Only home stretch HOUSTON >> It was a five-point victory over one of college football's we-try-harder teams. But Hawaii had never beaten Rice before, so Saturday's 33-28 decision wasn't just another win for the Warriors.
left for UH
Victories over Cincinnati and
Warriors rank 25th in nation
Alabama would help Hawaii
prove it deserves its ranking
Notes and stats
By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comNot by a long shot, especially since it propelled UH into the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll at No. 25.
The voters likely took into account how well the Warriors have played on the road in ranking them for the first time in 10 seasons. UH won three out of five as visitors this year, to go with two out of three in 2001. Dick Tomey was coaching the team 20 years ago the last time UH had back-to-back winning seasons on the road.
Altitude, jet lag and hostile crowds still exist, and still make winning away from home a challenge for the Warriors. But UH has learned to deal with it.
And in this case, the players focused on the facts that the Owls had beaten them three years in a row, and that they still have a sliver of hope for a share of the league title.
"We were up for it because it was our last WAC game and we still have a chance for the championship," senior guard Vince Manuwai said.
UH defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa said explaining the team's success is simple. The players are more talented and mature than those on previous editions that earned a rep for blundering on the road.
"It's a process we've been going through the past two or three years. I think we've changed (the reputation) now," Lempa said. "We're a better team obviously. We can match up with just about anybody."
The 8-2 Warriors learn how true that is in just two weeks when they play Alabama. And Saturday's game against Cincinnati is no gimme; the Bearcats came close to beating undefeated Ohio State.
UH, though, owns confidence earned through consistent winning. Victories in the past two seasons against Brigham Young, Air Force, Fresno State and now Rice erased years -- and in some cases, decades -- of frustration for the UH program.
The challenge now for the Warriors is to continue doing what they're doing at home. The players talk like they know how to win now -- they have what Rice had last year when it went 8-4 and beat Hawaii with a late drive at Aloha Stadium.
This time UH made the big play at the end of the game. Houston Ala's fourth-down tackle is up there with Justin Ayat's field goal against Miami (Ohio) and Ashley Lelie and Britton Komine's catches against Fresno State for last-minute drama the past two seasons.
"It helps a whole lot when you have experience," junior cornerback Kelvin Millhouse said. "You feel like your team is always going to make the plays you need when you need them."
Now they get a four-game homestand, including the first Hawaii Bowl, to finish it out. Hawaii almost always plays at least its last two games at home and has never ended its season on the road, except for the 1992 Holiday Bowl in San Diego.
"The home stretch is always nice," senior defensive end La'anui Correa said. "We don't have to worry about travel and time changes. But we have three tough games at home. We have to prepare well and go out and play good."
The Warriors -- who lose a lot of senior leadership after this year -- will need to continue to build on the moderate road successes in coming years. Their next away game is at USC, and the finishing touches are being put on a deal to play at Michigan State in 2005.
Beating programs like those at their places will take a whole lot more than a good travel mindset -- although that will certainly be required. It will also take comparable talent and some luck, or else a bushwhacking worse than what Boise State put on Hawaii is very possible.
Beating Rice is one thing. Starting now, the Warriors have to prove every week they really belong in the rankings.
If that happens, Correa and the other seniors can point proudly to being part of a foundation of excellence. They won't be around for the Spartans and the shots at revenge against the Trojans.
But Saturday, the players were just happy to have squeaked by a bunch of tough smart guys who weren't recruited by the elite programs.
"It feels good. Coach said in order to do good in the WAC you've got to win on the road and we did it," Correa said. "It feels good to end my road-game career with a win."
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TEAM STATISTICS
HAWAII OPP FIRST DOWN 243 219 Rushing 50 100 Passing 172 100 Penalty 21 19 RUSHING YARDAGE 1250 1677 Yards gained rushing 1380 2017 Yards lost rushing 130 340 Rushing attempts 227 427 Average per rush 5.5 3.9 Average per game 125.0 167.7 Touchdowns rushing 19 18 PASSING YARDAGE 3959 2097 Att-Comp-Int 520-288-15 349-173-17 Average per pass 7.6 6.0 Average per catch 13.7 12.1 Average per game 395.9 209.7 Touchdowns passing 27 16 TOTAL OFFENSE 5209 3774 Total plays 747 776 Average per play 7.0 4.9 Average per game 520.9 377.4 KICK RETURNS: No-Yds 39-800 51-1069 PUNT RETURNS: No-Yds 24-202 16-259 INT. RETURNS: No-Yds 17-293 15-113 FUMBLES-LOST 15-10 12-6 PENALTIES-YARDS 96-868 81-675 PUNTS-AVG 33-40.7 56-38.5 TIME OF POSSESSION/GAME 27:23 32:37 3RD-DOWN CONVERSIONS 64/144 68/170 4TH-DOWN CONVERSIONS 12/20 11/19
RUSHING
G Att Net Avg TD Long West 9 43 354 8.2 5 81 Bass 7 44 279 6.3 1 37 Mitchell 10 40 231 5.8 7 41 Withy-Allen 10 26 186 7.2 2 42 Brewster 7 16 90 5.6 3 34 Galeai 6 8 35 4.4 0 27 Whieldon 4 6 29 4.5 0 9 Chang 10 23 63 24 1.0 27 Ilaoa 8 4 12 3.0 0 8 Fiaseu 1 3 11 3.7 0 8 Herbert 10 3 12 3.3 0 10 Owens 6 2 5 2.5 0 3 Team 9 9 -14 -1.6 0 0 Total 10 227 1250 5.5 19 81
PASSING
G Att Comp Int Yds TD Long Chang 10 454 253 13 3322 19 72 Withy-Allen 10 45 26 1 475 5 54 Whieldon 4 18 8 1 92 3 24 Kapanui 10 3 1 0 70 0 0 Total 10 520 288 15 3959 27 72
RECEIVING
G Rec Yds Avg TD Long Colbert 10 67 952 14.2 6 59 Komine 10 44 723 16.4 8 72 Owens 6 36 456 12.7 1 51 Gossett 10 29 372 12.8 3 51 Herbert 10 29 372 12.8 3 49 Ilaoa 8 26 322 12.4 3 41 Cockheran 8 20 284 14.2 2 41 Mitchell 10 13 114 8.8 0 50 Bass 7 9 98 10.9 0 46 West 9 9 69 7.7 0 28 Galeai 6 3 48 16.0 1 18 Bennett 3 2 53 26.5 0 30 Brewster 7 2 36 18.0 0 29 Noa 8 1 70 70.0 0 70 Total 10 288 3959 13.7 27 72
TOTAL OFFENSE
G Plays Rush Pass Tot Avg Chang 10 477 24 3322 3346 334.6 Withy-Allen 10 71 186 475 661 66.1 West 9 43 354 0 354 39.3 Bass 7 44 279 0 279 39.9 Mitchell 10 40 231 0 231 23.1 Whieldon 4 24 27 92 119 29.8 Brewster 7 16 90 0 90 15.0 Kapanui 10 3 0 70 70 7.8 Galeai 6 8 35 0 35 5.8 Ilaoa 8 4 12 0 12 1.7 Fiaseu 1 3 11 0 11 11.0 Herbert 10 3 10 0 10 1.2 Owens 6 2 5 0 5 0.8 Team 8 8 -10 0 -10 -1.2 Total 10 747 1250 3959 5209 520.9
SCORING
TD FG 1XP 2XP Tot Ayat 0 13-20 46-47 0 85 Komine 8 0-0 0-0 1 50 Mitchell 7 0-0 0-0 0 42 Colbert 6 0-0 0-0 0 36 West 5 0-0 0-0 0 30 Herbert 3 0-0 0-0 1 20 Ilaoa 3 0-0 0-0 0 18 Peters 3 0-0 0-0 0 18 Gossett 3 0-0 0-0 0 18 Brewster 3 0-0 0-0 0 18 Withy-Allen 2 0-0 0-0 0 12 Cockheran 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Galeai 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Patton 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Chang 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Ma'afala 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Owens 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Bass 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Total 51 13-20 46-47 2 395
PUNTING
No. Yds Avg Long McBriar 31 1344 43.4 61 Team 2 0 0.0 0 Total 33 1344 40.7 61
PUNT RETURNS
No. Yds Avg TD Long Herbert 9 72 8.0 0 33 Bass 6 53 8.8 0 13 Bennett 6 71 11.8 0 19 Owens 3 6 2.0 0 4 Total 24 202 8.4 0 33
KICK RETURNS
No. Yds Avg TD Long Brewster 18 444 24.7 0 60 West 15 302 20.1 0 35 Manners 2 5 2.5 0 5 Kauka 1 6 6.0 0 6 Curnan 1 8 8.0 0 8 Kapanui 1 10 10.0 0 10 Owens 1 25 25.0 0 25 Total 39 800 20.5 0 60
INTERCEPTIONS
No. Yds Avg Td Long Millhouse 4 17 4.2 0 15 Peters 4 176 44.0 3 64 Tinoisamoa 2 23 11.5 0 19 Elimimian 2 0 0.0 0 0 Butts 1 19 19.0 0 19 Brown 1 4 4.0 0 4 Manners 1 10 10.0 0 10 Correa 1 12 12.0 0 12 Ma'afala 1 32 32.0 1 32 Total 17 293 17.2 4 64
TACKLES
G UT AT Tot Tinoisamoa 10 62 23 85 Peters 10 46 21 67 Brown 10 32 29 61 Sopoaga 10 31 23 54 Gilmore 10 33 17 50 Elimimian 8 36 10 46 Millhouse 10 35 10 45 Wright, M. 10 24 19 43 LaBoy 8 26 12 38 Correa 10 21 15 36 Samuseva 10 22 13 35 Ala 7 20 11 31 Bhonapha 10 22 7 29 Butts 10 19 9 28 Alapa 10 18 9 27 Kapanui 10 18 5 23 Jackson 10 10 11 21 Kalilimoku 10 10 8 18 Noa 8 9 3 12 Curnan 7 6 5 11 Wright, G. 8 7 3 10 Patton 9 7 3 10 Ma'afala 8 1 8 9 Cravalho 7 2 3 5 Peters 5 3 2 5 Ayat 9 2 2 4 Manners 7 3 1 4 Moe 7 2 2 4 Harley 7 2 2 4 Aguiar 3 2 1 3 Wills 5 2 1 3 Mitchell 10 2 - 2 Wong 2 2 - 2 Moenoa 8 1 - 1 Gossett 10 1 - 1 Owens 6 1 - 1 Fuga 1 - 1 1 Kamakawiwoole 2 - 1 1 Broadway 7 1 - 1 McBriar 10 1 - 1 Hollingsworth 5 1 - 1 Colbert 10 1 - 1 Total 10 546 289 835
UH Athletics
