The time has come
for the Broncos to pack their bags and head over to the islands where the Hawaii
Warriors await another epic rivalry battle between the two schools.
The Broncos are
7-3 all time against the Warriors, with the last meeting being a 27-7 victory in
2008. However, the Broncos have lost their last two games played in
Hawaii
(2007 regular season
and 2007 Hawaii Bowl vs.
East Carolina
)
Hawaii
is currently sitting
at the bottom of the Western Athletic Conference standings with a 0-3 conference
record (2-4 overall) but their record does not reflect their level of talent and
experienced coaching staff. They are led by second-year Head Coach Greg
McMackin who is 9-11 overall with the Warriors after his stint as Defensive
Coordinator with six different colleges and the Seattle Seahawks.
McMackin
took
Seattle
's defense from 30th
to eighth in the NFL and coached seven All-Pro players, including Warren Sapp,
Ray Lewis, and The Rock. He has also won two Coach of the Year awards
while at Oregon Tech, been named the Big 12 top recruiter, and one of the
nation's top coaches while at Texas Tech.
His Miami
Hurricane defense was #1 overall in the nation, and both of
Hawaii
's WAC Championships,
including the biggest single-season turnaround in NCAA football history, came
with McMackin serving as Defensive Coordinator. In his first season as
head coach of the Warriors, he led the team to a 5-3 WAC record, finishing
second in the conference and earning an appearance in the 2008 Hawaii Bowl.
The Warriors were
the third ever non-
BCS
team to play in a
BCS
Bowl, following in
the footsteps of
Utah
and
Boise
State
. They have
been crowned WAC Champions three times, with the latest coming in 2007 over
Boise
State
. The Warriors
and Broncos have been rivals since
Boise
State
joined the WAC in
2001, with the Broncos winning each hard-fought conference meeting up until
2007. While typically competing as two of the top teams in the WAC, the
rivalry between
Hawaii
and
Boise
State
will only continue
to grow in the years to come.
Hawaii
Players to Watch:
- Sophomore quarterback Bryant Moniz. The
Fresno
City
College
transfer will be starting his
third ever game as a Hawaii Warrior, replacing starting QB Greg Alexander
who is out for the season with a left knee injury. Moniz has completed
60 of 106 passing attempts totaling 788 yards, three touchdowns and three
interceptions with a pass rating of 122.7.
-
Senior
Center
, John Estes. The two-time
All-WAC
First
Team
Center
is amongst the best in the
nation. Estes is on the Rimington and Lombardi Award watch lists, as
well as rated in the top five centers by several draft rankings and ranked
in the top ten non-
BCS
senior prospects.
- The
Hawaii
passing game. The Warriors are known for their massive
passing attack and will look to shred the Broncos through the air.
The
top rusher this season is Leon Wright-Jackson, who has gained 149 yards on the
season and sports a 5.7 average.
Greg Salas, with 42 catches for 791 yards (18.8 avg.) and five touchdowns, is
one of the top receivers in the country. Kealoha Pilares (41 receptions
for 369 yards and one TD) will also challenge the Bronco secondary.
Blaze Soares and Spencer Smith lead the defense with 48 tackles each while R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane has 39. Corey Paredes leads the Rainbow Warriors with three
sacks while Mana Silva has three interceptions.
Hawaii
’s
Gem
State
Connection:
- Head Coach Greg McMackin was the defensive Coordinator at the
University
of
Idaho
from 1976-1978.
Warriors
Stadium Info:
- Aloha Stadium, located west of
Honolulu
, was intended as a replacement of
Honolulu Stadium and currently seats 50,000 people. The stadium was
originally built 34 years ago, hosting its first game to Texas A&M on
Sept. 13, 1975
. In 2008, the state of
Hawaii
approved a 185 million dollar
refurbish of the stadium. Aloha Stadium is home of the NFL Pro Bowl,
NCAA Hula Bowl and Hawaii Bowl and it's playing grounds are surfaced with
FieldTurf.
Hawaii
Coach Greg McMackin Quotes:
(Courtesy of
www.hawaiiathletics.com)
On
losing four straight games…
- It’s
tough. In our business, you don’t want to lose one straight. It’s
frustrating, but the thing is, you’ve got to move on. The players’
efforts were very good throughout the game. As a team, we have some
problems that we have to solve. We have to finish on offense; we had
two dropped balls in the end zone. On defense, we have to start making
plays.
- There
are some things we have to get consistent with. I’m going to focus on
the positives and as for the negatives; we’ve got to improve on. We
really focused on red zones last week on both sides of the ball and we need
to focus more. We really focused on third down, especially defensively.
On
defensive miscues…
- Guys
don’t screw up because they’re stupid. They know what they’re
doing. It comes from the heart. No one goes out there and tries to
mess up. Because we are so new, next year we’ll be able to open it up
a little more. All the injured guys and redshirt guys are going to be
back. We need to do a sound job of coaching right now. That’s
what happens, especially when you’re behind. When you’re ahead,
it’s easier to keep your discipline. Defense is completely about
being disciplined and then going to help your buddy to make a play. We
have to do a better job of coaching that.
- This
is the seventh game and we’re still working at it. Sometimes you get
different players and they get their chance.… I know, in my heart, guys
don’t make mistakes and go out there to play their own game. I know
my players, I love my players. They’re great human beings and great
kids. They’re just trying to make plays, but they’re not doing it
at the right point in time. They’re guessing. We need to be more
disciplined.
On this week’s
opponent,
Boise
State…
- They
have an excellent coaching staff. I’ve looked at a lot of their film,
they’re very well coached. You don’t see a lot of the guys going
into the pros, but they very well coached. The players play very hard. They
have a system that they believe in. I think the players really believe
in the program. Because of the bowl games, they do a good job of
recruiting; it’s getting to be more national. I think they do a great
job. I think they have excellent players and are a really good football
team.
On keys to success this
week…
- We’ve
got to move the football. We’ve got to get some turnovers to get the
offense on the football field…we’ve got to move the ball and finish. We’ve
got to get in the end zone and defensively we’ve got to stop somebody. The
kicking team has to keep the field position. The game hasn’t changed. To
beat
Boise
State
, they’re really a sound football
team; we have to play a sound football game.
Hawaii
2009 Season Results (before
Boise
State
):
Hawaii
2009 Remaining Schedule (after
Boise
State
):
Hawaii
2009 Combined Team Stats:
|
RECORD:
|
OVERALL
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
|
ALL
GAMES
|
(2-4)
|
(1-1)
|
(1-3)
|
(0-0)
|
|
CONFERENCE
|
(0-3)
|
(0-1)
|
(0-2)
|
(0-0)
|
|
NON-CONFERENCE
|
(2-1)
|
(1-0)
|
(1-1)
|
(0-0)
|
|
TEAM
STATISTICS
|
UH
|
OPP
|
|
FIRST
DOWNS
|
124
|
136
|
|
Rushing
|
26
|
69
|
|
Passing
|
91
|
61
|
|
Penalty
|
7
|
6
|
|
RUSHING
YARDAGE
|
431
|
1203
|
|
Rushing Attempts
|
127
|
255
|
|
Average Per Rush
|
3.4
|
4.7
|
|
Average Per Game
|
71.8
|
200.5
|
|
TD’s Rushing
|
5
|
17
|
|
PASSING
YARDAGE
|
2228
|
1231
|
|
Comp-Att-Int
|
159-259-7
|
109-168-5
|
|
Average Per Pass
|
8.6
|
7.3
|
|
Average Per Catch
|
14.0
|
11.3
|
|
Average Per Game
|
371.3
|
205.2
|
|
TD’s Passing
|
12
|
7
|
|
TOTAL
OFFENSE
|
2659
|
2434
|
|
Average Per Play
|
6.9
|
5.8
|
|
Average Per Game
|
443.2
|
405.7
|
|
KICK
RETURNS: #-Yards
|
32-726
|
23-432
|
|
PUNT
RETURNS: #-Yards
|
15-128
|
2-8
|
|
INT
RETURNS: #-Yards
|
5-22
|
7-3
|
|
FUMBLES-LOST
|
17-10
|
14-8
|
|
PENALTIES-Yards
|
33-260
|
30-259
|
|
PUNTS-AVG
|
16-38.2
|
21-41.4
|
|
TIME
OF POSSESSION/Game
|
27:44
|
32:16
|
|
3RD-DOWN
Conversions
|
35/69
|
41/79
|
|
4TH-DOWN
Conversions
|
1/7
|
7/9
|
|
Score
by quarters
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
Total
|
|
Hawai’i
|
46
|
37
|
10
|
49
|
142
|
|
Opponents
|
49
|
37
|
49
|
43
|
178
|
