By

POSTED: Saturday, October 11, 2008

Now that word—and more significantly the tape—of Hawaii's retooled attack is making the rounds, countering the adjustments sure to follow is the next step for the Warriors staff.

                       

Louisiana Tech at Hawaii Kickoff: 6:05 p.m. HST TV: PPV, Dig. 255 Radio: 1420-AM The line: Hawaii by 7½

“;We're like mad scientists up there right now,”; Hawaii quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich said.

The Warriors coaches tinkered with the run-and-shoot offense, implementing elements to fit the skill set of mobile junior quarterback Inoke Funaki.

The plan worked well enough last week when Funaki made plays both running and throwing in the Warriors' road upset of Fresno State.

The Warriors will try to build on that performance when they face Louisiana Tech today at Aloha Stadium.

“;I'm sure they watched tape, so I'm sure they'll adjust and come with a different game plan possibly, so we have to be ready for anything,”; Funaki said.

Although the Warriors don't throw the ball around the park the way they used to and have a largely new cast running the modified attack, Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley sees some familiar characteristics when he studies the footage.

“;It looks like the same Hawaii team,”; said Dooley, who admitted to losing some sleep while the Warriors were busy knocking off Fresno State last Saturday. “;They're fast, they're physical, they play with a lot of confidence.”;

Just as the Warriors got a confidence boost with a historic road win last week, Louisiana Tech, which has never won in Honolulu, will be looking for a similar lift today coming off a 35-point loss at Boise State.

The following is a look at today's matchup as Hawaii looks for its seventh straight homecoming win:

When Hawaii has the ball: No quarterback questions for the Warriors this week.

The coaches gave Funaki a chance to make plays running the ball on rollouts and draw plays and he delivered an efficient performance in the win over Fresno State. He's completing 61 percent of his throws and didn't toss an interception last week.

“;He's learning from mistakes, instead of worrying about them,”; Rolovich said.

Kealoha Pilares averages 6.4 yards each time he touches the ball and could see time at both running back and receiver as the staff looks to give the shifty sophomore even more work.

The Warriors line has stabilized over the past two weeks, but cutting down on penalties will be critical for an offense that doesn't pick up yards in bunches the way it did last year.

Louisiana Tech ranks last in the country in pass defense, giving up more than 344 yards per game, and began the week 111th in total defense.

Dooley said the Bulldogs will probably be without defensive end Kwame Jordan, their top pass rusher, who leads LaTech with five tackles for losses. Free safety Antonio Baker is 10th nationally with 10.8 tackles per game.

When Louisiana Tech has the ball: The Bulldogs have moved the ball at times this season. Getting it into the end zone has been a far tougher task.

LaTech has only five offensive touchdowns in four games and is last in the WAC in scoring and passing offense. The Bulldogs have had trouble finishing drives, converting on 60 percent of their red-zone opportunities.

The Bulldogs average 152 yards per game on the ground, led by the tandem of Daniel Porter and Patrick Jackson. Quarterback Taylor Bennett, who started at Georgia Tech last season, is completing 39 percent of his passes, with two touchdowns against five interceptions.

“;We're getting more big plays than we've ever had ... we're converting more third downs than ever, but our throwing and catching consistently are bad,”; Dooley said. “;The numbers don't lie. When you're completing 40 percent of your balls, that ain't good.”;

Hawaii linebacker Adam Leonard returned to practice this week after sitting out last week's game due to injury. The Warriors gave up 381 rushing yards against Fresno State, but made up for it with six takeaways.

Special teams: A trouble spot early in the season, Hawaii's special teams came through with the game-turning plays in last week's win.

The Warriors returned a kickoff for a score, recovered a fumble on a kickoff and blocked the potential game-winning field goal—and Dan Kelly connected on four field goals to win WAC player of the week honors.

Louisiana Tech punter Chris Keagle was a first-team All-WAC pick last season and is averaging 42.3 yards per kick, killing nine inside the opponents' 20.

In UH's last two games, just three of Tim Grasso's eight punts have been returned—with the coverage unit allowing just 1.3 yards per return—with three other kicks ending up inside the 15-yard line.

 

KEY MATCHUP

Hawaii special teams vs. LaTech special teams

Whichever team wins the coin flip, Hawaii coach Greg McMackin expects “;a big train wreck on the first kickoff”; when the Warrior and Bulldog coverage and return units collide.

The Warriors tightened up their kick coverage in their last two games and caused a fumble in their win over Fresno State. Maintaining that aggression while minding their assignments will be a key to containing LaTech returner Phillip Livas, who leads the WAC in all-purpose yards.

Louisiana Tech has returned just five punts this season, but ranks fifth nationally with an average of 20.2 yards per attempt thanks to Livas' 57-yarder for a touchdown against Southeastern Louisiana.

Hawaii's Ryan Mouton broke loose for a 90-yard return last week and should get his opportunities as LaTech kicker Brad Oestriecher has just one touchback this season. But Louisiana Tech leads the WAC in kickoff coverage, stopping returners at the 22-yard-line on average.

 

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OTHER KEY STATISTICS

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

     

 

 

Hawaii	Category	Louisiana Tech
5.4	Rushing first downs/game	8.3
9.2	Passing first downs/game	7.0
2.0	First downs by penalty/game	1.5
5-28	Interceptions-return yards	4-70
41.0	Punting avg.	42.3
45-408	Penalties-yards	27-211
10-7	Fumbles-lost	5-3
22%	Third-down conversion rate	43%
50%	Fourth-down conversion rate	25%
33.4	Pts. allowed/game	26.8
171.0	Rush. yds. allowed/game	103.0
201.6	Pass. yds. allowed/game	344.5
372.6	Total yards allowed/game	447.5

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

     

 

 

Rushing
	A	Yds	Avg	TD
Daniel Porter, LTU	51	220	3.9	1
Patrick Jackson, LTU	51	174	3.2	2
Kealoha Pilares, UH	29	167	5.8	4
Inoke Funaki, UH	38	157	4.1	0

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

     

 

 

Passing
	A	C	I	Yds	TD
Taylor Bennett, LTU	127	50	3	692	2
Inoke Funaki, UH	85	52	5	576	3
Tyler Graunke, UH	56	30	3	388	3

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

     

 

 

Receiving
	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD
Phillip Livas, LTU	14	250	17.9
0 Philip Beck, LTU	7	110	15.7	0
Mike Washington, UH	27	242	9.0	1
Greg Salas, UH	17	218	12.8	1

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

     

 

 

Tackles
	S	A	Tot	FL/S
Antonio Baker, LTU	22	21	43	0/0
Deon Young, LTU	13	15	28	0/0
Quin Harris, LTU	6	20	26	1/0.5
Stevon Howze, LTU	13	12	25	0/0
Solomon Elimimian, UH	18	18	36	3.5/1
David Veikune, UH	20	12	32	2/0
Brashton Satele, UH	15	15	30	4/1
Jameel Dowling, UH	16	12	28	1/1

Louisiana Tech
2-2 (0-1 WAC)
PROBABLE STARTERS

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

     

 

 

Offense
LT	74	Rob McGill	6-6	305	So.
LG	62	Ben Harris	6-4	295	Jr.
C	60	Lon Roberts	6-3	277	So.
RG	67	Jared Miles	6-3	324	So.
RT	76	Cudahy Harmon	6-6	327	So.
TE	43	Dustin Mitchell	6-4	252	Jr.
WR	6	Phillip Livas	5-8	175	So.
WR	82	Philip Beck	5-9	190	Sr.
QB	13	Taylor Bennett	6-3	217	Sr.
RB	23	Patrick Jackson	5-10	203	Sr.
or	20	Daniel Porter	5-9	190	Jr.
U	47	Anthony Harris	6-3	242	Sr.
Defense
DE	91	Matt Broha	6-4	228	Fr.
DT	90	Mason Hitt	6-1	268	So.
DT	5	D'Anthony Smith	6-2	300	Jr.
DE	85	Randy Grigsby	6-3	242	So.
SAM	36	Brian White	6-1	228	Jr.
MIKE	58	Brannon Jackson	6-1	265	Sr.
WILL	37	Quin Harris	6-2	235	Sr.
CB	35	Weldon Brown	5-10	187	Sr.
SS	25	Deon Young	5-11	197	Jr.
FS	34	Antonio Baker	5-11	200	Jr.
CB	27	Stevon Howze	5-9	175	Sr.
Specialists
K	33	Brad Oestriecher	5-10	184	Sr.
P	17	Chris Keagle	6-0	242	Sr.
KR	6	Phillip Livas	5-8	175	So.
	82	Philip Beck	5-9	190	Sr.
PR	82	Philip Beck	5-9	190	Sr.
H	17	Chris Keagle	6-0	242	Sr.
DS	52	Thomas Graham	5-10	236	Jr.
Schedule
DATE	OPP.	RESULT
Aug. 30	Mississippi State	W, 22-14
Sept. 6	at Kansas	L, 29-0
Sept. 20	Southeastern Louisiana	W, 41-26
Oct. 1	at Boise State	L, 38-3
Today	at Hawaii
Oct. 18	Idaho
Oct. 25	at Army
Nov. 1	Fresno State
Nov. 8	at San Jose State
Nov. 15	Utah State
Nov. 22	at New Mexico State
Nov. 29	Nevada

Hawaii
2-3 (1-1 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.
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
Oct. 4	at Fresno State	W, 32-29 OT
Today	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