Rayburn made UH Sam Rayburn, Tulsa's productive defensive tackle, huffed and puffed and rushed, but he couldn't take Hawaii quarterback Tim Chang down in last night's 37-14 loss to the Warriors.
O-line work hard
Notebook
Sidelines
UH better than gold
Chang steps up performance
By Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comAll night, Rayburn battled against (and sometimes through) Hawaii's offensive line. The 6-foot-3, 303-pound senior was sweating profusely by the time the Warriors were midway through their second drive, and he got close to Chang numerous times throughout the night. At times he touched Chang after a quickly released pass, but it was too late. Other times, he flailed away with his arms to try to knock down Chang's passes.
But he ultimately failed.
"They've (the Warriors) got a great O-line," Rayburn said after the loss. "And it's pretty impossible to get to the quarterback. Every down, every down, every down you try to break through, but it's tough to get through."
Hawaii tackle Wayne Hunter was impressed with Rayburn's effort. Hunter congratulated him right after the game, and he said, "You're a big dude, you played tough," with an extended stare at Rayburn to make sure the hard-charging Tulsa lineman knew he meant it.
Rayburn is nearing the Golden Hurricane's record for career tackles for lost yardage. He had 35 going into last night's game and he now has 36. He dropped Hawaii's Josh Galeai for a 2-yard loss in the second half, and needs four more to tie the school record of 40, set by Don Blackmon from 1976 to 1980. Blackmon went on to be a standout linebacker for the New England Patriots.
"He's (Rayburn) a big, physical power rusher, real strong, but not a finesse type rusher," Hawaii offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh said. "But we didn't do anything special to stop him. Our line and running backs just operated and blocked at a high level. We were sound on our technique. To go through the whole game with no sacks and very little pressure, that's saying something."
Rayburn came into the game as Tulsa's third-leading tackler, but he finished with just that one tackle of Galeai. To Rayburn's credit, defensive linemen don't get very many tackles against a team that doesn't run very much. Rayburn was the WAC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Kansas on Sept. 28.
Hawaii guard Shayne Kajioka also took note of Rayburn's unceasing effort in a losing cause.
"He brought it," Kajioka said. "He rushed hard and didn't give up at all this whole game, so I give him a lot of props for that."
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