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Hawaii needs to match Fresno's physical play

POSTED: Saturday, October 04, 2008

Ask Hawaii coaches about their impressions of Fresno State and one word tends to pop up over and over.

Hawaii at Fresno State
Kickoff: 4 p.m. HST
TV: PPV, Dig. 255
Radio: 1420-AM The line: Fresno State by 21

“;They're a physical ballclub,”; was head coach Greg McMackin's assessment. “;They throw a lot of (offensive) formations at you, but every one of them, they play physical.”;

“;They're very physical defensively, they've always given us problems,”; offensive coordinator Ron Lee concurred. Holding their ground against a Bulldog team that takes after coach Pat Hill's gruff game-day demeanor will be among the challenges facing the Warriors today at 4 p.m. Hawaii time.

Hawaii arrived in Fresno late Thursday night and had a light walk-through at Bulldog Stadium yesterday afternoon.

The last time Hawaii visited, the home team suffered through a 68-37 thrashing by the Warriors, which sent much of the crowd to the exits by halftime.

That memory adds to the atmosphere, as the home crowd - expected to be close to a sellout - welcomes the 22nd-ranked Bulldogs back after a win at UCLA last week.

“;I think we match up with them but it's going to be a real challenge,”; McMackin said. “;They've got great crowd support and it's going to be fun college football.”;

The following is a look at the matchup as Hawaii seeks its first road win over a ranked team in its 11th attempt:

When Hawaii has the ball: Inoke Funaki takes his third shot at running a Warrior offense that has suffered through growing pains early in the season, including two six-turnover outings in losses to Florida and last week against San Jose State.

“;Colt (Brennan) went through it, Davone (Bess), all of those guys,”; offensive coordinator Ron Lee said. “;I think that's what we're experiencing now.”;

A Hawaii starting quarterback has yet to finish a game and Greg Alexander appears to be next in line if Funaki falters with Tyler Graunke still coming back from a hand injury.

Running back Kealoha Pilares has been UH's most productive weapon of late, scoring the Warriors' last three touchdowns. Backs Leon Wright-Jackson and Daniel Libre had breakout games against the Bulldogs last season and the running game could play a larger role in the offense with Funaki at quarterback. Fresno State funnels most of its tackles to sophomore linebackers Chris Carter and Ben Jacobs in its 4-3 alignment. Carter, a converted defensive end, leads the way with 33 total stops.

When Fresno State has the ball: The balanced Bulldogs iced last week's 36-31 win over UCLA with a clock-killing drive that ate up the game's final 8:55. Fresno State's offense is nearly split down the middle with Ryan Mathews powering the ground game and Tom Brandstater operating the passing attack.

Mathews, a sophomore who missed the Hawaii game last year due to injury, ranks 10th nationally with 117.5 yards per game.

Brandstater, who was pulled in the 2006 loss to UH, has taken a place among the line of Fresno State quarterbacks, completing 63 percent of his throws with eight touchdowns against two interceptions. Wide receiver Seyi Ajirotutu is a big-play threat, and 6-foot-5 tight end Bear Pascoe is simply a big threat.

The Warrior defense turned in its strongest performance of the season in last week's loss, holding San Jose State to 237 total yards with 11 tackles for losses. But with just two takeaways this season, they emphasized creating turnovers in practice this week.

“;Nine seniors and they're tough and they've got a lot pride,”; Hill said. “;It's the best defense I think Hawaii's had since I've been here.”;

Special teams: Under special teams coach John Baxter, Fresno State prides itself on game-turning plays in the kicking games. The Bulldogs have blocked 41 kicks since 2001, including three this season.

The Warriors improved their kickoff coverage last week but will be tested by A.J. Jefferson, who ranks 13th in the country averaging 29.8 yards per return. He took one 98 yards for a score against UH last year.

Hill pointed to kick coverage as a concern after giving up an average of 34.3 yards last week against UCLA. Hawaii worked on solidifying its wedge to give returners Ryan Mouton and Malcolm Lane more room to roam this week.

KEY MATCHUP

Hawaii DTs vs. Fresno State interior linemen

Hawaii's ability to hold its ground in the middle of the line of scrimmage will be a key to slowing the Bulldog ground game.

;[art]

That task will fall primarily on tackles Josh Leonard and Keala Watson with the goal to stand firm and occupy the blockers, allowing the Warrior linebackers to flow to the ball. Leonard and Watson will get relief from Fale Laeli, Vaughn Meatoga and Tuika Tufaga.

The Bulldogs are expected to start three sophomores in the middle of the line - guards Devan Cunningham (6-6, 350) and Andrew Jackson (6-5, 295) and center Joe Bernardi (6-2, 290). They've helped clear the way for a Bulldogs rushing attack (180 yards per game) that can seize control of a game.

“;You're talking about 300 or 600 pounds depending on if it's a single block or a double team,”; defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe said. “;They're a power team so you're going to see a lot of double teams on our tackles and them trying to drive them into the 'backers.”;

OTHER KEY STATISTICS
Hawaii	Category	Fresno State
5.0	Rushing first downs/game	8.5
9.8	Passing first downs/game	10.8
2.5	First downs by penalty/game	1.0
2-11	Interceptions-return yards	2-2
41.5	Punting avg.	43.4
35-326	Penalties-yards	22-171
8-6	Fumbles-lost	6-2
21%	Third-down conversion rate	37%
40%	Fourth-down conversion rate	100%
34.5	Pts. allowed/game	26.2
134.2	Rush. yds. allowed/game	197.8
201.0	Pass. yds. allowed/game	216.0
335.2	Total yards allowed/game	413.8

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Rushing
	A	Yds	Avg	TD
Ryan Mathews, FSU	82	470	5.7	4
Lonyae Miller, FSU	27	138	5.1	0
Kealoha Pilares, UH	21	109	5.2	4
Daniel Libre, UH	21	101	4.8	0

Passing
	A	C	I	Yds	TD
Tom Brandstater, FSU	109	69	2	908	8
Inoke Funaki, UH	60	35	5	406	1
Tyler Graunke, UH	56	30	3	388	3

Receiving
	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD
Bear Pascoe, FSU	16	120	7.5	2
Seyi Ajirotutu, FSU	15	294	19.6	0
Mike Washington, UH	21	217	10.3	0
Aaron Bain, UH	14	155	11.1	2

Tackles
	S	A	Tot	FL/S
Chris Carter, FSU	10	23	33	1/0
Ben Jacobs, FSU	13	18	31	3/0
Moses Harris, FSU	12	14	26	2/1
A.J. Jefferson, FSU	14	9	23	0/0
Solomon Elimimian, UH	10	15	25	2.5/0
David Veikune, UH	14	10	24	2/0
Jameel Dowling, UH	14	9	23	1/1
Adam Leonard, UH	11	10	21	3/1

HAWAII

1-3 (0-1 WAC)

PROBABLE STARTERS
Offense
Z	89	Malcolm Lane	6-1	180	Jr.
H	5	Mike Washington	5-9	170	Sr.
LT	77	Aaron Kia	6-5	290	Jr.
LG	63	Brysen Ginlack	6-2	310	So.
C	55	John Estes	6-2	295	Jr.
RG	51	Lafu Tuioti-Mariner	6-0	300	Sr.
RT	78	Keoni Steinhoff	6-3	295	Sr.
Y	85	Aaron Bain	5-8	190	Sr.
X	1	Greg Salas	6-2	200	So.
QB	11	Inoke Funaki	5-11	190	Jr.
RB	21	Kealoha Pilares	5-11	190	So.
Defense
DE	94	David Veikune	6-3	265	Sr.
DT	93	Keala Watson	6-3	320	Sr.
DT	99	Josh Leonard	6-3	305	Sr.
DE	58	John Fonoti	6-2	255	Jr.
STUB	44	Adam Leonard	6-0	235	Sr.
MLB	13	Brashton Satele	6-1	255	Jr.
BUCK	17	Solomon Elimimian	6-0	225	Sr.
CB	2	Ryan Mouton	5-10	175	Sr.
FS	35	Keao Monteilh	5-11	200	Sr.
SS	7	Erik Robinson	5-10	200	Sr.
CB	23	Calvin Roberts	5-11	175	Sr.
Specialists
K	86	Dan Kelly	6-3	225	Sr.
P	49	Tim Grasso	5-11	210	Sr.
KR	2	Ryan Mouton	5-10	175	Sr.
	89	Malcolm Lane	6-1	180	Jr.
PR	5	Mike Washington	5-9	170	Sr.
LS	57	Jake Ingram	6-4	235	Sr.
H	49	Tim Grasso	5-11	210	Sr.

SCHEDULE
DATE	OPP.	RESULT
Aug. 30	at Florida	L, 56-10
Sept. 6	Weber State	W, 36-17
Sept. 13	at Oregon State	L, 45-7
Sept. 27	San Jose State	L, 20-17
Today	at Fresno State
Oct. 11	Louisiana Tech
Oct. 17	at Boise State
Oct. 25	Nevada
Nov. 1	at Utah State
Nov. 8	at New Mexico State
Nov. 22	Idaho
Nov. 29	Washington State
Dec. 6	Cincinnati

FRESNO STATE

3-1 (0-0 WAC)

PROBABLE STARTERS
Offense
WR	6	Chastin West	6-1	215	Jr.
LT	72	Bobby Lepori	6-5	290	Sr.
LG	79	Devan Cunningham	6-6	350	So.
C	74	Joe Bernardi	6-2	290	So.
RG	69	Andrew Jackson	6-5	295	So.
RT	73	Kenny Avon	6-3	286	Sr.
TE	85	Bear Pascoe	6-5	260	Sr.
QB	7	Tom Brandstater	6-5	225	Sr.
FB	48	Reynard Camp	5-11	270	So.
TB	21	Ryan Mathews	5-11	215	So.
WR	2	Seyi Ajirotutu	6-3	210	Jr.
Defense
DE	27	Michael Sutart	6-2	250	Sr.
DT	99	Mark Roberts	6-4	300	So.
DT	96	Wilson Ramos	6-4	270	Jr.
DE	41	Ikenna Ike	6-2	255	Sr.
OLB	43	Chris Carter	6-2	220	So.
MLB	54	Ben Jacobs	6-3	240	So.
OLB	55	Nico Herron	6-3	240	So.
CB	28	A.J. Jefferson	6-0	190	Jr.
SS	3	Moses Harris	5-11	205	Jr.
FS	23	Jake Jorde	6-1	205	Sr.
CB	8	Sharrod Davis	5-11	190	Sr.
Specialists
K	35	Kevin Goessling	6-0	190	Fr.
P	42	Robert Malone	6-2	215	So.
KR	28	A.J. Jefferson	6-0	190	Jr.
PR	5	Marlon Moore	6-0	190	Jr.
H	42	Robert Malone	6-2	215	So.
LS	58	Bobby Shepard	6-2	235	Fr.