Did anyone really think these two football teams could perform an encore as exciting as what they put on display last November at Aloha Stadium?
Did anyone really think these two football teams could perform an encore as exciting as what they put on display last November at Aloha Stadium?
Well, maybe frustrating is a better word to use for the University of Massachusetts. This is two games in a row now — separated by nine months — where the Minutemen needed to live up to their name and keep it going for just about a minute more to come out on top against Hawaii.
If not for some very clutch plays from many different players, UH could’ve easily been the team looking for answers afterward … and on a very long voyage back home.
But the Rainbow Warriors prevailed again, this time 38-35 with a late rally, winning a season-opening nonconference road game for the first time since 1992.
It was far from perfect artistry, and we all know UMass isn’t exactly Alabama, or Boise State, or Nevada, or … well, you get the idea. But it’s a huge victory that provides yet another signal that UH’s resurgence under second-year head coach Nick Rolovich is for real.
This was “Week Zero” with only five college football games played ahead of Week One. For a few days at least, Hawaii is ahead of almost everyone else in the college football world.
The Rainbow Warriors needed every bit of resilience they could muster, every ounce of confidence and belief in each other to beat UMass. And that’s regardless of mistakes made earlier in a game that for quite a while looked like Hawaii was intent on frittering away.
Rolovich was almost equal parts happy and unhappy afterward. Almost — because while the Warriors looked sloppy quite often and they barely escaped, they unfailingly had each other’s backs and it made all the difference.
“I’m proud of our guys. They didn’t fold. There would’ve been a time last year where we might have folded in that game,” said Rolovich, who is now 8-7 as UH’s head coach. “We talk about the love and trust between one another and made just enough plays to win. There’s going to be plenty to clean up — penalties, a turnover.”
“A” turnover — as in just one … that’s improvement right there. Quarterback Dru Brown threw an interception on a ball he concedes he tried to force into a bad spot. However, Brown showed good judgment when he lost control of the ball twice and fell on it instead of trying to pick it up and run with it. That cost him dearly more than once last season, and it could have this time.
“Last year I played a little more backyard football,” Brown said. “With more experience you start to learn your limitations. You learn when to take risks.”
John Ursua, who caught 12 of Brown’s passes, accounted for more than two-thirds of UH’s 391 passing yards and more than half of its 503 yards of offense. If he ever was a secret, he is no longer.
But next week it could be someone else who puts up the big numbers.
“We have a surplus of receivers,” Brown said. “Our offense is made to distribute the ball.”
Offensive coordinator Brian Smith echoed that.
“We don’t want to be one-dimensional,” Smith said. “We were trying to spread it around, get the ball to multiple guys. John’s the kind of guy who can dominate like that. We also wanted to get Diocemy (Saint Juste) going.”
Saint Juste, the explosive senior running back, didn’t break any long runs. But he helped keep the UMass defense honest, grinding out some tough yards — 78 of them, on 23 bruising carries.
Defensive coordinator Legi Suiaunoa sounded a tone similar to that of Rolovich — happy with the win, but concerned by the large number of mistakes.
“A lot of self-inflicted wounds, not being able to get off the field on third down,” he said.
But the defense did make the big stops when needed. And linebacker Solomon Matautia’s interception of a tipped pass on UMass’s first possession set the stage for Hawaii’s first score of the season; Brown’s 29-yard run gave UH the early lead.
At that point, it looked like the Warriors would roll over the Minutemen. But they were nearly as resilient as Hawaii.
And in this game, like last year at home, UH needed every positive play it produced, big and small.
“Rolo stressed it a lot that we can’t just be warriors at home, but we have to secure games away from home, too. Camaraderie’s a big part of it,” Ursua said.
Then, when asked about shining bright on a night when the stage was not crowded, Ursua had this to say:
“That’s part of the joy of college football. Win some games early, and you become a target. We want that kind of pressure.