HAWAII FOOTBALL
Blowout wins getting Hawaii noticed
ESPN Radio and a couple of Heisman voters have been watching UH and Colt Brennan
Exposure to the elements could be a problem for Hawaii at chilly Logan, Utah, this Saturday. But if the 28-point-favorite Warriors (6-2, 4-2 WAC) beat Utah State (1-7, 1-3) they might get the kind of exposure they don't mind.
ESPN anticipates conducting a national radio interview with UH quarterback Colt Brennan after the game, which starts at 1 p.m. Mountain time. The interview could be conducted by Dave Revsine or Mel Kiper Jr., depending on when the game ends.
"Of course, it's contingent on him having a big game," said ESPN SportsCenter anchor Neil Everett, who helped coordinate it.
A big game from Brennan is a distinct possibility, especially if the weather holds up. He leads the nation in total offense, passing efficiency and touchdown passes, and is threatening several national single-season records. As a team, Hawaii leads the nation with 45.38 points per game and Utah State is 110th of 119 Division I-A schools, allowing 33.3 points per outing.
Everett, the former KGMB-9 sports director, also said his SportsCenter partner, Scott Van Pelt, will be working ESPN's college football television show Saturday.
"He's very aware of where Hawaii is and that Colt Brennan is a player we need to pay attention to," Everett said.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Ryan Keomaka scored Hawaii's final touchdown against Idaho on Saturday at Aloha Stadium.
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Everett added it's no guarantee UH will get lots of play on ESPN on Saturday "unless they put up an ungodly number of points. That's because of who
they're playing."
The Warriors are riding a five-game winning streak. The last time they won six in a row was 2002, and the 20-19 victory over Cincinnati put UH at 9-2 and gave the program its last national ranking (24th in the coaches' poll). The Warriors lost to Alabama the following week and haven't been ranked since.
Everett said Hawaii isn't ranked now because it lost at Alabama in its season opener.
"It's like they hit a bump and got a flat tire, and they're still putting the air back into it," Everett said.
Two voters in the Associated Press media poll placed Hawaii at No. 25 after Saturday's 68-10 victory over Idaho.
"They've put up some hellacious offensive numbers. And to go on the road at Alabama and Boise and really hang in there, that's pretty impressive," Bud Withers of the Seattle Times said. "Especially when you look at a team like Oregon State, not a bad team, that goes to Boise and gets trounced. It sounds like Hawaii was right with Boise, and I know how difficult it is to play there. Any time you can play a respectable SEC team like Alabama that well at their place is kind of impressive."
Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News said he has seen Hawaii on television a few times this year.
"I've been impressed with how dominant they've been," said Wolf, who covers USC and saw the Warriors lose to the Trojans in 2003 and 2005. "To blow teams out like they have means something. I don't care who they're playing. Are they winning convincingly? Yes."
Withers and Wolf are also both Heisman Trophy voters.
Withers said he hasn't thought much about who he will vote for yet. Wolf said he is considering voting for Brennan.
"Oh, yeah. I'm looking at him. I'm not one of those guys who thinks you have to be on a top five team to win it," said Wolf, who first knew of Brennan when he was a teammate of 2004 Heisman winner Matt Leinart at Mater Dei High School. "Matt told me he was a good quarterback and to keep an eye on him."