Shula hopes to
get his team going
in Hawaii againThe Alabama coach and former
quarterback beat USC in the
Aloha Bowl 18 years ago
It was going to be a long winter and summer if things didn't get better fast. If junior quarterback Mike Shula couldn't get the Alabama offense going in the second half, coach Ray Perkins promised he and his teammates would regret it.
Shula's memory of the 1985 Aloha Bowl, in which he quarterbacked the Crimson Tide to a 24-3 victory over USC?
Hawaii vs. Alabama
When: Saturday, 2:45 p.m.
Where: Aloha Stadium
TV: ESPN
Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM
Tickets: $33 sideline, $27 south end zone, $22 north end zone (adult), $17 north end zone (students/seniors, age 4-high school), UH students free (super rooter only). Available at Aloha Stadium, Stan Sheriff Center, UH Campus Center and Windward Community College's OCET Office. Or call 800-944-2697 or etickethawaii.com on the Internet.
Parking: Gates open at 11:15 a.m. Parking is $5. Alternate parking at Leeward Community College, Kam Drive-In and Radford High School.
Traffic advisory: 1420-AM is the official traffic advisory station and provides updates before each home game.
Bus: Roberts Hawaii School Bus will run shuttles to and from the stadium with pick-ups at six Oahu locations. Call 832-4886 for information and reservations.
Fear.
"I remember it was during the week of Christmas and everybody was very hospitable," said Shula, who returns to Aloha Stadium this week as Alabama's (4-8) first-year coach with a Saturday date with Hawaii (7-4).
"We didn't play very well in the first half. I remember at halftime being threatened with the severity of our offseason training. We responded out of fear more than anything else," he said.
After a 3-3 halftime tie, Shula directed Alabama to three second-half touchdowns, and Cornelius Bennett and the rest of the Tide defense did the rest.
Shula, an all-SEC selection that year, said one of the happy side benefits of that victory was bragging rights over his future boss. Dave Wannstedt, coach of the Miami Dolphins where Shula was quarterbacks coach, was the USC defensive line coach in 1985.
"They tell their story and we tell our story," Shula said.
Shula's story now is one of great opportunity combined with shoulder-sagging responsibility.
At 38, he is the second-youngest head coach in Division I-A football. The son of Don Shula, one of football's most famous figures, has been entrusted to cleanse the stain of scandal from the Crimson Tide and rebuild it to the lofty heights of a history that includes 12 national championships.
He hasn't gotten off to a very fast start.
Mike Price -- before even one game on the Alabama sideline -- was fired for what the school determined to be conduct unbecoming a coach.
Shula replaced him May 8. That might seem like a lot of time before the season starts, but it really isn't; he didn't get a chance to recruit.
It was almost a given this would be a rebuilding year for the Crimson Tide, especially since the second year of sanctions from NCAA violations by the regime of Mike DuBois (three coaches ago), including no postseason play, could be expected to take their cumulative effect.
That's part of the reason Alabama has only four wins going into its final game of the year. Although it's not enough for the Tide faithful, the team has played tough against a very tough schedule.
Alabama lost 34-31 in double-overtime to Arkansas and 51-43 in five overtimes to Tennessee. No. 1 Oklahoma beat Alabama 20-13.
"We have shown we can pick ourselves off the floor," Shula said.
If it were up to him, Shula would be starting work on next season already.
"It wasn't under my control," he answered yesterday, when asked if he likes the idea of Saturday's game here.
Fear, or at least its close cousin, Apprehension, seemed to be in Shula's voice as he prepared yesterday to head to Hawaii -- the land of distractions where the home team is 5-0.
"Eighteen years ago the things we were excited about as players are the things I'm worried about as a coach," he said.
Plus, he's concerned about the Warriors, who have won five of their last six and feel they can compete with Alabama after a 21-16 loss last year.
"(Hawaii) is a very good football team. The guys realize that from last year. We have to be focused on a trip like this," said Shula, whose immediate task is to build back his team's morale after a 28-23 loss to rival Auburn in time for Saturday's kickoff.
He said the young Alabama players will do it for the seniors, the ones who have no bowl game again, and the seniors will do it for the underclassmen so they can have a springboard.
"You want to feel good about your last time on the field," Shula said. "Let's get used to winning at this time of year."
