UTEP’s homecoming
also a going-away
party
Today’s game will be the final
regular-season WAC contest
between the Miners
and Warriors
EL PASO, Texas » You won't find Hawaii and Texas-El Paso on any list of greatest football rivalries, but a long span of intense competition comes to an end tonight when the Western Athletic Conference teams meet at the Sun Bowl.
KEY MATCHUPHawaii linebackers vs. UTEP running back Howard Jackson: Against Nevada last week, the Warriors allowed Chance Kretschmer to rush for 178 yards, but won anyway. If UTEP's Howard Jackson does the same in El Paso tonight, UH might not be as fortunate. Jackson is fast and elusive, and stronger than his 5-foot-9, 160-pound body indicates. The Warriors are weakened without starting middle linebacker Ikaika Curnan. His replacements, Watson Ho'ohuli and Timo Paepule, and outside linebackers Tanuvasa Moe and Chad Kapanui, must contain Jackson. Also, UH's kickoff coverage team has been less than adequate so far this season, and guess who returns kicks for the Miners? That's right, Jackson.
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UTEP is the WAC's senior member, and that title goes to UH with the Miners' exodus. Hawaii has won the last three and 18 of the 30 football meetings overall, but UTEP holds a 7-6 edge at home.
Although neither team is anywhere near the Top 25, this meeting has a big-game feel to it. Here are some of the reasons why:
» A big crowd. For a WAC game, anyway. More than 40,000 are expected to attend a game that will send the winner into contention for the conference title, while the loser is probably out of the chase, but still in the hunt for a possible bowl bid. So far, UTEP is the league's Cinderella story, having matched its win total of the previous two seasons combined after upsetting Fresno State last week.This game might be decided by some big plays from the offensive players mentioned above, as both defenses are banged up, especially the Warriors'.» The coaches. June Jones of Hawaii and Mike Price of UTEP are two of the more recognizable in college football -- Jones for his NFL pedigree, unique run-and-shoot offense and comeback from a near-death experience when he crashed his car in 2001; Price for turning Pac-10 doormat Washington State into a winner, then getting fired from Alabama before coaching a game because of an incident involving exotic dancers, and his subsequent comeback with the Miners.
» Star power. UH quarterback Tim Chang continues to close in on the NCAA's all-time career passing-yardage mark, and receiver/punt returner Chad Owens has six touchdowns in the last two games. UTEP running back Howard Jackson and linebacker Robert Rodriguez aren't well-known outside the WAC, but they will be if the Miners continue to win. Quarterback Jordan Palmer is famous by association; his brother is 2002 Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer of USC.
UH middle linebacker Ikaika Curnan (high ankle sprain) and cornerback Kenny Patton (hamstring strain) did not make the trip, and the defensive-tackle depth took a severe hit with the deletion of both second-teamers, Kahai LaCount (knee sprain) and Keala Watson (undisclosed medical condition).
"We're concerned because two of our best players are out and we haven't really played our best defense yet," Jones said after yesterday's walk-through practice at Burges High School in El Paso.
Watson Ho'ohuli replaces Curnan and Cameron Hollingsworth fills in for Patton.
UTEP's defensive losses don't seem quite as critical, but they do affect the Miners' depth. Backup defensive back James Delgardo is out with a knee injury, and defensive linemen Aaron Osburn (ankle) and Brian Givens (neck) are questionable. All played extensively in the first half of the season.
The Miners defense has two shutouts this year, against Weber State and New Mexico State. While it is unlikely UTEP will add to that total against Hawaii, the Miners often befuddle the Warriors' attack, especially at the Sun Bowl. Chang knows this well; he struggled in appearances here in 2000 (a 39-7 loss) and 2002 (a 31-6 win in which an ineffective Chang was replaced by Shawn Withy-Allen).
The 2000 game was Chang's college debut. He replaced Nick Rolovich in the second half and got the first of his 14,179 passing yards. At his current pace, Chang will break Ty Detmer's all-time mark of 15,031 in 13 days at Boise State. But back then, Chang was just trying to learn a thing or two and avoid having his head torn off by the team that would win a share of the WAC championship in 2000 while UH struggled to 3-9.
"I remember it well," he said. "It was rough."
The home field is why UTEP is a 3- to 4-point favorite tonight. UH improved overall on the road when Jones became coach in 1999, but the Warriors have had hard times away from the islands recently. Going back to last season, Hawaii has won only two of its last seven road games, losing by an average score of 34-24.
Jackson has 5,134 career all-purpose yards in 38 games. The senior leads the Miners with 494 yards and five touchdowns rushing this season.
"He's a big-play guy who can hurt you with 4.2 speed," UH linebackers coach Cal Lee said.
Hawaii showed it has a running game, too, last week. The Warriors rushed for 251 yards in their win against Nevada, the most since Jones became coach. Michael Brewster, who seems to show a new big-time move each week, got a career-high 150 yards.
Price said that would not change his defensive game plan.
"No," he said. "Because they still pass first and run second, just like we do. That's why their quarterback is going to end up the greatest statistical quarterback in NCAA history. I have a lot of respect for Timmy Chang. We're focused on Hawaii, and how to handle the little bit of prosperity we have. It's going to be a great crowd. I'm glad we're playing Hawaii here."
Probable starters
Hawaii
Offense X 84 Jason Rivers 6-1 189 So. H 2 Chad Owens 5-9 177 Sr. LT 70 Tala Esera 6-3 291 So. LG 64 Samson Satele 6-2 278 So. C 59 Derek Fa'avi 6-0 271 Jr. RG 69 Uriah Moenoa 6-2 336 Sr. RT 66 Brandon Eaton 6-2 291 Jr. Y 7 Se'e Poumele 5-9 171 Sr. Z 9 Britton Komine 5-10 188 Sr. QB 14 Tim Chang 6-1 196 Sr. RB 6 Michael Brewster 5-5 185 Sr. Defense LE 98 Mel Purcell 6-4 266 Jr. LT 99 Lui Fuga 6-1 294 Sr. RT 91 Matt Faga 6-2 324 Sr. RE 30 Kila Kamakawiwo'ole 6-3 241 Jr. LB 5 Chad Kapanui 6-0 226 Sr. LB 55 Watson Ho'ohuli 5-11 222 Sr. LB 45 Tanuvasa Moe 5-11 210 Jr. CB 37 Abraham Elimimian 5-10 185 Sr. S 42 Leonard Peters 6-1 184 Jr. S 15 Lono Manners 5-10 204 Jr. CB 28 Cameron Hollingsworth 5-11 167 Jr. or 36 Omega Hogan 5-9 164 Jr. Specialists P 25 Kurt Milne 6-0 196 So. K 47 Justin Ayat 6-0 201 Sr. Snap 61 Bryce Runge 5-11 236 Jr. PR 2 Chad Owens 5-9 177 Sr. KR 3 Bryan Maneafaiga 5-8 184 Jr. Hold 25 Kurt Milne 6-0 196 So.
UTEP
Offense WR 80 Chris Francies 6-1 190 Jr. LT 74 Josh House 6-4 290 Jr. LG 79 Jose Garcia 6-2 320 Jr. C 60 Bo Morris 6-2 260 Jr. RG 52 Ben Graniello 6-3 290 Sr. RT 75 Robert Espinosa6-3 310 Sr. TE 83 Jonas Crafts 6-3 245 Sr. QB 5 Jordan Palmer 6-5 230 So. TB 4 Howard Jackson 5-9 160 Sr. WR 10 Chris Marrow 5-8 170 So. WR 21 Johnnie Lee Higgins 6-0 175 So. Defense DE 47 Alex Obomese 6-3 220 So. DT 70 Chris Mineo 6-2 275 Jr. DT 63 Zach West 6-4 295 So. DE 92 Ibok Ibok 6-3 250 Sr. SS 14 Mark Dowdy 5-11 190 So. LB 43 Robert Rodriguez 6-1 230 Sr. LB 45 Godwin Akinduro 6-4 220 Sr. LB 40 Thomas Howard 6-3 230 Jr. CB 3 Adrian Ward 5-10 170 Sr. FS 9 Quintin Demps 6-0 195 Fr. CB 6 Jahmal Fenner 5-8 180 Sr. Specialists K 49 Reagan Schneider 6-0 165 So. P 48 Bryce Benekos 6-5 190 Sr. Snap 50 Aaron King 6-1 210 So. Hold 48 Bryce Benekos 6-5 190 Sr. KR 4 Howard Jackson 5-9 160 Sr. PR 6 Jahmal Fenner 5-8 180 Sr.
Schedules
Hawaii (2-2, 2-1 WAC) Sept. 4 Florida Atlantic L, 35-28 (OT) Sept. 18 at Rice L, 41-29 Oct. 2 Tulsa W, 44-16 Oct. 9 Nevada W, 48-26 Today at Texas-El Paso Oct. 23 San Jose State Oct. 29 at Boise State Nov. 6 Louisiana Tech Nov. 12 at Fresno State Nov. 20 Idaho Nov. 27 Northwestern Dec. 4 Michigan State Texas-EL Paso (3-2, 1-1 WAC) Sept. 2 at Arizona Stae L, 41-9 Sept. 11 Weber State W, 32-0 Sept. 18 Boise State L, 47-31 Oct. 2 New Mexico State W, 45-0 Oct. 9 at Fresno State W, 24-21 Today Hawaii Oct. 23 at Louisiana Tech Oct. 30 at San Jose State Nov. 13 Rice Nov. 20 Southern Methodist Nov. 27 at Tulsa
Statistical comparison
UH Category UTEP 37.2 Scoring 28.2 103.2 Rushing 155.4 346.0 Passing 203.6 449.2 Total Offense 359.0 21.0 First Downs 19.2 5.8 FD Rushing 8.8 13.8 FD Passing 8.2 1.5 FD Penalty 2.2 29.5 Points Allowed 21.9 211.0 Rushing Allowed 130.2 215.8 Passing Allowed 212.4 426.8 Total Offense Allowed 342.6 (above stats are per-game averages) 6-5 Interceptions -- Yards 8-101 39.0 Punting 44.6 31-287 Penalties 25-215 5-1 Fumbles-lost 9-4 25:25 Avg. Time of Possession 29:37 22-53 Third Down Conversion 25-74 2-4 Fourth Down Conversion 0-2
Key players
Rushing A Yards Avg TD Michael Brewster, UH 29 288 9.9 4 West Keli'ikipi, UH 13 95 7.3 1 Howard Jackson, UTEP 97 494 5.1 5 Matt Austin, UTEP 35 126 3.6 2 Passing A C I Yards TD Tim Chang, UH 194 115 1 1,365 11 Kainoa Akina, UH 2 1 0 19 0 Jordan Palmer, UTEP 130 70 6 854 3 Omar Duarte, UTEP 14 10 0 146 3 Receiving Rec Yards Avg TD Chad Owens, UH 38 442 11.6 6 Britton Komine, UH 14 282 20.1 0 Chris Marrow, UTEP 19 223 11.7 0 Chris Francies, UTEP 12 206 17.2 0 Tackles S A Tot FL/S Tanuvasa Moe, UH 18 17 35 4/2 Leonard Peters, UH 14 17 31 2.5/0 Lono Manners, UH 16 13 29 .5/0 Mel Purcell, UH 16 9 25 7.5/3 Abraham Elimimian, UH 19 5 24 .5/.5 Robert Rodriguez, UTEP 31 16 47 8/1 Godwin Akinduro, UTEP 27 16 43 2/0 Thomas Howard, UTEP 18 8 26 7/3 Quintin Demps, UTEP 17 8 25 0/0 Adrian Ward, UTEP 20 3 23 0/0
WAC Standings
CONFERENCE OVERALL W L Pct W L Pct Str Boise State 2 0 1.000 5 0 1.000 W16 Louisiana Tech 2 0 1.000 3 3 .500 L1 Rice 2 1 .667 3 2 .600 W1 Hawaii 2 1 .667 2 2 .500 W2 UTEP 1 1 .500 3 2 .600 W2 San Jose State 1 1 .500 2 3 .400 L1 SMU 1 2 .333 1 5 .167 L2 Tulsa 0 1 .000 1 4 .200 L1 Fresno State 0 2 .000 3 2 .600 L2 Nevada 0 2 .000 2 4 .333 L3 Today
Louisiana Tech at SMU
Boise State at Tulsa
Hawaii at UTEP
Rice at Nevada
