Hawaii Warriors Football

Honolulu, HI—If past results are any indication, the University of Hawaii football team is on the verge reeling off a string of consecutive wins.

And no, it's not because the Warriors are hosting the last place Utah State Aggies tonight at Aloha Stadium (6:00 p.m. HST), in what could turn out to be a Western Athletic Conference slugfest, just one week after toppling another WAC cellar dweller in Idaho 16-14.

Rather, it's the calendar that's hanging on your refrigerator, or in your office, that just flipped to November.

Hawaii head coach Greg McMackin likes to say that, "When things get tough, we get better." He should add to that: "When the games are in November, we are at our best."

Since 2006, the Warriors are 16-2 in the 11th month for a winning percentage of .889; their only losses have come at Boise State last season and at Utah State in 2008.

"Not to put it in where we start of (the season) slow," senior defensive tackle Vaughn Meatoga said this week. "But a lot of us are clicking more, defensively, offensively, (in November). And it's just like we got the ball rolling, and it's hard to stop it once it gets going. I think in the later months when we start clicking more, it's just really hard to stop that ball from rolling."

In tonight's matchup with the Aggies, Meatoga and fellow senior defensive tackle Kaniela Tuipulotu will try to stop the No. 1 rushing offense in the WAC, and sixth nationally, from rolling. Utah State averages 278.4 rushing yards per game.

"I love playing running teams. It's way better than playing a spread team," Tuipulotu said. "At least you get a chance to make tackles now instead of having them throw quick screens or quick slants. Taking on these double teams with a chance of being rewarded with a tackle, it makes everything that much better."

Junior running back Robert Turbin leads Utah State with 825 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. He is the leader of one of the best trios of running backs in the country, along with senior Michael Smith and junior Kerwynn Williams. All three backs average 6.5 yards or more per carry.

"We see that they're very explosive," Meatoga said. "And they've had some of the most explosive plays, as far as plays of 25-plus yards that we've seen on the film...And they've got three backs that can do damage, they got a lot of weapons on offense. You just got to be able to play assignment football."

Though they are just 2-5 overall and 0-2 in the WAC, the Aggies are certainly capable of giving Hawaii (5-3, 3-1) a run for their money. In its season opener against the defending national champion Auburn Tigers, Utah State took a 38-28 lead with 3:38 to play before succumbing 42-38 thanks to two late touchdowns sandwiching a desperation on-side kick recovery by the Tigers.

Utah State has also led all seven games this season going into the fourth quarter, and all five losses are by 10 points or less.

"This is a big challenge for us (and) this is a real challenge for our seniors," sophomore cornerback Mike Edwards said. "Especially the interior guys who are big-time two D-linemen (Meatoga and Tuipulotu), and then with (linebackers) Corey (Paredes) and A.B. (Aaron Brown) in the middle.

"So this is a big game for us as a whole, but especially for those seniors. Because this is the game they can really make a statement and get their names out there with those three great running backs...and then with the mobile quarterback. So it's going to be a test, but that's why we come out here and practice every day and work hard."

After playing Utah State, Hawaii will travel to Nevada next week to play the Wolf Pack before returning home for games against Fresno State and Tulane to wrap up the month of November. They finish the regular season with a game against Brigham Young University on Dec. 3 at Aloha Stadium.

"We just know the season's coming to an end and we want to continue to have momentum going into the offseason," Tuipulotu said of Hawaii's recent November success. "It will help with recruits that are coming and help build this program to get even stronger for the upcoming years. So it's just a mindset of finishing strong every year.

"(But) the message right now is that we still hold our own destiny to become the first ever back-to-back champs at UH. So that's the main thing right now—it's to win out and get another share of that WAC title. And hopefully something happens that we get it all to ourselves."

Kevin Riley is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

The greatest magical feat that Kenton Chun ever pulled out of his proverbial hat came on Saturday at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho.

With the University of Hawaii football team trailing the host Idaho Vandals by one point with less than a minute remaining and 10,461 attendees screaming in unison, the aspiring magician from Saint Louis School in Honolulu strolled onto the biggest stage of his life and calmly kicked a 35-yard field goal to hypnotize every last one of them.

When Chun's epochal kick sailed through the uprights, the Kibbie Dome crowd fell silent.

Hawaii's players went berserk.

Thirty-two seconds and a failed 53-yard Vandals field goal try later, the Warriors escaped the Great Northwest with its Western Athletic Conference title hopes still intact thanks in no small part to the 5'6" wizard who tried out for Hawaii's football team twice before making the squad in 2011.

"It was unreal," Chun told Hawaii Athletics after cinching the 16-14 victory. "I probably got a concussion from all the congratulations."

In a game that saw Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz and its run-and-shoot offense negated by costly turnovers, which led to all 14 Idaho points, three field goals proved crucial for the defending WAC co-champions, who usually add up touchdowns with relative ease.

Along with Tyler Hadden, who is responsible for kickoffs and field goal attempts longer than 40 yards, Hawaii's place-kickers accounted for 10 points in the game with one PAT—no insignificant task considering Hawaii's numerous PAT mishaps this season—and field goals from 27, 47 and 35 yards.

Coming into the game, Hawaii had had one player score at least two touchdowns in each of its seven games this season, and the team's 36.9 points-per-game average was ranked first in the WAC.

Against the Vandals (1-7 overall and 0-4 in the WAC), the Warriors' (5-3, 3-1) lone touchdown came on a two-yard pass from Moniz to Billy Ray Stutzmann early in the second quarter.

Idaho's staunch defense, meanwhile, forced five Hawaii fumbles and recovered two of them. They also sacked Moniz six times and recorded 12 tackles for a loss, which totaled 54 yards and dropped Hawaii's net rushing to a measly 15 yards for the game.

One of Idaho's fumble recoveries was returned 70 yards for a touchdown midway through the third quarter, giving the Vandals their second lead of the day, 14-13.

On Hawaii's first possession of the game, Moniz threw his fifth interception of the season and gave Idaho a short 41-yard field, which they quickly traversed for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. The Warriors responded in the second quarter with Moniz's scoring pass to Stutzmann and one field goal each by Chun and Hadden to take a 13-7 lead into the half.

Moniz finished the game having completed 32-of-53 passes for 338 yards for his fifth 300-yard game this season, and the 20th of his career. Royce Pollard tied his career high with 10 receptions for the Warriors and eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the fourth time this season with 151 yards.

Linebacker Aaron Brown made the defensive play of the game for Hawaii with an interception late in the fourth quarter. Idaho was deep in Warriors territory looking to increase their one-point lead and seal the victory.

Brown's interception, his first of the season, gave Moniz and Hawaii's offense the chance to drive into field-goal range and set the stage for Chun's decisive kick.

"It was a little nerve-wracking seeing the offense drive down," Chun said.

"Once it got into my range, I knew I was either kicking an extra-point or I was kicking a field goal. So when it came down to fourth down, I just went out there and trusted everybody because they all executed flawlessly: the line, the snap, the hold.

"I was just able to get a foot on it and thank god it went through...The energy on our team just really erupted and I was just happy to be a part of it all."

Abracadabra.

Up Next For Hawaii

The Warriors travel home to challenge the Utah State Aggies (2-5, 0-2) next Saturday in another Western Athletic Conference tilt at Aloha Stadium.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. HST.

With a capacity of just 16,000 seats, the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho, is the smallest stadium of all the Football Bowl Subdivision venues.

But listening to University of Hawaii players talk about it, the Idaho Vandals' home field is more advantageous than you might think.

"It seems like you could hear every individual, what they're saying in the stands," linebacker Corey Paredes said this week. "It's almost like it's amplified what they're saying and you hear 'em in the back of your head...the fans are right behind you, (and) you feel like they could grab you from the back. But it's a good place to play, I'm really excited."

The Warriors are 4-3 overall, and 2-1 in the Western Athletic Conference heading into this Saturday's game against Idaho (1-6, 0-3 WAC), leading the overall series 9-2. The Vandals, though, are not being taken lightly by the defending WAC co-champions, despite their poor record and last-place standing in the conference.

"They're hungry. Their record definitely doesn't speak for what kind of team they are," quarterback Bryant Moniz said. "We know that they got a bunch of guys that want to play, they have a few veterans that I've played against in the past few years so they represent huge problems for us. We just got to prepare for them and can't take them lightly at all.

"We can't make mistakes because they are so disciplined. We got to make every possession count, we can't let any drives get away from us otherwise it will affect us in the end of the game."

In last season's game at Aloha Stadium, Hawaii feasted on Idaho turnovers—converting four takeaways into 28 points, including a 57-yard fumble return for a touchdown by safety Richard Torres. The Warriors led 31-3 at the half and won comfortably, 45-10.

In 2009 at the Kibbie Dome, it was a different story: Idaho came away with a 35-23 win in what was Moniz's second career start. The Vandals' 194 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns led them to victory.

"(When) they're at home they have confidence, they play really good at home," Paredes said. "But we're a lot different team (now) from when we were the last time we played there. So we just got to play like how we can: play quick, do our assignments and I have confidence in our team this week... I know we practiced hard this week, we put in a good week of practice and we just got to turn that switch on.

"They have a really good (offensive) line, strong guys, they work hard and they finish guys up front. The skill players are really good, they're pretty experienced (and) they have a lot of good guys coming back from last year. They take advantage of opportunities they get, so we got to definitely be disciplined; they run a lot of trick stuff."

Idaho's only win this season was a 44-14 victory over North Dakota in Week 2. The Vandals come into Saturday's game 114th in the nation in total offense and 107th in passing defense. The Warriors, meanwhile, are eighth in the nation in passing offense, and 28th in total offense.

In their 2010 game against Idaho, Moniz threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns; in 2009, he threw for 360 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for a score in both contests.

The Kibbie Dome is "a fun stadium to play at," Moniz said.

"The walls are pretty close to the back of the end zone, (and) I remember (punter Alex) Dunnachie could hit the JumboTron up in the middle of the field because the roof was so low. It's a cool stadium to play at and it's going to be another fun and exciting away game...it doesn't have to be that packed to be loud. It's one of those kind of stadiums."

Kickoff is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. HST.

The Future Is Now

True freshman Trevor Davis is expected to make his first career start against Idaho.

The 6'1", 170-pound receiver out of Alhambra High School in Martinez, California, caught two passes for 48 yards in his first appearance last week in Hawaii's 45-34 win over New Mexico State. 

This week at practice, Davis said, "We're just still working the X (left wide-out position) to give me more repetitions so I can get used to it more. Because I never worked that side before ever in my life."

Quarterback Bryant Moniz said of Davis: "I think he's a great player, great person, and he's going to be the future over here being that he's playing so young and he's already doing great things.

"He's getting a quick knowledge of the offense, and I think by the time he's a senior he's going to be a tough one to guard. I'm very confident with him, I think he got his jitterbugs out this last week, first time playing D-1 ball. And I think he'll get more comfortable as he starts to play more and he's going to be another great weapon for us out there on the field."

Kevin Riley is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

Honolulu, HI—Through much of the season Greg McMackin's special teams have had a bulls-eye affixed to its backside, something that has not gone unnoticed by the University of Hawaii head football coach.

So, when the Warriors' special teams manufactured an important early touchdown in Saturday night's 45-34 win over Western Athletic Conference-foe New Mexico State, McMackin made a point to heave as much praise as possible upon his beleaguered unit.

"Quite honestly, I wish people would be realistic about some of the things going on," McMackin said after the game.

"Dick Tomey's doing a great job with special teams and I read in the paper that he should get fired, and we're getting E-mails about firing him and this and that. I think that's totally ridiculous that anybody would think something like that...because he's doing a great job. And if you look at our special teams, they helped win us the ballgame today."

While some of the criticism has been earned by Hawaii's special teams—having six place kicks blocked in six games will do that—it is also true that the place-kicking fiasco has overshadowed other areas of the special teams that have done well.

After starting Saturday night's game with a three-and-out, Hawaii got on the board their second possession with a perfect pass from Bryant Moniz to Justin Clapp in the corner of the end zone. Then, after forcing New Mexico State to punt on their next possession, Hawaii's special teams delivered the big blow of the game.

John Hardy-Tuliau raced through the Aggies' protection to block the punt, and Kamalani Alo scooped up the loose ball and returned it 13 yards for the Warriors' second score.

"That was a huge play. There's no bigger play in a football game than a blocked punt," special teams' coach Dick Tomey said. "We were having trouble moving the ball on offense it seemed at the time, and so that was a big play for us. And you know we've worked hard to try to change the mentality in blocking kicks; so that was welcome."

Special teams also gave Hawaii an edge in the battle of field position. Scott Harding returned three punts for 19 yards but more importantly, McMackin said, were the four punts that Harding fair-caught.

"I thought Scott Harding did an unbelievable job. He must have saved us 80 yards in running up and making catches on short punts that would have bounced for most guys, but he has the guts to run up and catch the ball."

Hawaii's early 14-0 lead was ultimately the difference in the game, as the two teams traded touchdowns for the duration of the contest.

"I thought our offense responded really well throughout the ballgame," McMackin said. "We didn't play like we wanted to play defensively. We made some plays, and then we didn't make some plays... When we had a problem (on defense), the offense responded."

Hawaii finished the game with 503 total yards—227 rushing, 276 passing—while New Mexico State had 432.

Acknowledging that his offense's output was "efficient," both rushing and passing the ball, Hawaii offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich said: "That's a good word. It's good to hear that after a game. We had some big runs, I thought we could have been smoother. We had some hiccups but we ended up getting enough to win and played fairly well."

With the win, Hawaii improved to 4-3 (2-1 WAC), while New Mexico State dropped to 3-4 (1-2 WAC).

Trevor Davis

Hawaii true freshman Trevor Davis made his debut against the Aggies, catching two passes for 48 yards. The much-heralded, 6'1" 170-pound receiver out of Alhambra High School in Martinez, Calif., was a candidate to redshirt this season.

"He's really good, he's probably our second or third-best receiver," McMackin said.

Quarterback Bryant Moniz said: "He's a great player and you know he's a young kid. It's great to have him out there. We were questioning whether to bring him out from his redshirt year; he got the call, and he's been ready to play and he made great plays.

"We're going to be able to utilize him a lot more, and he's going to become a part of our offense and (be) a great player in the future."

Moniz also added that Davis is "just like Royce Pollard," the senior wide receiver who has taken the freshman under his wing.

Kevin Riley is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

When Corey Paredes was a senior at Castle High School in Kaneohe, HI., the OIA Defensive Player of the Year had an intuition that he should stay home and play football at the University of Hawaii instead of going to school on the mainland to pursue his dream.

"You know, a lot of guys go away," Paredes said on Wednesday thinking back to when he decided to become a Warrior.

"I saw a lot of guys going away and then coming back home. And I ask them why they come back home, and they say, 'It's just rough living on your own, and away from your family.' And a lot of the local boys are really close with their families, the local culture kind of breeds you to be close to your family."

Talking to Paredes it becomes clear that the 6' 0" 235-pound linebacker is a "local boy" through and through. The Hawaii senior, who will graduate this December with a degree in Sociology, is proud to call Kahaluʻu on Oahu's windward side his home.

But Paredes—and two of his three brothers—was actually born in Sacramento, Calif. and lived there until he was three before moving to Hawaii.

"My parents just wanted us to grow up local. My dad was born and raised here, and he knew that this was the best place and best situation to raise a family in," he said. "I'm thankful for my parents making that decision, because it's rough when we go on the road. You kind of get a culture shock when you go to different places, and there's no place like Hawaii."

Since walking onto Hawaii's football team in 2007 and redshirting, Paredes has slowly moved up the Warriors' food chain, culminating in his being named team co-captain in 2010 and 2011.

Prior to that, in 2009, Paredes was awarded a scholarship for his efforts. And Hawaii, in return, has been rewarded with his spectacular play and intangible leadership.

After tallying 54 tackles and four sacks during his sophomore season, Paredes earned all-Western Athletic Conference first-team honors as a junior. His 151 tackles that season ranked him second in the WAC and 14th nationally, and it also is the second-highest single-season total in school history.

This season, Paredes is leading the team again with 46 tackles and is tied for the team lead with two forced fumbles. He also has one fumble recovery and as usual, is playing through a litany of ailments—most recently a bothersome knee.

Paredes proved his toughness last year by playing the final six games with a torn labrum in his right shoulder before going under the knife in the off-season.

But shoulder surgery was not the only off-season enhancement for Paredes. He also married his longtime sweetheart, Liz, and welcomed their first child into the world, a daughter.

"I met (Liz) when I was a freshmen in high school. October 3, 2003, was the first day that we met," he said glowingly. "We hooked up and I've been with her ever since; it's been about eight years. I proposed to her (last) December and we got married in February. We got married on her birthday, February 19."

Now with a family of his own, Paredes has extra motivation to perform on the field.

"Definitely I got stuff to play for. Not only for my family and myself, but being successful is going to help my family out in the long run," he said. "So definitely it gives me extra motivation in the game to play as best as I can."

Paredes also admits that he never expected he would achieve as much as he has wearing the Warriors' black and green. Prior to this season, he was selected to the watch list of The Butkus Award, the annual award which honors the nation's most outstanding linebacker.

"You like to dream and think ahead and stuff, but where I'm at today it's kind of, I don't think I thought that I'd be where I am today back then (when I was) walking on," he said. "I'm really thankful for where I am at. There's a lot of people to thank for that and sometimes it's just surreal. But I thank God every day, and I'm happy where I'm at playing with my boys.

"That was a big part of me staying home, just playing with a lot of the local boys and a lot of the guys I played against in high school... There's nothing like representing Hawaii nationally."

Paredes is forthright with his approval of the coaching staff at Hawaii, and credits them with nurturing him into the man that he is today.

"It's an awesome environment out here," he said. "So the coaches do a really good job with that, (they) really make you feel like they're a part of your family and you're a part of their family... I know a lot of guys (on the team that are from the mainland), they feel comfortable, they feel like they're at home.

"You know when we go on the road they're like, "Oh, man. I wanna go back home already," and they mean the rock, they mean Hawaii. So the coaches do a really good job with that, they do a really good job at building your character."

Asked if he had a message for the youngsters in Hawaii who aspire to become a football player like himself, Paredes said:

"For those young guys, just work hard, focus on school. School's the main thing. If you don't have the grades and academics it's tough to get to the next level. That's where it starts; if you get discipline in the classroom it's easier to be disciplined and do good stuff on the field."

Offered the chance to deliver a message to those who wandered off to play football at colleges throughout the mainland, Paredes paused and thought deeply before simply stating, "I hope you're doing good out there. You're not playing for your home team so I hope you're doing good out there. Hopefully the guys coming out of high school (now will) stay home, play for the home team.

"It's a good decision," he said. "You get to play in front of your family and your family really appreciates it. And who says you can't be successful coming out of UH? There's a lot of guys in the (National Football) league playing who did good at UH, so you still have opportunities. And there's nothing better than playing in front of your family."

As for his future, Paredes replied, "I tell everyone who's at the college level, "You shouldn't sell yourself short, and not try." (So) definitely I'm going to try to go to the next level. I really want to play, I don't want my career to end here. I'm going to work as hard as I can this season to put a good (scout) tape in.

"(Then) work my butt off this off-season, and try to get to that next level so I could continue to play what I love. Plan B can wait til then," he said. "Til that time comes... We'll see how football goes first."

This Saturday's homecoming game between Hawaii (3-3, 1-1 WAC) and New Mexico State (3-3, 1-1 WAC) at Aloha Stadium should be extra special for the Paredes family, after all, home is where the heart is.

"I don't really know" how many friends and family members will be at the game, he said after trying to calculate a high number. "But it feels good to play at home."

If there is a silver lining to Hawaii's loss at San Jose State last Friday night, and for that matter their Week 2 loss at Washington, it is that the Warriors overcame terrible first half performances in both of those games and fought until the bitter end.

No, it did not change the outcome in either instance, but it showed that Hawaii is not going to surrender without a fight. That is important right now because although the Warriors are a disappointing .500 (3-3) after six games, it's not for a lack of trying.

Rather, it has been a circus of mistakes that have undone the defending Western Athletic Conference co-champions and left them scrambling for some consistency; not to mention, a little protection on place-kicks.

"That is unacceptable, to have kicks blocked," head coach Greg McMackin said at his Monday press conference. "We met as a coaching staff and we're changing our scheme, we're changing personnel and we're going back to an inter-locking scheme.

"We obviously can't do what we're doing now. (The blocks are) coming from the same place, it always has. It wasn't in the kickers... it was coming from inside A-gaps and we can't allow that. That's been fixed and now we practice it this week and that's where we are on that. We can't allow that."

The kicking problems that Hawaii has been experiencing this season are approaching the level of comical, except when it literally costs you a game—as it did for Hawaii on Friday night—no one is going to be laughing.

As elementary as point-after kicks often may seem, try this on for size:

If Hawaii simply lined up after Joey Iosefa's 32-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, and had taken a knee instead of attempting to kick a 20-yard PAT, McMackin wouldn't have had to spend the bulk of his presser on Monday rehashing a problem that he vowed to fix two weeks ago.

The kick, of course, was blocked by San Jose State and returned the length of the field for a two-point conversion, spelling the difference in Hawaii's 28-27 loss.

Through six games Hawaii has had six place-kicks blocked, two of which were returned the length of the field (Washington also returned a blocked PAT for a two-point conversion).

"No, it is nobody's fault. I take the responsibility for everything," McMackin said. "At a time like this everybody wants to point fingers, and as I told my team after the game...You point a finger at somebody, there is a finger pointing right back at you. So we are staying together. There is a lot of people jumping off ship and that always happens, that's the name of football, that's the game. That doesn't bother me, they'll be back when we are winning."

Hopefully, for McMackin and his team, the winning will start this Saturday when Hawaii hosts New Mexico State (3-3, 1-1 WAC) at Aloha Stadium.

"We have some games to win," McMackin said. "We have four more games to win to go to a bowl game. Then if we win the right ones, league games, then we are in the same situation we were in last year. So that is where our goals are."

At the least, you know that Hawaii is not going to let their season slip away without putting up a fight.

They have proven that.

If the Hawaii football team was in need of a boost to get revved up for a team that finished dead last in the Western Athletic Conference last season, including a 41-7 loss at the hands of the Warriors, it received one thanks to the powers-that-be over at ESPN.

"The Worldwide Leader In Sports" has decided to roll out the red carpet for tonight's game between the defending WAC co-champion Warriors and San Jose State, featuring it from sea to shining sea on another episode of Friday night football.

"Intensity was definitely there (during practice this week)," defensive end Zach Masch said. "The whole team's riled up for this and national (television), that's a biggie. And we're going to San Jose, which is always a hard one for Hawaii, so we're all focused and we're ready for this."

After an up-and-down five weeks to start the season, Hawaii (3-2, 1-0 WAC) is in a great position to leave an indelible mark on the college football landscape with a big win tonight against the Spartans. The Warriors are rested after their only bye week of the season and hungry to win another WAC title before departing for the Mountain West Conference next season.

"Practice was great. We had a lot of intensity, a lot of swag out there, a lot of people just making plays," cornerback Mike Edwards said. "So I feel like it's going to be a good week. We're going to go in this game with a real focus and we're ready to get another 'W.' "

Though they only won a single game in 2010, San Jose State (2-4, 1-1 WAC) is vastly improved this season in head coach Mike MacIntyre's second year on the job.

Playing arguably the toughest schedule to date amongst all WAC schools, the Spartans started the season with three consecutive losses against the seventh-ranked Stanford Cardinal (quarterbacked by Andrew Luck, likely the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft), the perennially tough UCLA Bruins (especially when playing at home in the Rose Bowl) and the other defending WAC co-champions: the Nevada Wolf Pack.

Since then, San Jose State is 2-1 and could be 3-0 if not for a disappointing loss at BYU last week in which they played poorly in the first half, and were without the services of their leading rusher Brandon Rutley, who missed the game with a sprained ankle.

"They're athletic and they got a good running back (who) was hurt for a while, but I have a feeling he's gonna play against us; you know a big game, televised game, shoot, I'd play too," safety Richard Torres said.

"They have a really good tight end, No. 82 (Ryan Otten). He's big, he has good moves (and) he has nice sets. That's their go-to guy. And then they got another receiver (Noel Grigsby), he caught ten balls in the last game or something like that... so it should be a challenge"

Otten, a 6'6", 235-pound junior, who leads the Spartans with 372 receiving yards and three touchdowns, will be a primary focus for the Warriors' defense that ranks first in the WAC in both scoring defense (27.4 points per game) and total defense (327 yards per game).

"He brings definitely a passing game," Masch said. "I don't really see him too physical up front, but he's definitely a threat when he gets out there and he gets ready for a pass. But I think our (defensive backs) got that under control...Our first thing like always is to stop the run and then we're going to worry about the pass later. So up front we're going to do our things, and we know our DBs got (our back)."

On offense, Hawaii ranks first in the WAC and eighth nationally in passing (343.4 yards per game), and second in the WAC in scoring (37.2 points per game). In last year's game versus the Spartans at Aloha Stadium, Bryant Moniz set a Hawaii record with 560 passing yards and three touchdowns.

But that was against a San Jose State defense that was playing without two-time all-WAC safety Duke Ihenacho, who missed all but two games in 2010 with an injury. This season Ihenacho is healthy again, and along with fellow safety James Orth, is tied for second on the team with 40 tackles.

"We just like their defense overall," wide receiver Allen Sampson said. "We feel like they can't stop anything we do (and) we're gonna dictate their defense. So they really got to worry about us more than us worry about them.

"(Ihenacho's) good. He looks real good on film; we've been watching him, we watch (Orth), they change positions a little bit but other than that they both look good. So we're just gonna keep doing what we do."

Playing on national television, Sampson who is from Tampa, Fla., said "I got a lot of family that'll try to watch it. I look forward to playing, and playing in front of my family."

Game Notes

Slot receiver Miah Ostrowski missed the last three games with a foot injury but made the trip to San Jose State and is hopeful of playing.

"That's the coach's decision. I don't expect them to put me in or not put me in. I know whatever decision they make is going to be the right one for the team," he said.

Defensive end Zach Masch, who hails from the Northern California town of Nevada City, said: "I might have 60-plus people there, so it's going to be fun. It's the first time I'm starting in front of my whole friends and family... it's going to be exciting."

Honolulu, HI—The last time the University of Hawaii football team lost a game at San Jose State University, the Warriors were mired in the forgettable (or unforgettable, depending on your perspective) Fred von Appen era, and the blueprint to Hawaii's vaunted run-and-shoot offense was still two years away from being laid. 

Fast forward to 2011, and that hardly-epic 1997 battle between Western Athletic Conference cellar dwellers is a distant memory. Since losing 38-14 in front of 9,500 dispersed onlookers at Spartan Stadium, Hawaii has rattled off five consecutive wins at the venue dating back to 1999, and hopes to add a sixth on Friday night (3:00 p.m. HST, ESPN).

It will be San Jose State's homecoming game.

"Well I don't know if we own that place, but it is their homecoming," Hawaii head coach Greg McMackin said after Monday's practice. "You know who you usually pick for homecoming games, so they must figure they can beat us...Really that doesn't matter a whole lot to us. We're more interested in getting a win to go on to bowl games and WAC championships."

Since starting the season 1-2, Hawaii has won its last two contests while averaging 50 points and 503 yards of total offense. Now 3-2 (1-0 WAC), Hawaii is tasked with maintaining the momentum it developed against UC Davis and Louisiana Tech through one week of inactivity.

The Warriors had a bye this past Saturday while San Jose State lost a hard-fought contest at Brigham Young University, 29-16, dropping their record to 2-4 (1-1 WAC).

"Last year our bye week was after our 10th ballgame and it's good to get it at this time after five games because we had a lot of guys banged-up," McMackin said.

"They are a dangerous ball club...We've watched the BYU game. They played them really tough. Their main running back stayed out of that game [and] I'm sure they were keeping him out to play him in this game because of the importance of it...This is a WAC game and it's a step going to the bowl and it's on national (television), so both teams should be jacked up and fired up."

The ace up Hawaii's sleeve is special teams coach Dick Tomey. The well-traveled Tomey was head coach at San Jose State from 2005-2009 and is familiar with many of the players currently donning Spartan Blue and Gold for second-year head coach Mike MacIntyre.

"There's a lot of players I'm very familiar with, but a lot of those players have really improved a ton," Tomey said. "They're older [and] they're more mature; they were sophomores when I was there and now they're seniors. I think it just suffice to say, I have incredible respect for what they've done the last two years...and I have incredible respect for what they're doing on the field now.

"My experience in San Jose was incredible, it was one of the the great experiences in my coaching life and I appreciate it completely. I appreciate all the people there, all the people at the university, all the players, administration, all our friends. But having said that, we need a win [and] they need a win."

Tomey is credited with rebuilding a San Jose State football program that had been teetering on the brink of disaster for many years. In all honesty, it is still struggling to become financially viable in a tumultuous NCAA football landscape.

Shortly after Tomey accepted the head coaching position in 2005, the Spartans were penalized to the tune of 57 scholarships for their poor academic standing amongst student-athletes. Since then, the football program has improved its academic standing dramatically.

"I have great respect for what they've done," Tomey said. "They've come through a very difficult situation with the penalties they've incurred way back five years ago, and coach MacIntyre has got them playing hard, physical, tough football...they're very disciplined. We know it will take the best game we've played this year to win."

In addition to Tomey's connection with San Jose State, Greg McMackin also was a member of the Spartans football program from 1979-1983, serving as a secondary coach under then-head coach Jack Elway.

"I've always had respect for San Jose State, especially when Dick Tomey was coaching there. He did a great job, took them to a bowl game, turned their program around and they're doing a good job of coaching now," McMackin said.

"The whole nation is going to be watching and we want to show them what kind of program we have, and I'm sure San Jose State does too."

National Spotlight

Friday night's game at San Jose State will be televised by ESPN, marking the 56th all-time appearance on national television for the Hawaii Warriors, who are a disappointing 17-36-2 in those games.

Hawaii leads the all-time series with San Jose State 17-16-1, including last season's 41-7 victory over the Spartans in Honolulu.

Honolulu, HI—For the second consecutive season, the University of Hawaii football team is scheduled to play San Jose State coming out of its only bye week. Last November, the Warriors took four days off during the two weeks prior to hosting the Spartans at Aloha Stadium.

This time around, they will have no such reprieve; their only days off are Saturday and Sunday.

"This week isn't any vacation week," head coach Greg McMackin said after practice last week. "I'm on them hard because now's when we have to do the little things. Now is when we have to really be tough on them and not let them coast through anything...I got on them a little bit today that we got to put the dang accelerator to the bottom of the floor and get better. Then next week, just keep it up if we want to reach the goals that we want to reach.

"I got into them before practice (and) after practice (that) this isn't going to be a week off. We came here to work and that's what we're gonna do...We've got San Jose State and goals ahead of us. So we've got to toughen up and man up, and I'm not going to let them take a second off."

The intensity is so high during this bye week because the last thing Hawaii wants is for its new-found momentum to slip away—especially after fighting so hard to get it.

McMackin and the Warriors are well aware that many of their supporters were down on them after their Week 3 collapse at Nevada-Las Vegas. Now, after wins over UC Davis and Louisiana Tech, Hawaii is 3-2 on the season and 1-0 in the WAC, and is in prime position to realize its goal for the season: winning another Western Athletic Conference championship.

"We thought this is how we should play, this is how we prepared to play. But preparing and actually executing how we're supposed to play are two totally different things," linebacker Aaron Brown said of Hawaii's recent hot streak. "We're on that track now; we got two wins so we just got to keep the wheels going."

After taking the weekend off, the Warriors will explode out of the starting blocks come Monday morning. During a typical week, the team works on its conditioning Monday and installs its game-plan on Tuesday, but with the extra week, Hawaii installed its game-plan for San Jose State on Friday and will be able to practice Monday morning with a full head of steam.

Hawaii will also practice on Tuesday and Wednesday before departing Wednesday afternoon for Friday night's nationally televised game (ESPN, 3:00 p.m. HST) at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, Calif.

"We don't want to come out playing San Jose cold because we didn't do nothing this week," defensive end Paipai Falemalu said. "We get two weeks to game-plan on San Jose so maybe it'll give us the mental edge. And for all of us who are injured or not feeling too good, we can heal up I guess."

McMackin said two areas of importance that they have been focusing on include special teams issues with place kicking and offensive line issues with protecting quarterback Bryant Moniz.

"We got to block for Moniz; he's getting hit too many times. He makes plays, but he's getting hit and a guy can't go through that all season. We're really young and inexperienced, plus we've had a lot of injuries on the offensive line, so they're doing the best they can.

"It's lucky that we have a guy like Mo who gets out of some of that stuff, but we've got to get better there."

San Jose State is 2-4 on the season, 1-1 in the WAC.

Seventy Years Ago

Seventy years ago, the San Jose State football team traveled to Hawaii for what was supposed to be two season-ending games versus the University of Hawaii and Willamette College of Oregon. The Spartans were in Honolulu when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on Dec. 7, 1941 and their games on Dec. 13, and 16 were canceled.

Many San Jose State players immediately joined forces with the Honolulu Police Department and the armed services to help protect Honolulu and the island of Oahu in case of an amphibious attack by the Japanese.

Honolulu, HI—University of Hawaii head football coach Greg McMackin was in a noticeably upbeat mood on Monday morning before beginning his weekly press conference. Two days after his team beat Louisiana Tech in their own stadium, McMackin bounced around a small conference room exchanging handshakes and game stories for 10 minutes before sitting down to answer questions.

And who can blame him? After an up-and-down first four weeks to start the season, it appears that McMackin's team is starting to even out after its Week 5 44-26 win in its Western Athletic Conference opener. And they're on the right side of the ledger.

A mere two weeks after the "most disappointing loss" in his coaching career, the Warriors have proven the Nevada-Las Vegas debacle to be the exception, not the norm. And with the meat of its WAC schedule laying straight ahead after their only bye week of the season, it seems logical to expect more of the same out of the 3-2 Warriors.

"I think we're at a good point right now," McMackin said. "We had to make plays and there were some really outstanding plays...The play of (quarterback Bryant Moniz) was unbelievable, I mean he saved us so many times.

"We've got a young football team, but they're all together and we've got great leadership. How about (linebacker) Corey Paredes: hurting his knee and going back in and playing. He's just like (former Warrior) Jeff Ulbrich, he's just as tough...and guys see that, guys see that."

After five weeks, Moniz has completed 64.6 percent of his passes for 1,578 yards and 15 touchdowns. His 315.6 yards-per-game average is steadily increasing towards the 360 yards per game he averaged last season when he led the nation in passing. Meanwhile, Paredes leads the team with 36 tackles and is the anchor of a Hawaii defense that ranks second in the nation with 19 quarterback sacks and third in the nation with 213 interception return yards.

"This bye week is perfect timing because we have to do a couple of things," McMackin said. "Obviously, we've had way too many kicks blocked, and we have really got to get deep into that and get the right people in there...We've got to get that corrected.

"That's the good thing about having a bye week, is we can really look into that. And I've got complete confidence in (special teams coordinator) Dick (Tomey), and I know it will be straightened out."

Hawaii's special teams have had a total of six field goal and point-after attempts blocked or missed.

When asked if he was concerned about maintaining momentum through the bye week, McMackin said, "We're playing for the championship, so every game's really important. So we're not going to take a lot of time off. Some guys give 'em the whole week off and we're not going to do that."

McMackin gave his team Monday off. They will resume practicing today, then take two more days off on Saturday and Sunday.

Next week, Hawaii will depart for San Jose State on Wednesday in preparation for its nationally-televised ESPN matchup against the Spartans on Friday. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. HST.

Royce Pollard

Senior wide receiver Royce Pollard had his second straight game with three touchdown receptions against Louisiana Tech, matching a career high. His 10 catches for 216 yards were both career bests, yet Pollard was unable to garner WAC offensive Player of the Week honors, losing out to New Mexico State quarterback Matt Christian.

"That's one of the best receiver efforts that we've had," McMackin said. "And we've had great receivers around here. That catch he made when he was double-covered and he just went up and got the ball, that was tough. He makes plays, and he made a lot of them. He's my player of the week, I'll tell you that."