Talk of “;commitment”; gets thrown around a lot as recruiting season intensifies.

The word carries substantially more weight when it comes to the service academies.

Where a choice of college dictates the direction of the next four or five years for most student-athletes, the Navy players Hawaii will face today have another five-year military commitment awaiting them following graduation and, perhaps, a career in the service.

Navy's 32 seniors were given their service assignments on Wednesday, split evenly between the Navy and Marines.

“;We don't force our kids to commit early because we want these guys to truly understand what they're getting into,”; Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “;It's a great opportunity, but it's not something you can force somebody into doing. I have great respect for these guys. They came to the Naval Academy when we're at war and they haven't flinched.”;

That sentiment extends across the field, and the attributes drilled into the Midshipmen on a daily basis make them tough to deal with on Saturdays.

“;They provide a great service to our country, and we have a lot of respect for them,”; Hawaii receiver Greg Salas said. “;They're a great team, well coached, well disciplined; that's what comes with being in the service. They're going to force you into mistakes.”;

The Warriors (5-6) will have very little margin for error when the Midshipmen (8-3) visit Aloha Stadium for the second meeting between the programs.

Hawaii enters the game with a three-game winning streak and faces a fourth straight must-win game to stay in bowl contention. Navy, meanwhile, enters the game two weeks away from its storied rivalry with Army and a Texas Bowl appearance already set for New Year's Eve.

But the Midshipmen aren't without motivation, given Niumatalolo's return to Aloha Stadium.

“;I feel very blessed,”; said Niumatalolo, a Radford and UH graduate and the second FBS head coach of Polynesian descent. “;I've been in the stadium many times, but never thought I'd come back as a head coach.”;

In his second season, Niumatalolo guided Navy to a near upset of Ohio State to open the season, a win at Notre Dame on Nov. 7 to secure its seventh straight bowl berth, and within range of the school record for wins.

After 11 straight weeks of action, the Mids had a bye last week to regroup and prepare for their trip to Hawaii.

“;I just hope the rust is gone,”; Niumatalolo said. “;You're always concerned when you're off a week, will you come back as sharp. Hopefully our timing will be there.”;

Rust and timing were also issues for Hawaii this week as quarterback Bryant Moniz returned to practice. Moniz missed last week's game against San Jose State with sore ribs, but was sharp in practice on Thursday and is expected to return to the starting lineup today.

The game will feature a matchup of opposing offensive philosophies. Hawaii's run-and-shoot offense averages more than 44 passes per game, while Navy's spread option runs the ball on 89 percent of its plays.

“;It might be good for the fans to see the contrast between the old and the new, what it used to be like here and what it is now,”; said Navy offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper, a UH quarterback and slotback when the Rainbow Warriors ran the option in the early 1990s.

Navy features the nation's third-ranked rushing offense, led by a line that averages 264 pounds per man, but excels at knocking defenders off their feet and disrupting pursuit angles. That clears the way for quarterback Ricky Dobbs, the Mids' leading rusher, who can give the ball to the fullback, keep it, or pitch it a slotback.

“;They have a lot of great athletes, and that quarterback could play anywhere in the country,”; UH head coach Greg McMackin said of Dobbs, who has 22 rushing touchdowns, breaking a 91-year-old school record and one short of the NCAA record for ground scores by a quarterback.

Once the Navy offense takes the field, taking the ball away has proven difficult. Navy ranks fourth nationally in time of possession while losing just 10 turnovers, tied for the fourth-lowest total.

Where the Warriors will need to sustain drives to keep the ball away from Dobbs, finishing those opportunities—a source of concern for much of the season—will be magnified.

“;We've been pretty effective (moving the ball) all year,”; quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich said. “;It's going to come down to putting points on the board in the red zone.”;

The Mids gave up a season-high 35 points to SMU's run-and-shoot attack on Oct. 17, giving the UH staff a sample of what to expect today.

“;That's a great film for us,”; Rolovich said. “;(SMU does) a lot of our same stuff, especially with formations.”;