Football Warriors The University of Hawaii football team finds itself among the nation's elite today. According to the ESPN/USA Today poll of 61 Division I coaches, the Warriors are the 25th best team in the country.
rank 25th in nation
The showing in the ESPN/USA Today
After a win against Rice, the Warriors look ahead
poll is the best since 1992
By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comIt is the first time UH has been ranked in either of the two major polls since the end of the 1992 season, when the Rainbows were No. 20 in the Associated Press media poll after winning the Holiday Bowl and finishing 11-2.
Hawaii beat Rice 33-28 in Houston on Saturday, improving the Warriors' record to 8-2.
The Warriors moved into the last spot in the rankings after North Carolina State, Oregon and Bowling Green fell out.
In the current AP poll, UH is 10th in the "Others Receiving Votes" category. Defending national champion Miami is No. 1 in both polls.
"It's a tribute to everyone's hard work," linebacker and team tri-captain Pisa Tinoisamoa said. "I think from the beginning of season we just concentrated on winning each game, and if we did that then everything would fall into place."
Hawaii coach June Jones said consistent Top 25 rankings would be among his goals when he took over the team in 1999. Jones was traveling from the mainland yesterday and not available for comment.
UH Athletic Director Herman Frazier said a customs agent at Honolulu Airport told him about the ranking upon his return from Houston yesterday.
"I've been watching it pretty closely. When we were 28th last week I figured if we could beat Rice and then Cincinnati next week, then maybe we would make our debut," Frazier said. "It's great for the university, great for June and great for the program. I think it will help us in a whole lot of areas."
Five of the poll's voting coaches are from the Western Athletic Conference, of which UH is a member, including Rice's Ken Hatfield.
Tinoisamoa said the ranking should motivate the Warriors, who have already clinched a berth in the Dec. 25 Hawaii Bowl and have won five games in a row, to continue to play well.
"Some teams, they get ranked and then that's it, they don't do anything," he said. "Hopefully we can accomplish our goals, including winning out the season and get ranked even higher."
The Warriors get to prove they deserve their ranking when they play Alabama, which is ranked No. 9 in the AP poll, a week from Saturday. The Crimson Tide are not eligible for the coaches' poll because they are on NCAA probation.
Hawaii could match its 1992 record (11-2) if it wins its final three regular season games, all of which are at home. The last game will be against former WAC rival San Diego State on Dec.7.
Hawaii's highest football rankings throughout the years:
Pulling rank
1981: 16th (UPI), 18th (AP)
1989: 19th (UPI), 23rd (AP), 23rd (CNN), 20th (The Sporting News)
1992: 20th (AP), 20th (CNN), 7th (New York Times)
UH Athletics
