UH’s defense limits points, not yards

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June Jones and his Warriors -- now ranked No. 10 in the country by the Harris voters -- are very concerned about the BCS.

That is, if the initials stand for Beat the Conference Schedule.

Hawaii moved up to No. 14 in the Bowl Championship Series standings yesterday, just two spots away from the magic number of 12 that would land the Warriors in a lucrative bowl game. The coaches have them at 11th and the Associated Press at No. 12. (The BCS computers still hate Hawaii, though, awarding UH no points again.)

These unprecedented heights mean rarefied air for the Warriors, but they're trying their best not to get too high.

After UH improved to 8-0 and 5-0 in the WAC on Saturday with a resounding 50-13 win over New Mexico State, Jones and his players continued with the mantra of first things first. For now that means healing up during the upcoming bye week and preparing for a tough Fresno State team on Nov. 10. And the Bulldogs are just the first test in a tough closing gauntlet that also includes a game at Nevada and home games against Boise State and Washington.

"I don't think we'll ever be where we should be until the end," Jones said when asked about the national picture. "I know me and my players are not thinking down the road. I don't think postseason has come up in anyone's thought process."

Linebacker Adam Leonard said he watched a lot of the action around the country Saturday that helped Hawaii move up the charts. But he didn't let it distract him.

"I think we just gotta win the WAC," said Leonard, who had 10 tackles and his fourth interception Saturday. "The people who analyze this and decide where to put us, that's up to them and we can't really concern ourselves with it. We just have to play our best football and when we do that it will take care of it."

Of course thoughts of the future sneak into the Warriors' peripheral vision -- they're not blind or deaf, they have computers and TVs, and they have time on the weekends to see where they stand.

Linebacker Solomon Elimimian was asked if he believes UH should be considered an elite team after Saturday's win kept UH among five unbeaten Div. I squads nationwide.

"I think so," he said. "But we have to keep improving. In my mind, we are a top-10 team. The schedule, we can't help, we just have to play our schedule."

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The Hawaii defense allowed 442 yards and let New Mexico State run 26 more plays than the Warriors offense. The Aggies got 28 first downs to 26 for Hawaii.

But, from start to finish, the UH defense may have played its best game of the season Saturday at Aloha Stadium. The numbers that really matter indicate that, as Hawaii won 50-13, and coordinator Greg McMackin's defense scored as many touchdowns as the Aggies' offense.

And J.P. Davis' 57-yard interception return was much longer than any NMSU offensive play -- the Aggies' biggest gain was a 29-yard pass from Chase Holbrook to A.J. Harris.

The Warriors did exactly what they planned to do on defense: limit big plays and cause turnovers.

"Coach's scheme was to limit the drag routes and pressure the quarterback," said linebacker Solomon Elimimian, who was in on nine tackles and broke up two passes -- including a tip that turned into a Keao Monteilh interception. "We got a couple hits on him and it affected him. Everybody arrived at the ball.

"We felt we knew what they were going to do, and we adjusted properly."

The Aggies like to attack vertically. Almost every time Holbrook sprayed a short pass to a wideout, a Warrior was in the man's face. NMSU, clearly missing stud receiver Chris Williams, also dropped a lot of balls.

Also, constant pressure from waves of UH pass rushers closed several pages of the Aggies' play book. A fresh front three or four allowed McMackin to keep the linebackers in pass coverage, or patrolling the line of scrimmage for screens and such.

"It made a lot of difference," McMackin said. "We played 10 defensive linemen. The way they had us running back and forth to the sidelines on those screens, we needed 'em. We had a plan on what we had to do, and our players made plays."

Karl Noa and Fale Laeli both came up with sacks, and Noa forced a fumble.

The flu bug that bit Adam Leonard during the week wasn't bothering him a bit Saturday. The outside linebacker was in on a game-high 10 tackles and picked off his fourth pass of the season.

"I feel we did a great job reading our keys that we've been working on the past two weeks. We did our assignments and played smart football tonight," Leonard said. "(NMSU) has a great quarterback, but we knew they had that option to run as well with two good running backs."

Not satisfied

Ryan Grice-Mullins doesn't count his yards during the game, but he knows he would've had more than 200 yards receiving if he hadn't dropped three first-half passes Saturday.

As it turns out, the junior slotback had a pretty good outing anyway -- 13 catches for a career-high 195 yards and three touchdowns. In the last two games, Grice-Mullins has 27 receptions for 370 yards and four scores.

Although the Warriors are 8-0, he said the best is yet to come for UH.

"We still haven't played our best game -- not even close," he said. "Either offense or defense, we still make some small mistakes and hope the best comes out in one of those big games coming up."

No word on Monteilh

Starting free safety Keao Monteilh suffered a painful left shoulder injury Saturday. He said yesterday tests at Queen's to determine the extent of the injury were rescheduled.

"We don't know what it is yet," said Monteilh, who got his second interception of the season Saturday. "I was told it could be the shoulder socket.

"I'm glad we've got a bye. A lot of guys are dinged up."

Brennan nominated

Quarterback Colt Brennan is among four nominees for the AT&T All-America Player of the Week award. He won the award in the first week of September.

North Carolina State wide receiver Donald Bowens, Texas running back Jamaal Charles and Colorado corner Terrence Wheatley are also on the ballot.

Fans can determine the winner by text messaging VOTE to 87654 on wireless phones.

Brennan completed 29 of 46 passes for 425 yards, six touchdowns and one interception Saturday.

He and Leonard were also nominated for WAC Player of the Week awards.

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Warrior Replay Five big plays from Hawaii's 50-13 win over New Mexico State Chosen* and described by the Star-Bulletin's Dave Reardon 1. Twist and shout The Setup: Hawaii 0, New Mexico State 0, around 12:00 remaining, first quarter, Hawaii ball, first and 10 at New Mexico State 16. The Play: With three receivers on the other side of the field, WR Jason Rivers is isolated in single coverage and QB Colt Brennan hits him on a timing route 2 yards from the goal line on the left sideline. Rivers turns at just the right time to make the catch, and then twists his body and dives into the end zone. The Impact: After throwing an interception on the first scrimmage play of the game, Brennan comes back to complete 10 of 10, including this TD, which allows Rivers to continue the longest ongoing streak in the nation of games with at least one catch (45). Brennan: "They gave us different kinds of zone looks, man looks. They blitzed sometimes all out. ... But we had a good game plan coming in and the receivers did an unbelievable job." 2. Tip it good The Setup: Hawaii 13, New Mexico State 0, 1:30 remaining, first quarter, New Mexico State ball, second and 5 at Hawaii 17. The Play: DE Amani Purcell tips a Chase Holbrook pass at the line of scrimmage, and LB Adam Leonard grabs it for his fourth interception of the season. Hawaii takes over at its own 29 with the first of three New Mexico State turnovers. The Impact: This was the first of five New Mexico State trips to the red zone, resulting in just one field goal and one touchdown. A score here, and it could have been a very different game. Hawaii turned the ball over on a Brennan fumble, but S Keao Monteilh intercepted another deflected Holbrook pass, this one by LB Solomon Elimimian. Defensive coordinator Greg McMackin: "We knew we had to make them earn what they got. Turnovers are a big key in a game like that." 3. Noa place to hide The Setup: Hawaii 13, New Mexico State 0, New Mexico State ball, second and 1 at own 23. The Play: DE Karl Noa beats his man and sacks Holbrook, causing him to fumble. New Mexico State recovers, but for a 14-yard loss. The Impact: Noa breaks through again on the next play, and he and LB Adam Leonard combine to sack Holbrook for a 2-yard loss. Myron Newberry returns the ensuing punt to the New Mexico State 12, and Dan Kelly eventually kicks a 27-yard field goal for a 16-0 lead. Noa: "Basically, Coach gave us the freedom this week because he wasn't really a running quarterback. I think we did a good job of getting after him, especially in the first half." 4. Revving up the RGM The Setup: Hawaii 16, New Mexico State 0, around 3:30 remaining, second quarter, Hawaii ball, first and 10 at New Mexico State 42. The Play: Brennan swings a short pass to SB Ryan Grice-Mullins in the right flat. Grice-Mullins secures the ball and jets to the outside, down the sideline for a 42-yard touchdown. WR C.J. Hawthorne enables the TD with a sustained block downfield. The Impact: Grice-Mullins was open all night, but dropped three passes in the first half. He still ended up with a career outing, catching 13 passes for 195 yards and three TDs. Grice-Mullins: "Once I'm on the field, I believe no one can guard me one-on-one. I know that is how all of our receivers are." 5. Passing Tim The Setup: Hawaii 29, New Mexico State 13, around 4:00 remaining, third quarter, Hawaii ball, third and 10 at New Mexico State 11. The Play: Brennan completes his third touchdown pass of the night to Grice-Mullins and the 118th of his three-season Hawaii career. The Impact: In addition to putting the game away, Brennan's sixth touchdown pass of the night puts him past Tim Chang as the Hawaii career leader. He also passed Danny Wuerffel (114) and Tim Rattay (115), and needs just three more to match all-time NCAA leader Ty Detmer (121). Brennan: "What I learned last year is don't pay any attention to records or stats. ... (But) it is a great honor." * -- Play No. 4 is this week's bloggers' choice. Readers of UH Sports Extra, the Star-Bulletin's Warrior football blog, vote for the biggest play of each game. UH football beat writer Dave Reardon selects the other four.

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