Warriors have
everything to gain

A win tonight against Alabama
could bring national respect

Probable starters
Sidelines
Press Box

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By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com

When Hawaii played a big-name national power in football in the past, the cry was always, "We've got nothing to lose."

No longer true, at least today at 2:45 p.m. when the Warriors (9-2) take the Aloha Stadium turf against No. 14 Alabama (9-3) and its legacy of 12 national championships.

Alabama is to football what Hawaii is to surfing, but UH does have a ranking of its own -- No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll -- that will disappear with a blowout loss. This nationally televised game will show if the Warriors, who have won six games in a row, truly belong among the elite.

Hawaii was an 11 1/2-point underdog last night. That's down from 14 earlier in the week, probably because of the news that quarterback Tim Chang's left knee and right thumb are healed from the beating he took in last week's 20-19 victory against Cincinnati.

Hawaii vs. Alabama When: Today, 2:45 p.m, gates open 11:15 a.m. Where: Aloha Stadium Tickets: Sold out TV: Live, ESPN Radio: 1420-AM

The triggerman of the Warriors' nation-leading pass attack said Wednesday he will be ready to play, and looked it Thursday when he practiced for the first time this week.

"Physically I'll be there Saturday," Chang said. "I have to keep working mentally to get ready for a tough team. I can play on Saturday. Put it that way."

The bigger concern for Hawaii might be an adjusted offensive line because of a knee injury to starting left guard Shayne Kajioka. Hawaii coach June Jones said Thursday that Kajioka likely won't start; Lui Fuata moves to left guard and freshman Derek Faavi replaces Fuata at center.

While line coach Mike Cavanaugh and Faavi's teammates are confident in his ability, this is the first time all season UH's offensive line doesn't start its original five -- and Faavi will make the blocking calls.

Alabama's defensive line is considered one of the best in the nation. Both starting tackles, Jarret Johnson and Kenny King, are Outland Trophy candidates. Ends Antwan Odom and Kindal Moorehead have eight sacks apiece. They are all between 6-foot-3 and 6-5 and 273 and 294 pounds.

But Hawaii's offensive line is also outstanding; UH has allowed 12 sacks all season, yielding one per 47 pass attempts. Right guard Vince Manuwai said this will be the unit's biggest challenge of the season.

"We have to time our punch perfectly this week," the All-America candidate said. "As offensive linemen, we need to pick the right time. If we get them off balance and knock them away, it's very hard for them to start over and make another move to get back into the play."

The Crimson Tide offensive line is also imposing, featuring 6-8, 312-pound left tackle Wesley Britt, a freshman All-America selection last year.

"They've got players at every position," Jones said. "They're big, fast and physical. They're better than us (individually), but we'll show up and give it a try."

While UH's players promise not to be star-struck, many of their earliest memories of college football are of Alabama.

"It's the Crimson Tide, man, it's big-time," linebacker Chris Brown said. "It's a team I've been watching since I was a child. It's like a dream come true for me to step on the field with a team of that caliber. We have a chance to show the world that we're big-time, too, we're not just a fluke. We're here to stay."

Hawaii has won nine in a row at home. But Franchione has twice brought teams here and beaten the Rainbows; Texas Christian three years ago (34-14) and New Mexico in 1994 (38-24).

The Tide practiced at Aloha Stadium yesterday morning after arriving late Thursday because of a mechanical problem on the charter plane. But Franchione, who wants his players to enjoy their visit, is worried more about how Hawaii's unique attack will affect his team than the exotic surroundings.

"For them hanging 500 yards on a team is no big deal," he said. "You have to make sure your team doesn't get depressed when they drive the ball six or seven minutes to score, and Hawaii comes back and scores in a minute and a half. They can hit two or three passes and get down the field in a hurry. They will throw 50 or 60 passes, so we will have to be ready for that defensively."

Alabama's defense is ranked third in the nation, but even those who successfully opposed Florida's Fun 'n' Gun when Steve Spurrier was the Gators' coach haven't seen a constant onslaught of passing like Hawaii's run-and-shoot.

"My freshman year we played against Louisiana Tech," Alabama defensive back Gerald Dixon said. "They threw the ball a lot, but these guys have better skill players."

Junior rover Brooks Daniels is the Tide's top tackler. His style of play is similar to Hawaii's Pisa Tinoisamoa: fast, tough and athletic.

Alabama is the opposite of Hawaii on offense. The Crimson Tide control the ball with three tailbacks -- Shaud Williams, Santonio Beard and Ray Hudson -- taking turns running behind the huge offensive line.

Hawaii's defense has not been consistent against the run, but the Warriors have had their moments, especially in big situations. UH's defense played well in the clutch in victories at Fresno State and Rice and last week against Cincinnati.

"We're expecting a big game from our D-line and our whole front seven," Brown said. "This is the best offensive line we've ever faced. Big. Real big, quick and fast and know what they're doing."

Sort of like 'Bama tailgaters. They'll be out in force today, as 4,600 Crimson Tide faithful made the trip. This game serves as a replacement for a bowl appearance for the fans and the team; Alabama is ineligible for postseason because of NCAA probation.

"I'm just glad I have another game to play," quarterback Tyler Watts said. "You don't want to end your career with a loss to Auburn or anyone else."

Alabama fell 17-7 to the "school down the road," as Franchione calls Auburn, last week in one of college football's biggest rivalries.

As for the Warriors, they made an impression on the national scene last weekend as footage from a brawl after the Cincinnati game made news on the continent. They'd like to make waves this time by beating the Tide -- in 60 minutes of football.

"Ultimately we want to show that what we do is play football," Brown said. "Just like they love football in the South, we love it here. We want to show them we're not thugs. We just like to play the game and be competitive."

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BACK TO TOP
|

Probable starters

ALABAMA

OFFENSE

WR	84	Triandos Luke	6-0	190	Jr.
LT	70	Wesley Britt	6-8	312	So.
LG	78	Justin Smiley	6-4	301	So.
C	58	Alonzo Ephraim	6-2	303	Sr.
RG	71	Marico Portis	6-3	301	Sr.
RT	51	Evan Mathis	6-5	294	So.
TE	88	Clint Johnston	6-4	248	Fr.
QB	14	Tyler Watts	6-3	220	Sr.
WB	31	Greg McLain	6-3	230	Fr.
TB	34	Santonio Beard	6-1	225	Jr.
WR	7	Sam Collins	6-1	184	Sr.

DEFENSE

DE	98	Antwan Odom	6-5	273	So.
DT	96	Jaret Johnson	6-4	287	Sr.
NT	55	Kenny King	6-3	280	Sr.
DE	54	Kindal Moorehead	6-4	294	Sr.
LB	16	Cornelius Wortham	6-1	233	Jr.
LB	8	Freddie Roach	6-2	238	Sr.
RV	18	Brooks Daniels	6-2	205	Jr.
CB	4	Gerald Dixon	5-10	192	Sr.
FS	20	Charles Jones	6-0	183	Jr.
SS	24	Waine Bacon	5-10	187	Sr.
CB	25	Hirchel Bolden	6-0	196	Sr.

SPECIALISTS

PK	43	Kyle Robinson	5-10	175	Jr.
KO	22	Brian Bostick	5-11	215	So.
P	44	Lane Bearden	6-2	210	Jr.
LS	50	Nick Ridings	6-0	246	Jr.
PR	21	Shaud Williams	5-8	189	Jr.
KR	27	Ray Hudson	5-11	194	So.

HAWAII

OFFENSE

WR	18	Justin Colbert	5-8	170	Sr.
WR	81	Clifton Herbert	5-8	170	Jr.
or	2	Chad Owens	5-9	177	So.
LT	70	Wayne Hunter	6-6	299	Jr.
LG	53	Lui Fuata	6-2	315	Sr.
C	59	Derek Faavi	6-0	266	Fr.
RG	65	Vince Manuwai	6-2	309	Sr.
RT	69	Uriah Moenoa	6-3	327	So.
WR	84	Britton Komine	5-9	184	So.
or	4	Nate Ilaoa	5-9	204	Fr.
WR	19	Jeremiah Cockheran	6-0	193	Jr.
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.
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	Mike Bass	5-6	158	So.
KR	20	John West	5-10	180	Jr.
H	7	Shawn Withy-Allen	6-4	219	Sr.

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Schedules

ALABAMA (9-3, 6-2 SEC)

Aug. 31	Middle Tennessee State	W, 39-34
Sept. 7	at Oklahoma	L, 27-37
Sept. 14	North Texas	W, 33-7
Sept. 21	Southern Miss	W, 20-7
Sept. 28	at Arkansas	W, 30-12
Oct. 5	Georgia	L, 25-27
Oct. 19	Mississippi	W, 42-7
Oct. 26	at Tennessee	W, 34-14
Nov. 2	at Vanderbilt	W, 30-8
Nov. 9	Mississippi State	W, 28-14
Nov. 16	at Louisiana State	W, 31-0
Nov. 23	Auburn	L, 7-17
Today	at Hawaii

HAWAII (9-2, 7-1 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
Oct. 12	Nevada	W, 59-34
Oct. 19	Tulsa	W, 37-14
Oct. 25	at Fresno State	W, 31-21
Nov. 2	San Jose State	W, 40-31
Nov. 16	at Rice	W, 33-28
Nov. 23	Cincinnati	W, 20-19
Today	Alabama
Dec. 7	San Diego State

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Per-game comparison

ALABAMA		HAWAII
28.6	Points	37.9
16.7	Points Allowed	26.5
399.5	Total Offense	503.6
199.3	Rushing yards	118.7
200.3	Passing yards	384.9
+0.92	Turnovers	-0.36

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Key players

Passing	A	C	I	Yards	TD
Tyler Watts (UA)	146	93	3	1,156	5
Tim Chang (UH)	496	276	14	3,541	20
Rushing	A	Yards	Avg	TD
Shaud Williams (UA)	91	630	6.9	4
John West (UH)	44	354	8.0	5
Receiving	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Triandos Luke (UA)	35	426	12.2	2
Justin Colbert (UH)	71	996	14.0	6
Scoring	TD	FG	XP	Pts	Avg
Santonio Beard (UA)	12	0	0	72	6.0
Justin Ayat (UH)	0	13	48	87	7.9
Tackles	S	A	Tot	Avg	FL/S
Brooks Daniels (UA)	65	42	107	8.9	6/3
Pisa Tinoisamoa (UH)	68	26	94	8.5	13/3.5

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WAC standings

	CONFERENCE			OVERALL
	W	L	Pct	W	L	Pct	Str
Boise State	8	0	1.000	11	1	.917	W10
Hawaii	7	1	.875	9	2	.818	W5
Fresno State	5	2	.714	7	5	.583	W3
San Jose State	4	4	.500	6	7	.462	L1
Nevada	4	4	.500	5	7	.417	L2
LaTech	3	4	.429	4	7	.364	W1
Rice	3	5	.375	4	7	.364	L2
SMU	3	5	.375	3	9	.250	W2
UTEP	1	7	.125	2	10	.167	L5
Tulsa	1	7	.125	1	11	.083	L4

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Today

Alabama at Hawaii

Note: Conference standings are final

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UH Athletics