Expect fireworks against Are you ready for some football?
Nevada tonight
Both teams like to throw the ball
Stats / Scores
and score lots of points
Heavy-duty lineman
By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletinAre you ready for four hours of football?
The 30,000 or so at Aloha Stadium when Hawaii and Nevada meet tonight for the Warriors' homecoming game shouldn't expect to get home in time for the 10 p.m. news.
Both teams throw the ball more than they run, stopping the clock often; UH averages 3 hours and 33 minutes per game and Nevada averages 3:26.
Hawaii coach June Jones said that just means more excitement for the dollar.
"Buy your tickets and come. It's going to be a spectator game," he said.
If passing is your fancy, he's right. Both teams put it up more than 40 times a game, and most of the time they catch it. Nevada is fifth in the nation with 331.2 yards by air per contest and Hawaii is less than a foot behind at 331.0.
The Warriors (3-2, 2-1 Western Athletic Conference) need to win to remain in contention for the WAC championship. So does 10-point underdog Nevada (2-3, 1-0). Both teams come off losses -- Hawaii fell hard at Boise State, 58-31, and UNLV knocked off the rival Wolf Pack 21-17 in Las Vegas.
Nevada had a short week to prepare for a long game. The Wolf Pack practiced in rain showers yesterday, but that didn't bother coach Chris Tormey.
"I wouldn't mind if it rained all weekend," he said. "We gave the guys a few hours off today, but we won't really be doing any sightseeing. I don't expect many of them to be out at the beach."
Tormey, whose team lost here 37-17 two years ago, didn't make any adjustments based on the 2000 trip. But he said most of his current players were on that team and have a better idea of how to prepare individually.
"There's not much more that we can do, we can't charter," he said. "Thursday (when the Wolf Pack came to Hawaii) was a long day for us."
Tormey said the temporary loss of defensive coordinator Jeff Mills, who is in Iowa for his father's funeral, hurts the Wolf Pack.
"This was a very difficult week, personally. Jeff does a great job, he is missed this week. I helped pick up some of the slack, but it's a short week to begin with," Tormey said. "There's a lot of stress."
Nevada will also be without starting free safety Ronnie Hardiman, who misses his third consecutive game with a breathing disorder. His replacement is Keone Kauo, who is of native Hawaiian ancestry and has relatives here.
Kauo is Nevada's second-leading tackler with 37 stops. But Hardiman, who intercepted UH's Tim Chang in the Wolf Pack's 28-20 victory in Reno last year, will be missed. Without Hardiman roaming the secondary, Nevada might not blitz enough to produce six sacks like it did against Hawaii in 2001.
"I think that was probably our worst game as an offensive line," Jones said. "We looked at the tape and we made as many mental errors as physical. We still moved the ball and everything, but if we get sacked it puts us in long-yardage situations and it's not as easy to stay on the field. We can't allow that to happen again."
Two key offensive performers are out for Hawaii; running back Mike Bass and inside receiver Nate Ilaoa are both capable of big plays, but Bass will miss his second consecutive game with a right knee injury and Ilaoa dislocated his right shoulder against Boise State.
This will test Hawaii's offensive depth; four former walk-ons will start at the six non-interior lineman positions. UH will likely still score lots of points -- the Warriors have posted more than 30 in eight consecutive contests (winning six of them) dating back to last season.
UH's defense needs to bounce back after Boise State scored the most points against Hawaii since USC beat Hawaii 62-7 in Jones' first game in 1999. The Warriors failed to win the battle at the line of scrimmage.
"Their was a lot of inconsistency," UH defensive line coach Vantz Singletary said. "I thought our guys played hard. They just didn't do it every play. It's probably a blessing in disguise that things happened the way they did. Now they know they can't play one series hard and take the next one off."
There will be no rest for the Warriors' linebackers and secondary, either. Nevada runs four- and five-receiver sets, and UH will depend on players like Keith Bhonapha, Keani Alapa, Sean Butts and Kenny Patton to help starters Abraham Elimimian, Kelvin Millhouse, David Gilmore, Hyrum Peters, Chris Brown and Pisa Tinoisamoa in pass defense.
They'll try to provide a better turnover ratio than last week: zero to three.
Nevada's passing combination of Zack Threadgill to Nate Burleson is one of the best in the nation -- Threadgill is fifth in the country in total offense and Burleson is No. 1 in receptions per game.
Hawaii's special teams also had their pride hurt last week. The Warriors had a blocked punt turned into a touchdown by Boise State, and UH is used to being the ones who score via the kicking game.
UH has won its last five home games. Nevada has lost both of its road games this fall and 12 of its last 13 games.
Tormey seems to think UH's big loss at Boise State was an aberration.
"Obviously Hawaii is a very good football team. They appear to be improved this year. This is a huge challenge, especially playing over there," Tormey said. "We'll be in a buzz saw from the get-go."
Jones said this is not the same Nevada team that hasn't had a winning season since 1998. Already this season, it has beaten Brigham Young and Rice and almost knocked off No. 24 Colorado State.
"They're a much better football team than they were last year. Better than we were," Jones said. "When we looked at the tape we felt we should've won up there. This game is going to be a very intense game."
When: Today, 6:05 p.m. Hawaii vs. Nevada
Where: Aloha Stadium
Tickets: $21 sideline, $16 end zone, $12 students/seniors, UH students free (super rooter only). Available at Aloha Stadium, except for student tickets at Stan Sheriff Center. Also at Ticket Plus outlets or by calling (808) 526-4400.
TV: KFVE (Channel 5), delay at 10 p.m., with rebroadcast Sunday at 9 a.m. Also available live on Pay-Per-View. Call 625-8100 on Oahu or (866) 566-7784 on neighbor islands to subscribe.
Radio: 1420-AM.
BACK TO TOP |
Probable starters
NEVADA
OFFENSE
LT 78 Alan Parker 6-5 305 Jr. LG 62 Chris Hines 6-2 290 So. C 66 Cody Johnson 6-4 286 Sr. RG 79 Isaiah Ross 6-3 318 Sr. RT 59 Harvey Dahl 6-5 303 So. TE 89 Erick Streelman 6-5 250 Sr. H 80 Nate Burleson 6-2 187 Sr. WR 81 Maurice Mann 6-2 171 Jr. WR 9 Tim Fleming 6-1 183 Jr. QB 14 Zack Threadgill 6-2 211 Sr. RB 34 Matt Milton 6-0 211 Fr. DEFENSE
E 55 Jorge Cordova 6-2 241 Jr. T 56 Derek Kennard 6-1 270 Jr. T 95 Chris Barry 6-3 285 So. E 99 J.D. Morscheck 6-1 220 Jr. LB 10 Daryl Towns 6-0 209 Jr. LB 26 Logan Carter 6-3 203 Fr. LB 19 Carl LaGrone 6-3 221 Jr. R 25 Paul Jolley 5-11 212 Sr. FS 39 Keone Kauo 5-11 181 So. LC 29 Chris Handy 5-11 175 Fr. RC 8 Marlon McLaughlin 5-10 177 So. SPECIALISTS
K 36 Damon Fine 5-9 150 So. P 37 Derek Jones 6-3 237 Jr. KR 6 Ronnie Hardiman 6-0 185 Jr. PR 8 Marlon McLaughlin 5-10 177 So. LS 89 Erick Streelman 6-5 250 Sr. H 13 Andy Heiser 6-1 171 So.
Hawaii
OFFENSE
WR 18 Justin Colbert 5-8 170 Sr. WR 2 Chad Owens 5-9 177 So. LT 70 Wayne Hunter 6-6 299 Jr. LG 77 Shayne Kajioka 6-3 308 Jr. C 53 Lui Fuata 6-2 315 Sr. RG 65 Vince Manuwai 6-2 309 Sr. RT 69 Uriah Moenoa 6-3 327 So. WR 21 Clifton Herbert 5-8 157 Jr. WR 88 Neal Gossett 5-10 177 Sr. QB 14 Tim Chang 6-2 191 So. RB 24 Thero Mitchell 5-10 210 Sr. DEFENSE
LE 58 La'anui Correa 6-5 264 Sr. LT 97 Isaac Sopoaga 6-3 315 Jr. RT 92 Lance Samuseva 5-11 290 Jr. RE 93 Houston Ala 6-1 250 Jr. LB 44 Matt Wright 6-1 225 Sr. LB 54 Chris Brown 6-1 255 Sr. LB 10 Pisa Tinoisamoa 6-0 218 Sr. CB 37 Abraham Elimimian 5-10 173 So. or 24 Kenny Patton 6-0 170 Fr. SS 33 Hyrum Peters 5-8 188 Jr. FS 17 David Gilmore 6-0 197 Jr. CB 3 Kelvin Millhouse 6-1 205 Jr. SPECIALISTS
P 49 Mat McBriar 6-0 221 Sr. K 47 Justin Ayat 5-11 205 So. LS 45 Tanuvasa Moe 5-11 218 Fr. PR 1 Clifton Herbert 5-8 157 Jr. or 2 Chad Owens 5-9 177 So. KR 6 Michael Brewster 5-6 176 So. H 7 Shawn Withy-Allen 6-4 219 Sr.
Schedules
NEVADA (2-3, 1-0 WAC)
Aug. 31 Washington State (at Seattle) L, 7-31 Sept. 14 Brigham Young W, 31-28 Sept. 21 Rice W, 35-13 Sept. 28 Colorado State L, 28-32 Oct. 5 at UNLV L, 17-21 Today at Hawaii Oct. 19 San Jose State Oct. 26 at Louisiana Tech Nov. 2 at Southern Methodist Nov. 9 Texas-El Paso Nov. 16 at Fresno State Nov. 23 Boise State
HAWAII (3-2, 2-1 WAC)
Aug. 31 Eastern Illinois W, 61-36 Sept. 6 at Brigham Young L, 32-35 Sept. 21 at Texas-El Paso W, 31-6 Sept. 28 Southern Methodist W, 42-10 Oct. 5 at Boise State L, 31-58 Today Nevada Oct. 19 Tulsa Oct. 25 at Fresno State Nov. 2 San Jose State Nov. 16 at Rice Nov. 23 Cincinnati Nov. 30 Alabama Dec. 7 San Diego State
Per-game comparison
UN UH 22.8 Points 39.4 26.6 Points Allowed 29.0 437.6 Total Offense 465.6 106.4 Rushing yards 134.6 331.2 Passing yards 331.0 -1.00 Turnovers -1.40
Team leaders
Passing A C I Yards TD Zack Threadgill, UN 196 123 7 1,620 12 Tim Chang, UH 195 98 8 1,342 6 Rushing A Yards Avg TD Matt Milton, UN 82 321 3.9 1 Mike Bass, UH 26 206 7.9 1 Receiving Rec Yards Avg TD Nate Burleson, UN 53 682 136.4 5 Chad Owens, UH 35 406 11.6 0 Scoring TD FG XP Pts Avg Nate Burleson, UN 5 0 0 30 6.0 Justin Ayat, UH 0 5 24 39 7.8 Tackles Solo Assist Total Avg FL/S Daryl Towns, UN 18 22 40 8.0 2/0 Pisa Tinoisamoa, UH 26 19 45 9.0 5/1
UH Athletics
