HONOLULU – In the week leading to Saturday’s 43-29 victory over Rice, Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich eliminated white rice from the Rainbow Warriors’ training-table meals.
“You know how guys love their rice,” UH quarterback Cole McDonald said. “He was feeding us noodles. I was like, ‘What’s up with this?’ I realized, we’re playing Rice and he didn’t give us rice. That was a funny deal.”
The Warriors turned to other staples — an enterprising defense and change-of-pace running game — to win for the third time in as many weeks. The Warriors’ 3-0 record is their best start since 2007.
“The defense kept us in that football game,” Rolovich said. “This team played hard.”
McDonald was 22-for-33 for 319 yards and four touchdowns. He has yet to throw an interception in his two-season UH career.
“I wasn’t doing a very good job,” McDonald said. “I think it was our worst game offensively, and we still scored (43) points.”
Through most of this season, the passing game has fueled the Warriors’ run-and-shoot offense, which is averaging 48.3 points per game. Right wideout JoJo Ward and slotbacks John Ursua and Cedric Byrd have been putting up video-game numbers. On Saturday, left wideout Marcus Armstrong-Brown joined the production line, with a spinning 14-yard scoring play.
But when Rice made pushes — closing to 21-13 on the opening drive of the third quarter and 36-29 with 1:48 to play — it was Fred Holly who responded. Holly’s 5-yard scoring run, when he went left after McDonald faked a keeper to the right, gave the Warriors a 28-13 lead.
And on UH’s final possession, Holly accepted a handoff on an inside-zone play. The UH linemen formed a wave to the left. A linebacker slid in that direction.
“I pressed it that way,” Holly recalled, “and made the cutback because he was already too far (to the left). It was kind of too late.”
Holly raced 46 yards to end the scoring.
“I took what the defense gave me,” said Holly, a third-year sophomore who netted 100 rushing yards.
It was the Warriors’ defense that took away several Rice opportunities. Of the Owls’ 12 full possessions, four resulted in punts, two on fourth-down stops (including one inches from the goal line), a lost fumble and a game-ending interception.
With UH leading 21-13 in the third quarter, linebacker Penei Pavihi forced the football free from running back Austin Walter. Earlier, UH failed to secure a Rice fumble. This time, defensive end Zeno Choi grabbed the football.
“I could have picked it up and run,” Choi said, “but I felt falling on it would have secured it better.”
UH defensive coordinator Corey Batoon said Pavihi got the correct angle on Walter. “He did a nice job of reading, timing it, and making the play,” Batoon said.
In the fourth quarter, the Owls advanced to the UH 1. On fourth down, 5-foot-11, 232-pound running back Emmanuel Esukpa took the handoff and ran into streetcars named Solomon Matautia and Jahlani Tavai for no gain. Matautia forced his way into the backfield.
“He was able to knife in there and split the kick-out block and get to the legs of the running back,” Batoon said.
Matautia said: “We’re all doing our jobs. We practiced hard all week. Scout team gave us a good look. We saw what they did. All we had to do was respond.”
The Warriors sealed the outcome with cornerback Zach Wilson’s leaping interception.
“We played well in spurts,” Batoon said. “We have to continue to try to put a full game together. … A couple of those fourth-down stops, turnovers, you can see glimpses of what the potential is. But we need to keep grinding because the schedule doesn’t get any easier.”
The Warriors appeared to be unstoppable in the first quarter. For the third consecutive game, they scored on their opening drive. This time, it was a 5-yard pass from McDonald to Ursua on a slant. It was a familiar call. Ursua ran that same route on the previous two plays.
On their next drive, McDonald was perfect on five throws — the last was a 10-yarder to Byrd in the left corner of the end zone on a flag route.
But then the Owls began to adjust their coverage. Off a three-man front, they hinted at blitzes. But that was mostly a bluff, as they filled the second and third levels with eight defenders. The layered speed bumps encouraged the Warriors to turn to Holly.
“They were dropping eight,” McDonald said. “They showed us something different. It slowed our tempo down.”
The biggest setback came after the Warriors’ goal-line stand. In what was widely described as a miscommunication, McDonald handed off to Holly, who was tackled for a safety. “We screwed up, which was my fault,” Rolovich said.
But redemption came later in the fourth quarter. On second-and-10 from the UH 1, McDonald threw a hitch pass to Ward on the right side. “I saw the defender inside and I tried to get outside,” Ward said. “They actually took me outside, and I saw a bunch of green turf. I tried to get to the end zone, but I couldn’t get there.”
Ward managed 63 yards, setting up Byrd’s 26-yard scoring catch. McDonald then scooted into the end zone for a 2-point play and 36-22 lead.
“You can’t complain about a win, but we’ve got a lot of stuff to work on,” Rolovich said.
Asked if he was enthused about the 3-0 start, McDonald said: “No. Right now in my eyes, we’re 0-0. It doesn’t matter. We still have a bunch more games to play and a bunch more games to win.”
The Warriors still managed to find a way to savor the victory.
“(Rolovich) put shoyu packs (in the lockers) because he didn’t let us eat rice all week,” Ursua said. “At least we can get some shoyu on the rice.”