[ UH FOOTBALL ]
UH looks to rest,
recover on bye
This week's bye comes with the Hawaii football team in the midst of a four-game winning streak. But any concerns over slowing the team's momentum heading into the stretch run are outweighed by the opportunity for the players to recharge.
"We have a chance to get physically healthy, because we're still a little bit beat up," UH coach June Jones said. "Byes are best late in the year because you're not physically in great shape."
The Warriors have played eight straight weeks since their last bye and haven't had a week off since taking a break between their season-opening win over Appalachian State and a road trip to Southern California. Five of those eight games were on the road, taking them to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Tulsa, Okla., Ruston, La., and San Jose, Calif.
The team had a light practice Tuesday and ended Wednesday's session with a scrimmage for the scout teams. The Warriors return to the field Monday to begin preparations for a critical Western Athletic Conference game at Nevada on Nov. 15. They'll close the season with home games against Army, Alabama and Boise State.
The time off gives some of the players who were slowed by injuries a chance to get some needed rest. Receivers Britton Komine and Jeremiah Cockheran struggled with calf and ankle injuries the past few games, while others are nursing various bumps and bruises.
"It came at a real good time because we have a lot of injured players who can recuperate and get well for the next game," running back West Keli'ikipi said.
Keli'ikipi said he's fighting through pain in his shoulder, fingers and thigh and said the road trips mixed with daily grind of school and practice can take its toll on the players.
"It's pretty rough because a lot of the players have families and they have kids and they hardly see their kids," he said. "Some of the players live in Kahuku, for myself I live in Waianae, so it takes a toll on your body because some of the guys finish study hall at nine o'clock and you have to drive back home, so you practically have to live here."
The break also allows the players to get caught up on their schoolwork after missing significant amounts of class time while on the road.
"With all of the road trips, it's hard to keep up, so we're finally catching up," Komine said.
Title chase: Following the bye, the Warriors will gear up for their final road trip of the season. A win at Nevada would keep the team in the hunt for the WAC championship and secure UH a spot in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Day.
The Warriors (6-3 overall, 5-1 WAC) are second in the conference standings, trailing Boise State (8-1, 4-0). The Broncos also have a bye this week following last week's 50-12 thrashing of Brigham Young. Boise State puts its 14-game WAC winning streak on the line on Nov. 15 vs. Texas-El Paso.
Nevada hosts Fresno State on Saturday in a key game in the conference race. Both teams are 5-4 overall, but Fresno State is a notch ahead of the Wolf Pack in the WAC standings at 3-1. Nevada suffered a 52-42 loss at Rice last week to fall to 3-2 in league play and into a tie with Tulsa for fourth place.
Short yardage: UH QB Tim Chang is second in the country in total offense with 366.4 yards per game. Texas Tech QB B.J. Symons is first at 492 ypg. ... Chang's game-winning shovel pass to Keli'ikipi in last week's 13-10 win over San Jose State gave the junior 70 touchdown passes in his career. He ranks 35th on the all-time NCAA list. BYU's Ty Detmer holds the NCAA record with 121. ... Defensive end Travis LaBoy is tied for 10th in the nation in sacks with nine.
