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Where: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawai'i
When: Saturday, August 30, 2014
7:30 pm Pacific
TV Schedule: CBS Sports Network (DirecTV Ch. 221)
Carter Blackburn (play-by-play), Aaron Taylor (analyst), Jamie Ehrdahl (sidelines)
Radio: KOMO AM-1000, FM 97.7, Sirius 113, XM 198
Game-Week Previews: Hawai'i Preview Story Stream (Everything you'll need to see
before you watch the game.)
History
Not exactly the most frequent of match ups, the Huskies and Rainbow Warriors have faced off for a grand total of 4 times. The two teams have split this series at 2 and 2.The first meeting between the teams happened in the 1937 Pineapple Bowl. The Huskies dominated this game 35-6, scoring 26 points before Hawai'i got a first down ... Since planes weren't exactly the preferred method to get to Hawai'i at that time, the Dawgs rode a boat, for a week, to get there.
The most recent meeting between the two teams featured the Huskies playing in Hawai'i in 2007, against the mighty June Jones and his rugged, surfer-dude QB Colt Brennan. The Huskies, surprisingly, jumped out to an early lead, thanks to some key turnovers and some really sloppy play from the Warriors. The Dawgs went up 28-7, and promptly blew that lead, losing the game 35-28.
Numbers
1 - The number of games Hawai'i won last year
3.21 - UH's rushing average per rush
4.13 - UH's rushing average over the last 4 games of 2013 (per rush)
4 - The number of wins Norm Chow has since he started coaching in Hawai'i two years ago
6.8 - The number of times Hawai'i punted per game last season
7 - Hawai'i's (is that grammatically correct?) national ranking for punts per game ...
8 - Hawai'i's national rank in play's per game
12 - Number of starters UW returns
13 - Number of starters Hawaii returns
82.5 - Average plays per game for Hawai'i in 2013
90.7 - Average plays per game for Hawai'i in last three games of last year
2678 - Miles from Sea Tac to Honolulu (a 5.5 hr. Flight ...)
What They're Saying
No insults intended; this is really just some game week fun ... so have a laugh. These quotes were removed from any relevant context that would give them any logical sense .... These quotes are courtesy of SportsHawaiiDotCom
On the eventual outcome of the game ...
"We can win this game. It is a bit early to render a guess. But if I have to call it now, we win running away. 36-10." - Courtesy of UnBiasFan ...
My best guess is Hawaii is tired of losing. UH will play their best game. They will start and finish strong. They will use this first game to send a message that they are back to winning games. UH standoffage fans will be shocked beyond belief that they could play so well against a PAC12 team. I will post my prediction closer to gametime. Go Warriors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
UDUB will get better throughout the year, but in game one will not be on the same page. If ever a time to sneak up for a major upset, the time is now. Rainbow Warriors 31 - Huskies 24
This may be a low scoring game being that both offenses have their question marks at quarterback and changing their system. I think both teams will have their defense ready to go.
I'm hoping UH can pull this one off.![]()
UH-14
UW-10
Until reality hits, Hawaii, in my book, will win this game.
On Coach Petersen:
Petersen is not a micro-manager, in fact, that's part of the reason he struggled late in his time at Boise. Petersen goes out of his way to let his coaches coach. A noble approach, but a risky one. Boise lost so many GREAT assistants over the years (Harsin, Pease, Yates, Wilcox, etc.) that eventually, it is inevitable that you'll hire someone not as good as the previous assistant. Robert Prince was a disaster OC for BSU, and secondary coach Jimmy Lake destroyed what was a great tradition built in the secondary at BSU by Marcel Yates. In the end, Petersen let his assistants do too much. It is no coincidence that Prince did not get to come with to Seattle. Petersen proved to be too loyal before he bolted.
The Washington fans expecting 2008-2011 Boise State type execution are going to be disappointed. They don't have the coaches that made BSU that effective in execution....in fact, they have the coaches that led BSU off the rails a bit.
On UW's Defensive Approach:
Keep an eye on the Husky secondary. They are replacing 3/4 starters in the secondary, may start a true freshman, and have a secondary coach who ruined a good thing with BSU's secondary. If you want to pick on someone in the defense, pick on them. They are going to zone UH to death and play 7-10 yards off the line of scrimmage.
Questions Needing Answers
Offense:
Will this be the start of a great season of pass protection from the offensive line ... or will their play continue to be abysmal? How will Jeff Lindquist fair in his first start at the college level? Which running back will have the most yards, carries? Which wide out will have the most receptions, yards, TDs?
Defense:
Can our front 7 dominate the beef of the Warrior O-Line? Who will get the first pick of the season? How many sacks will the D come up with? Is the O/U on the most blockers assigned to Danny Shelton fair at 3? What kind of impact will Budda Baker have?
Miscellaneous:
Will the players hydrate enough? Will there be a Hawai'i football team next year? Can Norm Chow double his total wins in one season? Will Coach Pete and his staff perform the Haka at some point during the game?
Conclusion
There's not a whole lot to say for this game, especially since the Hawai'i fans said just about everything. I expect a blowout as well, though not the kind that the Warrior fans were predicting. There's no getting around the fact that Hawai'i was just plain awful last year. They were at the bottom of the barrel in so many statistical categories last year, trying to give a modest representation of their deficiencies would be too-time consuming to put into this article.
Look for the Huskies to come out aggressive, and to show their dominance from the very beginning of the game. I expect some trick plays from Hawai'i, in hopes to keep this game close. It should just be an exercise of futility for the Warriors, however. They don't have the depth or the talent to compete with the Huskies; so, barring a cataclysmic event, like every starter getting hit with dysentery minutes before the game, this should be a great warm-up game for the Huskies.
More Info
Gameday Dots
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Here's the Hawai'i section at the Mountain West Connection, with their articles previewing the game.
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This is the AP game preview, courtesy of CBS Sports. 99.99% of this article is dedicated to Coach Pete and the QB battle, while the author saves a few lines at the bottom to talk a little Hawai'i football.
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A good read from the Hawai'i Tribune Herald. It details the reunion of some fellow Hawai'i high school football products (Psalm Wooching and Shane Brostek).
Vegas Odds
The Huskies are 17 point favorites in the game and the over/under on the game is 56, courtesy of VegasInsider. Take the over on this one (... I should probably point out that I've never gambled a day in my life ...)
Gamethread
Come on over to the game thread to have a little bit of jovial banter with fellow Dawg fans, and the occasional troll. You'll be happy you did. It opens up a half hour or so before kickoff.