Colt looks for bounceback

Hawaii seeks a solid effort against 0-5 Aggies

STORY SUMMARY »

Only around 34,000 tickets had been issued at close of business yesterday for tonight's game featuring the highest-ranked team in University of Hawaii football history.

Utah State (0-5, 0-1 WAC) at Hawaii (5-0, 2-0) When: Today, 6:05 p.m. Where: Aloha Stadium The Line: Hawaii by 39 TV: Live PPV Ch. 255; replay 10 a.m. tomorrow KFVE, Ch. 5 Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM Internet: htsportsnet.com

The Warriors (5-0, 2-0 WAC) are rated 16th in the nation (15th in the coaches poll) and have won their last nine conference games in a row. This is their best start to a season since they went 7-0 in 1981.

A bigger name and better team than tonight's opponent, Utah State (0-5, 0-1) might have drawn a larger crowd.

The Aggies do give UH quarterback Colt Brennan an opportunity to bounce back from an uncharacteristic five-interception performance at Idaho (Hawaii still won, 48-20) that cost Brennan a lot of ground in the Heisman Trophy race.

The Hawaii defense has been as hot as its offense lately, scoring four touchdowns in the last three games. But cornerback Ryan Mouton (knee), who has one of those TDs, is out tonight, and tackle Mike Lafaele (hamstring), the undisputed leader of the defense, is iffy.

But Brennan -- with a sprained ankle still not 100 percent -- and the rest of the Warriors aren't looking at this as a get-well game, even though the Aggies haven't won since they beat Fresno State, their only 2006 win.

"Coach Jones feels that compared to last year they have way better athletes. This year they're losing games, but at least they're in the game," Brennan said. "There's no doubt if we don't come out and do what we're supposed to do they can make a game out of it. Basically we just need to go out there and prepare for everything and anything and just execute."

UH averages 54.2 points per game and the offense gets 531.4 yards.

"We're making enough plays to win games," Jones said.

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FULL STORY »

If you like seeing the home team win big, this game is for you. If you prefer something more competitive, maybe Castle vs. Kahuku is a better choice.

Hawaii has outscored Utah State 113-33 since the Aggies joined the Western Athletic Conference two years ago.

The Warriors are ranked 16th in the nation and are 5-0 and 2-0 in the conference. USU is 0-5 and 0-1. Hawaii is favored by 39 points.

When Hawaii has the ball

QB Colt Brennan is coming off a game in which he was charged with five interceptions, three more than he'd ever thrown in one game. He expects to bounce back with a strong performance tonight.

Jason Rivers (27 catches, 357 yards, three TDs) is 72 yards behind Chad Owens for No. 2 on UH's all-time receiving list. Rivers is coming off not playing at Idaho because of a sore back. He is joined by Ryan Grice-Mullins (34-469-5), Davone Bess (36-410-5) and C.J. Hawthorne (27-327-3) in the nation's most prolific receiving corps.

The new offensive line has generally played well, but Brennan was sacked three times last week, and protection is paramount with the quarterback trying to get his sprained ankle back to 100 percent.

Freshman running back Kealoha Pilares shined last week, totaling 100 yards rushing and receiving.

Devon Hall, Jake Hutton and Paul Igboeli comprise a productive linebacker crew for Utah State, combining for 121 tackles.

When Utah State has the ball

CB Ryan Mouton is out with a knee sprain, which affects the Warriors' depth. But starters Gerard Lewis and Myron Newberry have been better than effective. They will, however, undergo one of their sternest tests of the season in WR Kevin Robinson. S Keao Monteilh will replace Mouton as the nickel back, with Desmond Thomas sliding into Monteilh's spot at safety in those packages.

UH defensive tackle Mike Lafaele vows to play despite a strained hamstring, but the Warriors coaches could make a strategic decision to rest him, as they did with Brennan two weeks ago, and probably still win handily.

The Aggies haven't displayed much of an attack, but they are balanced, and QB Leon Jackson III is experienced. Utah State is last in total offense in the WAC and 117th nationally with 239 yards per game. Former North Texas head coach Darrell Dickey's offense will have to score much more than its average of 15 points a game to hang with an improving Hawaii defense that has scored four touchdowns on interceptions the past three games.

Special teams

This has been the pride of the Aggies the past few seasons, but Utah schooled them last week. The Utes were helped by long punt returns in their 34-18 win last week.

"We've got to get back to what we do best on special teams and that is get ourselves field position and make them play a long field and not a short field like Utah was able to do in the second quarter when they got all those points."

Robinson is second in the nation with 22.2 yards per punt return and is a threat every time he touches the ball. But he can't do it all himself.

Even with No. 1 kick returners Ryan Mouton out and Jason Rivers limited by a sore back, the Warriors can still play two deep men with TD returns this fall -- Mike Washington and Malcolm Lane. Keenan Jones is also expected to be in the mix on kickoff returns, and Davone Bess retains his spot as punt returner despite mixed results.

UH kicker Dan Kelly is gradually putting together a solid season after a slow start. He's now 4-for-6 on field goals, still perfect on PATs and had a good day kicking off last week.

Jackson does double duty as punter with 42.4 per kick.

KEY MATCHUP

June Jones' offense vs. Brent Guy's defense

Brent Guy's résumé includes stints as defensive coordinator at Boise State and Arizona State, and he is one of the WAC's better tacticians. Last year Guy decided to go after Colt Brennan and try to disrupt the Warriors' passing game before the ball got out of the quarterback's hand.

"They had a bye before us and they did a lot of homework," UH coach June Jones said. "During the game they had some keys that we have and they were the first team to identify them."

The thing is, even if Guy had schemed perfectly, it probably wouldn't have made a difference. The talent disparity was so huge that UH won 63-10. Also, Jones adjusted to the Aggies' blitzing by devastating them with shovel passes.

"We were able to make plays, and because they were taking a shot, anytime we made a play it was usually a pretty big one," Brennan said. "They left a lot of man-to-man coverage, so if you break the line of scrimmage, you have a chance to score."

The Utah State defense is a year more experienced, and the Aggies do have seven interceptions in five games. But they've only made five sacks, and it's doubtful they'll be disruptive enough to truly affect Brennan. Linebacker Paul Igboeli popped him the hardest he was hit all season in the third quarter last year and Brennan threw an interception on the play. But he came back and led a touchdown drive.

"We still made it work and we still made plays. Our players really executed well in those situations," Jones said. "Brent's a good football coach, a real good defensive coach and he'll have his guys ready to play this week."