Want to know how the latest string of success, including a thrilling overtime win at Air Force last week, has affected the Rainbow Warriors? Look no further than upstart sophomore quarterback Dru Brown.
Want to know how the latest string of success, including a thrilling overtime win at Air Force last week, has affected the Rainbow Warriors? Look no further than upstart sophomore quarterback Dru Brown.
“There are certain people who say we only want three more wins. I’m like, nah, I want five more wins and then a bowl (game). I think that’s the mindset of myself and the team is starting to change,” Brown said. “It’s not so much I can’t wait to go to a bowl game, it’s that I want to win out.”
UH (4-4, 3-1 Mountain West) will look to continue its run against New Mexico today at 6 p.m at Aloha Stadium. A win would give the Warriors their most league victories in a single-season since joining the Mountain West in 2012 and their highest overall win total since 2010.
“New Mexico poses a bunch of challenges,” Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich said. “They have a bunch OVERSET FOLLOWS:of athletes and have done a great job recruiting.”
The Rainbow Warriors have won three of their last four, the lone blemish a stunning 41-38 home loss to UNLV where Hawaii were favorites. If getting to a bowl game and having a puncher’s chance at the Mountain West championship is the goal, Rolovich knows his ‘Bows need to continue the upward trend after the big road win.
“These guys know what they need to do,” Rolovich said. “We are not afraid to say it but if we get ahead of ourselves and put on a performance like we did against UNLV, it is going to make that dream go away pretty quick. We need to go game-by-game right now and just keep getting better.”
The team let Brown air it out last game against the Falcons. On the road, the sophomore went for a career-high 312 yards passing on 21 of 37 with three TDs. Two of those went to senior wide receiver Marcus Kemp in overtime to pull out the victory.
Kemp had a game high 151 yards, followed closely by Big Islander John Ursua, who had 108 and a touchdown. Ursua, who attended Kealakehe before transferring to a Cedar City High School in Utah, is second on the team with 26 catches for 365 yards this season.
While Ursua is just a redshirt freshman, Kemp has suffered through some down years with the UH program. Finally the senior pass-catcher has something to play for down the stretch.
“Being here for four years and not smelling a bowl game, it is definitely motivation to be this close,” he said. “We really feel like we can get there.”
New Mexico’s triple-option attack won’t be any cakewalk to stop. Fortunately, the Rainbow Warriors got some extra practice stopping a similar attack against Air Force last week.
“New Mexico runs very similar wishbone plays,” UH defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa said. “By playing against it last week, that prepared us for that portion of their offense, but they run a lot of different stuff.”
The Lobos (4-3, 2-1 MW) shook off a similar slow start to Hawaii. After starting 2-3 with losses to New Mexico State, Rutgers and Boise State, the team has won back-to-back contests against Air Force and UL Monroe.
Tyrone Owens and Teriyon Gipson lead the way for the Lobos punishing ground attack, which is averaging 374.1 per game — tops among DI programs. Owens leads the team in carries (88) and yards (687), while Gipson is averaging a ridiculous 13 yards per carry. The third head of the rushing attack, junior back Richard McQuarley, has a team-high 10 touchdowns.
One stat that pops out for New Mexico is the length of their scores. Owens and Gipson each have touchdowns greater than 80 yards this season, which is probably a good sign that the deception the triple option provides is working swimmingly.
“They have a bunch of guys that can go 80 yards if you give them a hole,” Rolovich said. “It will be about discipline on defense and formation identification will be huge with that zone-read option and triple option.”
NOTES: The game is dubbed “Military Night” and UH will honor the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor by recognizing the Varsity Victory Volunteers (VVV), primarily made up of UH ROTC students. The VVV included a pair of UH football legends and Circle of Honor inductees – Tommy Kaulukukui, who served as lieutenant, and Jyun “Curly” Hirota, one of 169 VVV members… The family of the late U.S. Congressman Mark Takai will serve as the game’s hon- orary captains. UH has been wearing a decal of his initials (KMT) on their helmets throughout the season…Linebacker Jahlani Tavai is the reigning MW Defensive Player of the Week, after tallying 13 tackles (10 solo), 2.5 TFL, a sack, and forced a fumble in the third quarter which led to a game-tying field goal…The Lobos have won the last six meetings in the series since 1993. Prior to that, UH had won nine straight in the series which began in 1964.