Nevada causes concerns for UH
Jones and Satele know the Warriors need to play a lot better to get past the Wolf Pack
A 44-9 victory might seem like a nice springboard into a big game against a defending conference co-champion.
But last Saturday's lopsided win over Eastern Illinois just gave Hawaii coach June Jones more to be worried about going into this weekend's encounter with Nevada.
"After watching the game tape I think that we have to play a lot better than that to beat Reno," Jones said yesterday at his weekly news conference. " ... Offensively I don't think we blocked their scheme as well as we needed to block it. And because of that we're going to get more of it. We're going to have to be mentally a little bit more ready than we were."
Does this sound like a man who watched his team roll up 571 yards two days ago? Plus, Hawaii (2-2, 0-1 WAC) is a 7-point favorite going into Saturday's game against the Wolf Pack (3-2, 0-1).
But Jones isn't alone in his concern. Tri-captain and starting center Samson Satele was already wary of the Wolf Pack as he walked off the field Saturday.
"There are still a lot of mistakes we made," Satele said. "Like I said before Boise, we can't make those and win. Next week we have Nevada and they're a good team. They're really tough. They're like Boise State. They don't make mistakes."
Although it didn't turn out to be a major factor in the game, Jones was unhappy about Eastern Illinois getting two sacks because of missed blocking assignments.
"A couple things we worked on really hard in practice and then didn't execute it," Jones said. "They did it right in practice but didn't carry it over to the game for whatever reason."
With that being said, the Warriors were more than good enough to dominate the I-AA Panthers, and Jones wants the current confidence to carry over to the Nevada game.
"I think that offensively I feel just like the kids do every time we snap the ball: We're going to score a touchdown," he said. "I think that belief permeates throughout the locker room. That's what it takes to be good, you've got to believe that you are."
Hawthorne to start again: After three tries, UH may have finally found the cornerback combo it's been looking for. C.J. Hawthorne started against EIU after watching from the side at Boise. He responded with an interception.
"He'll start (against Nevada)," UH defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said. "He did a nice job, made a big leap from the last time. And he has more character than anybody I know."
Kenny Patton played well at the other corner, too, Glanville said.
The Panthers managed just 57 passing yards, and the Warriors limited 6-foot-6 Micah Rucker to two catches for 17 yards. He'd come into the game with 16 receptions for 395 yards and six touchdowns.
"That was a good job," Glanville said. "Every third pass he'd caught was a touchdown."
Jones is happy with the progress of the secondary, which was one of the biggest question marks going into the season.
"I think every game that goes by we're getting a little bit more solid in there. Myron Newberry played well when he played. And I really felt Gerald (Lewis) has played well every time he's had a chance to get in," he said.
Noa ill: Outside linebacker Karl Noa, who had a career-high 10 tackles against Boise State, did not play much in his first start against EIU because he was stricken with a flu.
Noa was not in long enough to make a tackle. Brashton Satele made his first start on the other side and was credited with one stop.
"Karl was so sick he couldn't get out of bed. He's still sick," Glanville said. "On the other side, you have to remember he's a freshman."
C.J. Allen-Jones, who started the first three games, and Amani Purcell played a lot of the downs while the game was still in question. Former starter Tyson Kafentzis is still out with an ankle fracture.
"I don't know what we're going to do yet," Glanville said, when asked about this week's starters.
Allen-Jones, despite suffering a stinger, graded out the best and has a good chance to regain his spot, outside linebackers coach George Lumpkin said.
"He pulled away from the pack," Lumpkin said. "We wanted him to be a little more physical and he got that done."
Lane will play more: True freshman wide receiver Malcolm Lane did well enough in his debut to merit more playing time, Jones said.
Lane got loose deep in the second half and caught a 58-yard pass from Inoke Funaki. He also lined up with Ross Dickerson to return kickoffs, but did not get one.
Jones said he will try to get Lane spot duty as a receiver against Nevada, and he will be a deep man for kickoffs again.
"I'm going to try to get him in games so that he can learn," Jones said.
Brennan moves up: Warriors quarterback Colt Brennan passed Garrett Gabriel and moved into third place on UH's all-time passing yardage list Saturday. With 5,744 yards, he needs 294 to tie No. 2 Dan Robinson.
In case you were wondering, Brennan would have to average 515 yards in 22 games (assuming two bowl games) to catch Tim Chang, who finished with 17,072 yards for the UH and NCAA career record.
Snapping: Jake Ingram, replaced as snapper for placekicks by David Farmer, will continue as the long snapper for punts, Jones said.
Farmer replaced Ingram during the EIU game after a fourth botched snap in three games. Holder Kurt Milne had been replaced by Funaki to start the game.
"I feel good, other than you're thinking about going for two most of the time," Jones said.
