a fourth-down play in the third quarter -- his first carry of the game, the play after Bass had hobbled off the field.
Middle men: Jones said that middle linebacker Chris Brown "played probably the best game he's played here." But that didn't outshine the play of backup Chad Kalilimoku, who shared time with the banged up Brown. "Our two inside guys played really well," Jones said. "Played aggressive."
Players of the week: Tulsa defensive tackle Sam Rayburn, Fresno State quarterback Paul Penigar and San Jose State kick returner Charles Pauley were named WAC players of the week.
Rayburn had nine tackles and a sack in a 43-33 loss to Kansas. Penigar helped the Bulldogs come from behind to beat Rice 31-28, passing for 325 yards and three touchdowns. Pauley returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown as San Jose State beat UTEP 58-24.
National rankings
Hawaii is ranked in the top 10 nationally in several statistical categories:
Pass offense Att Com Yds YPG Hawaii (6) 176 82 1,295 323.8 Pass defense Att Com Yds TDs Pts Hawaii (7) 161 69 742 5 101.76 Total offense Plays Yds YPG Hawaii (7) 280 1,889 472.3 Scoring offense G Pts Avg Hawaii (8) 4 166 41.5 Interceptions G Int Yds TD Pg Hyrum Peters (T9) 4 3 112 2 .75
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