By

POSTED: Saturday, December 06, 2008

Hawaii's senior class played a central role in ensuring today's game against No. 13 Cincinnati wouldn't be its final bow at Aloha Stadium.

The Warriors are slated to start 17 seniors (five on offense, nine on defense and three specialists) who helped the team rebound from a 1-3 start to earn a Sheraton Hawaii Bowl berth. But the significance of senior night spreads beyond those who will be honored after the game.

“;It means a lot to everybody,”; junior quarterback Greg Alexander said. “;Everybody's going to put it on the line for those guys. The seniors are the ones who really held this team together through all the adversity we had. So we want to send them out the right way.”;

Although both teams' postseason futures are secure, there's no shortage of motivation for their regular-season finale.

“;This is like a BCS game,”; Hawaii linebacker Solomon Elimimian said of facing the Big East champion Bearcats on national television.

Cincinnati, whose BCS destination will be revealed tomorrow, brings a five-game winning streak and its highest ranking in the program's history to Hawaii and is seeking a school-record 11th win.

“;This group likes to play football, and they're going to go and compete and fly around,”; said Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly, who defused talk of his possible departure earlier this week. “;We'll expect our kids to go out and compete at a high level.”;

The Bearcats provide a potential BCS bookend to the regular season for the Warriors, who opened the year with a blowout loss at Florida in August. The Gators would earn a BCS bid with a win over Alabama today in the SEC title game, and would have a good chance even with a loss.

“;I think we're a completely different team than we were against Florida,”; Alexander said. “;So it should be a good measure to see where we're at.”;

The following is a look at the rematch of Hawaii's 20-19 brawl-marred win over the Bearcats in 2002:

 

When Hawaii has the ball

The Warriors have moved the ball effectively over the last month, but figure to get more resistance from a senior-heavy Bearcats defense. Where UH's last two opponents — Idaho and Washington State — ranked in triple-digits nationally in total defense, Cincinnati entered the week at 24th, giving up 315.8 yards per game.

Alexander could have smaller passing windows against a Cincinnati secondary that has 15 interceptions this season. He'll also be pursued by a defensive front that leads the Big East in sacks with 31.

“;They can cover a lot of ground,”; Alexander said. “;Their (defensive) ends are tall, lanky guys and same with their corners.”;

Hawaii receiver Greg Salas had a career-best seven catches for 131 yards against Washington State, and senior slotbacks Mike Washington and Aaron Bain have turned up their productivity over the last three games.

Bearcats cornerback DeAngelo Smith was tied for the national lead with eight interceptions last year. He has two picks and nine pass break-ups this year.

Cincinnati lost cornerback Mike Mickens, the school's career leader in interceptions, to a knee injury last month. UH head coach Greg McMackin said Hawaii running back/slotback Kealoha Pilares' availability will be a game-time decision due to a foot injury.

 

When Cincinnati has the ball

The Bearcats bring in the Big East's top passing offense and will represent one of the Warriors secondary's toughest tests of the season.

Receivers Dominick Goodman and Mardy Gilyard could both break the 1,000-yard mark tonight and have 16 touchdown receptions between them. Goodman is seven receptions and 23 yards away from becoming Cincinnati's all-time receiving leader. Gilyard had 11 catches for 114 yards last week against Syracuse.

They'll match up with UH cornerbacks Calvin Roberts and Jameel Dowling, while safeties Keao Monteilh and Desmond Thomas will be responsible for limiting big plays downfield.

Cincinnati quarterback Tony Pike played most of the season with a broken bone in his non-throwing arm, but has passed for 2,060 yards and 17 touchdowns, five in the last two weeks as Cincinnati wrapped up the Big East title.

The Warriors defensive backfield could be boosted by the return of seniors Erik Robinson and Ryan Mouton, who missed last week's game. But like Pilares, it'll be a game-time decision on whether Mouton's sprained ankle will allow him to play.

 

Special teams

Two of the nation's top kick returners will take turns trying to shift the momentum of the game.

Hawaii's Malcolm Lane moved up to fifth nationally at 29.8 yards per return and helped snuff a Washington State rally with a 48-yarder last week.

Gilyard is 10th in the country at 28.4 ypr and has returned two for touchdowns, going the distance against Oklahoma and West Virginia.

Cincinnati leads the nation in net punting with an average of 40.9 yards per attempt thanks to Kevin Huber's distance and hang time. Defensive end Connor Barwin has blocked three kicks this season.

Bearcats kicker Jake Rogers hit three field goals against Syracuse to improve to 14-for-19 this season. Hawaii's Dan Kelly has gone 1-for-7 over the last four games and had three blocked in that span.

               

     

 

 

Key matchup         Hawaii offensive line vs. Cincinnati pass rush         Cincinnati’s pass rushers can keep offensive linemen on the defensive.         Connor Barwin, a former tight end who also played for the Cincinnati basketball team, leads the way with 10 sacks among his 13.5 tackles for loss. Lamonte Nelms is second on the team at 13 tackles for loss and 5 1/2 sacks.         “They’re real athletic, their ends are fast,” UH offensive line coach Brian Smith said. “I’d say both of them are real comparable to (Warriors defensive end) David Veikune. They run well, good change of direction, good motors.”         The task of keeping the ends in front of them and giving quarterback Greg Alexander a chance to go through his reads will fall primarily on UH’s tackles, Keoni Steinhoff on the right and the rotation of Aaron Kia and Laupepa Letuli on the left.         “It’s more just trusting in your fundamentals,” Smith said of countering Cincinnati’s quickness. “You’ll get exposed a lot easier if you’re leaning or reaching or over-setting to compensate. The little things get exposed easier against a more athletic player.”

Cincinnati

10-2 (6-1 Big East)

PROBABLE STARTERS

Offense

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

LT	71	Jeff Linkenbach	6-6	313	Jr.
LG	60	Jason Kelce	6-3	295	So.
C	56	Chris Jurek	6-2	290	Jr.
RG	76	Trevor Canfield	6-5	305	Sr.
RT	79	Khalil El-Amin	6-4	312	Sr.
TE	19	Ben Guidugli	6-2	241	So.
Slot	85	Marcus Barnett	6-1	175	So.
WR	1	Mardy Gilyard	6-1	190	Jr.
WR	16	Dominick Goodman	6-1	210	Sr.
QB	15	Tony Pike	6-6	225	Jr.
RB	20	Jacob Ramsey	6-0	230	Jr.
FB	35	Marcus Waugh	6-0	260	Jr.
Defense
DE	10	Lamonte Nelms	6-3	255	Sr.
DT	67	Adam Hoppel	6-2	300	Sr.
DT	95	Terrill Byrd	6-1	290	Sr.
DE	5	Connor Barwin	6-4	255	Sr.
WLB	49	Torry Cornett	6-2	235	Sr.
MLB	45	Ryan Manalac	6-0	235	Sr.
SLB	42	Corey Smith	6-1	225	Sr.
CB	8	Brandon Underwood6-1	190	Sr.
SS	17	Aaron Webster	6-3	205	Jr.
FS	18	Cedric Tolbert	6-0	205	Sr.
CB	6	DeAngelo Smith	6-0	190	Sr.
Specialists
KO	97	Jake Rogers	6-3	205	So.
PK	97	Jake Rogers	6-3	205	So.
P	47	Kevin Huber	6-1	220	Sr.
KR	1	Mardy Gilyard	6-1	190	Jr
PR	6	DeAngelo Smith	6-0	190	Sr.
H	47	Kevin Huber	6-1	220	Sr.
LS	93	Mike Windt	6-2	250	So.

SCHEDULE

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

DATE	OPP.	RESULT
Aug. 28	Eastern Kentucky	W, 40-7
Sept. 6	at Oklahoma	L, 52-26
Sept. 17	Miami (Ohio)	W, 45-20
Sept. 27	at Akron	W, 17-15
Oct. 3	at Marshall	W, 33-10
Oct. 11	Rutgers	W, 13-10
Oct. 25	at Connecticut	L, 40-16
Oct. 30	South Florida	W, 24-10
Nov. 8	at West Virginia	W, 26-23, OT
Nov. 14	at Louisville	W, 28-20
Nov. 22	Pittsburgh	W, 28-21
Nov. 29	Syracuse	W, 30-10
Today	at Hawaii

HAWAII

7-5 (5-3 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	62	Keith AhSoon	6-1	315	Sr.
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	12	Greg Alexander	6-3	230	Jr.
RB	48	David Farmer	6-2	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	13	Brashton Satele	6-1	255	Jr.
CB	3	Jameel Dowling	6-3	200	Sr.
FS	24	Desmond Thomas	6-2	170	Sr.
SS	35	Keao Monteilh	5-11	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, 27-7
Oct. 25	Nevada	W, 38-31
Nov. 1	at Utah State	L, 30-14
Nov. 8	at New Mexico State	W, 42-30
Nov. 22	Idaho	W, 49-17
Nov. 29	Washington State	W, 24-10
Today	Cincinnati

OTHER KEY STATISTICS

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Hawaii	Category	cincinnati
6.5	Rushing first downs/game	7.5
10.4	Passing first downs/game	11.4
1.8	First downs by penalty/game	1.1
13-230	Interceptions-return yards	15-313
39.9	Punting avg.	44.0
103-919	Penalties-yards	90-815
27-13	Fumbles-lost	26-14
36%	Third-down conversion rate	35%
42%	Fourth-down conversion rate	42%

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Rushing
	A	Yds	Avg	TD
Jacob Ramsey, CIN	146	619	4.2	2
John Goebel, CIN	110	532	4.8	7
Daniel Libre, UH	90	385	4.4	6
Kealoha Pilares, UH	54	281	5.2	5

Passing

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

	A	C	I	Yds	TD
Tony Pike, CIN	270	170	5	2,060	17
Chazz Anderson, CIN	75	46	3	520	2
Greg Alexander, UH	164	103	3	1,359	10
Inoke Funaki, UH	168	95	12	1,119	6

Receiving

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD
Dominick Goodman, CIN	78	977	12.5	7
Mardy Gilyard, CIN	67	982	14.7	9
Mike Washington, UH	49	629	12.8	5
Greg Salas, UH	48	724	15.1	3

Tackles

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

	S	A	Tot	FL/S
Ryan Manalac, CIN	37	33	70	2/0
Mike Mickens, CIN	43	22	65	2/0
Torry Cornett, CIN	35	26	61	2.5/1
Brandon Underwood, CIN	34	21	55	3.5/0
Solomon Elimimian, UH	53	48	101	9.5/3
Adam Leonard, UH	41	34	75	7.5/2
David Veikune, UH	42	22	64	15/8
Jameel Dowling, UH	40	20	60	2.5/1.5