By

POSTED: Saturday, October 25, 2008

This one shapes up as a test of strengths.

                       

WARRIORS FOOTBALL Nevada (4-3, 2-1 WAC) at Hawaii (3-4, 2-2), 6:05 p.m. today, Oceanic PPV Ch. 255; KKEA, 1420-AM

As expected, a veteran Hawaii defense has anchored the Warriors this season, sparking wins with turnovers and keeping them competitive in other games while a rebuilding offense searches for its identity.

Opposite the Warriors tonight will be a Nevada attack that's scored at least 44 points in each of the last four games and “;could be one of the best offenses we've played,”; Hawaii coach Greg McMackin said.

The duel between the teams' featured units highlights a pivotal Western Athletic Conference game in both teams' pursuits of postseason berths.

At 3-4 overall and 2-2 in WAC play following last week's loss at Boise State, Hawaii's margin for error in its run at a third straight bowl appearance is shrinking fast. Nevada (4-3, 2-1) is 0-4 at Aloha Stadium in WAC play and needs a win to stay within sight of the conference leaders with a run against the front-runners coming up.

Following is a look at the matchup as Hawaii enters its lone home game in a five-week stretch:

When Hawaii has the ball: McMackin said the Warriors will open things up this week as the offense tries to keep pace with the WAC's highest-scoring offense.

Executing that philosophy will depend heavily on the play of the Hawaii offensive line.

The Warriors gave up seven sacks against Boise State and rank next to last in the nation in sacks allowed at 3.71 per game. The line will have to hold up against a Wolf Pack front that has 20 sacks this season, led by defensive end Dontay Moch's 5 1/2 .

Hawaii sputtered last week once running back/slotback Kealoha Pilares, the Warriors' most effective weapon of late, went out with a sprained foot. In his absence, the backfield duties will be shared by a trio of backs, and David Farmer's blocking ability could make him a key part of the protection scheme.

Inoke Funaki remains UH's starting quarterback, looking to rebound from a five-interception performance, though McMackin indicated that more than one QB could see action tonight.

Greg Salas has emerged as the top playmaker among the Warriors receivers and will operate against a Wolf Pack defense that ranks fifth nationally against the run but is 119th in pass defense.

But facing three of the country's top eight air attacks—Texas Tech, Missouri and New Mexico State—does tend to slant the numbers.

When Nevada has the ball: The Wolf Pack running game is second in the country, aided in part by Colin Kaepernick's improvement as a passer.

“;To have a quarterback develop in the passing game and be an awesome runner gives them a different aspect,”; UH linebacker Adam Leonard said.

Nevada has added an option element to the pistol offense and Kaepernick has run for 11 touchdowns, while running back Vai Taua, who's averaging 105.1 yards per game in place of injured Luke Lippincott, has nine scores.

Devote too much attention to the run, though, and a receiver corps led by Marko Mitchell (85.6 ypg, four TDs) can get loose in the secondary for Kaepernick, who is completing 62.5 percent of his throws.

The numbers Kaepernick and Taua have racked up can also be credited to the work of a hefty offensive line.

“;(The pistol) gives the offensive line opportunities to move the line of scrimmage and the running back a chance to read the gaps as the holes develop,”; Leonard said.

Closing those gaps will fall on a Hawaii front seven preparing for a physical battle at the line of scrimmage. The Warriors defense kept Hawaii in contention against Boise State last week until a hail of second-half turnovers contributed to 17 second-half points.

Special teams: With the Hawaii return units skimming the bottom of the national rankings, the Warriors have made some changes in that phase of the kicking game.

Warrior special teams coach Ikaika Malloe implemented some of the adjustments to the units prior to having an emergency appendectomy on Wednesday. Aaron Bain is now slated to return punts and Malcolm Lane will return kickoffs.

Dan Kelly's field goal with 11 seconds left decided last year's meeting in Reno and he's made five of his last six kicks. Nevada's Brett Jaekle is 7-for-9 this season, but the Wolf Pack don't settle for field goals much, as he's attempted just three in the last five games.

KEY MATCHUP

Nevada QB Colin Kaepernick vs. UH LB Solomon Elimimian

Containing Kaepernick was a central theme for the Warriors defense last year, when it held the freshman to 23 yards rushing and 134 passing in a 28-26 win.

Elimimian played a big part in that scheme and will be in the middle of the action again tonight.

“;As a middle linebacker you're pretty keyed into the quarterback,”; UH coach Greg McMackin said. “;He's pretty important in controlling any running game.”;

The Warriors have faced multi-talented quarterbacks before in Washington's Jake Locker and Florida's Tim Tebow, and “;(Kaepernick's) definitely similar,”; Elimimian said. “;He's a dual-threat quarterback and he has a great football mind. He's right up there with them.”;

Kaepernick averages 87 rushing yards per game, and keeping the 6-foot-6 sophomore from turning the corner on the option will be among the tasks facing the Warrior defense.

As Elimimian chases Kaepernick, he'll also be running down the school's career tackles record. He's three shy of the mark of 366 set by Levi Stanley in the early 1970s.

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OTHER KEY STATISTICS

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

     

 

 

Hawaii	Category	Nevada
6.3	Rushing first downs/game	15.6
9.4	Passing first downs/game	9.6
2.0	First downs by penalty/game	1.0
7-61	Interceptions-return yards	8-109
38.0	Punting avg.	42.5
62-565	Penalties-yards	51-443
15-7	Fumbles-lost	12-10
26%	Third-down conversion rate	42%
50%	Fourth-down conversion rate	47%
29.7	Pts. allowed/game	29.7

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing
	A	Yds	Avg	TD
Vai Taua, NEV	115	736	6.4	9
Colin Kaepernick, NEV	72	613	8.5	11
Kealoha Pilares, UH	45	236	5.2	4
Daniel Libre, UH	45	204	4.5	1
Passing
	A	C	I	Yds	TD
Colin Kaepernick, NEV	168	105	4	1,348	10
Nick Graziano, NEV	29	15	2	145	0
Inoke Funaki, UH	145	83	11	988	5	Tyler Graunke, UH	56	30	3	388	3
Receiving
	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD
Marko Mitchell, NEV	31	599	19.3	4
Mike McCoy, NEV	24	172	7.2	0
Mike Washington, UH	32	300	9.4	1
Greg Salas, UH	25	380	15.2	2
Tackles
	S	A	Tot	FL/S
Uche Anyanwu, NEV	33	10	43	2/0
Joshua Mauga, NEV	24	16	40	5.5/2.5
Jonathon Amaya, NEV	23	8	31	0/0
Kevin Grimes, NEV	17	11	28	0/0
Solomon Elimimian, UH	26	24	50	4.5/1
David Veikune, UH	27	15	42	5/0
Jameel Dowling, UH	22	15	37	1/1
Brashton Satele, UH	19	15	34	5/1

Nevada
4-3 (2-1 WAC)
PROBABLE STARTERS

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Offense
Z	4	Marko Mitchell	6-3	210	Sr.
X	14	Chris Wellington	6-1	185	So.
F	89	Mike McCoy	6-0	190	Sr.
T	50	Mike Gallett	6-6	295	So.
G	62	John Bender	6-8	325	So.
C	61	Dominic Green	6-3	295	Sr.
G	63	Kenneth Ackerman	6-4	280	Jr.
or	65	Brad Eskew	6-4	295	Sr.
T	73	Alonzo Durham	6-4	285	Jr.
TE	42	Kevin Bohr	6-3	240	Jr.
QB	10	Colin Kaepernick	6-6	215	So.
RB	34	Vai Taua	5-10	225	So.
Defense
E	55	Dontay Moch	6-1	245	So.
T	94	Mundrae Clifton	6-2	290	Sr.
T	95	Nate Agaiava	6-2	285	So.
E	99	Kevin Basped	6-6	240	So.
or	58	Ryan Coulson	6-3	255	So.
SAM	52	J-M Johnson	6-2	220	Fr.
MIKE	30	Joshua Mauga	6-2	245	Sr.
WOLF	33	Brandon Marshall	6-1	230	Fr.
or	36	Mike Bethea	6-3	245	Jr.
CB	45	Antoine Thompson	6-1	195	Jr.
SS	49	Jonathon Amaya	6-2	190	Jr.
FS	17	Uche Anyanwu	6-4	220	Sr.
CB	28	MikeEvans	5-10	180	So.
Specialists
K	13	Brett Jaekle	6-4	210	Sr.
P	48	Brad Langley	6-0	200	So.
KR	84	Brian Fludd	5-9	160	Sr.
	14	Chris Wellington	6-1	185	So.
PR	49	Jonathon Amaya	6-2	190	Jr.
H	15	Luke Collis	6-3	210	Fr.
LS	58	Ryan Coulson	6-3	255	Fr.

SCHEDULE

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

DATE	OPP.	RESULT
Aug. 30	Grambling State	W, 49-13
Sept. 6	Texas Tech	L, 35-19
Sept. 13	at Missouri	L, 69-17
Sept. 27	at UNLV	W, 49-27
Oct. 4	at Idaho	W, 49-14
Oct. 11	New Mexico State	L, 48-45
Oct. 18	Utah State	W, 44-17
Today	at Hawaii
Nov. 7	at Fresno State
Nov. 15	San Jose State
Nov. 22	Boise State
Nov. 29	at Louisiana Tech

HAWAII
3-4 (2-2 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	50	Laupepa Letuli	6-4	320	Jr.
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	26	Daniel Libre	5-8	185	Sr.
or	48	David Farmer	6-1	245	Sr.
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	17	Solomon Elimimian	6-0	225	Sr.
BUCK	59	R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane	5-11	225	Jr.
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	89	Malcolm Lane	6-1	180	Jr.
PR	85	Aaron Bain	5-8	190	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
Oct. 11	Louisiana Tech	W, 24-14
Oct. 17	at Boise State	L, 27-17
Today	Nevada
Nov. 1	at Utah State
Nov. 8	at New Mexico State
Nov. 22	Idaho
Nov. 29	Washington State
Dec. 6	Cincinnati