Keys For A Hawaii Win Over Rival UNLV
Warriors looking to top its rival
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What can Hawaii do to get the win?
Take a deep breath in…and let it out. The non-conference portion of the schedule is over and the Warriors sit at 2-3 entering conference play. Although they weren’t able to slay the Power five dragon in three tries, they are right where they are supposed to be. They showed improvement from last season against Vanderbilt, didn’t play to their full potential against a motivated Stanford team and got stomped by a really good Oregon team (did better than Colorado). Yes, the wins against Albany and New Mexico State left much to be desired, but as my second favorite street racer Dominic Torretto says, “It don’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Winning’s winning.”
Last week’s win against the Aggies was a tale of two halves. The important thing to me is that we played a better second half and we came away with the win. What I mean by that is the coaches made the necessary adjustments at the half and the players came out and executed after the break. The Warriors lost a lot of close games last season so for them to come from behind after playing possibly their worst half of football all season and get the win, it should be big for confidence going forward. You saw the reaction in the locker room after the game. This win meant a lot to the program.
The Warriors open conference play on the Road against a 3-1 UNLV team that has a notable victory over Vanderbilt. If you checked this one off as a win in your preseason predictions, you better check again. The Rebels are averaging 34 points per game with former UH assistant and current UNLV offensive coordinator Brennan Marion calling the plays. Marion is a creative offensive mind with innovative formations. It’s almost as if he should’ve been running the offense instead of Bo… I’ll stop there. The Rebels creative run game led to a program record tying four touchdown performance out of Jai’Den Thomas last week against Utep. In that game, Vincent Davis also contributed 97 yards on 13 attempts and Courtney Reese had 58 yards and a touchdown on only 6 attempts.
Almost showtime on the Ninth Island…#BRADDAHHOOD x #GoBows pic.twitter.com/471C5dp20A
— Hawaii Football (@HawaiiFootball) September 29, 2023
In total, the Rebels racked up 307 yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground. It is the strength of the offense and they will use the ground game to set up shots in the passing game. Doug Brumfield is the starting Quarterback for the Rebels, but he was knocked out of the Vanderbilt game and sat out last week against UTEP. Coach Odom has said that if he is healthy he will get the start. If Brumfield is unable to go, then former Kaimuki High School quarterback Jayden Maiava will get the start. Maiava filled in for Brumfield against Vanderbilt and played last week in his absence.
Jerrae Williams has been all over the field for the Rebels. The senior nickelback is leading the team with 7 TFLs, 3 sacks, an interception and he returned a fumble for a touchdown in the win against Vanderbilt. Linebacker Jackson Woodard leads the team in tackles and missed the second half of the Vanderbilt game after being ejected for targeting in the second quarter. The Rebels defense has given up big plays, but they have also made some of their own and have forced 9 turnovers on the season (6 INT, 3 fumbles recovered).
WEEK 5: Hawaii Warriors (2-3) vs. UNLV Rebels (3-1)
WHEN: Saturday, September 30 — 10:00 AM HT/1:00 PM PT
WHERE: Allegiant Stadium; Las Vegas, NV
WEATHER: Mostly cloudy and breezy, high of 81 degrees (note: game indoors)
TV: Spectrum Pay-Per-View (Hawaii only) and Silver State Sports and Entertainment Network (southern Nevada only)
STREAMING: For college football fans on the mainland, the game can only be streamed using the Team1Sports application. That is available for download on Android and Apple devices and over-the-top platforms like Roku and Amazon Fire. Please note that the game will not be available on desktops or laptops.
RADIO: The Hawaii broadcast can be found and streamed on ESPN Honolulu or the Sideline Hawaii app, which is available on Google and Apple). The UNLV broadcast can be found on ESPN 1100 AM and 100.9 FM.
SERIES RECORD: Hawaii leads the all-time series, 19-13. In the last meeting on November 19, 2022, the Warriors defeated the Rebels, 31-25, in Honolulu.
LAST GAME: Hawaii defeated New Mexico State at home, 20-17, while UNLV beat UTEP on the road, 48-20.
WEBSITES: HawaiiAthletics.com, the official Hawaii athletics website | UNLVRebels.com, the official UNLV athletics website
GAME NOTES (PDF): Hawaii | UNLV
ODDS: UNLV -11
SP+ PROJECTION: UNLV by 10.3
FEI PROJECTION: UNLV by 10.4
PARKER FLEMING PROJECTION: UNLV 84.69% win probability (36.36-21.01)
The Warriors defense has improved. It may not be easy to see and you may not want to admit it, but the facts are we are better on defense then we were a year ago. In last season’s loss to New Mexico State, the Aggies pounded the Warriors for 357 yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground alone. Last week the Warrior Defense held the Aggies to 335 total yards and 17 points. That was with the Offense doing little to nothing in the first half.
Saw Sauce Williams break out and go viral with his strip, scoop and scoot. We saw the defense ride the momentum of an awakening offense to pitch a second half shut out. When was the last time a Hawaii defense held the opponent scoreless in a half? The Bows have been tough on the defensive side of the ball and they’ll need them to step up again this week while the offense figures things out.
Offensively, the Bows need to pick up some early first downs so that they can get into a rhythm. Last week they weren’t able to find a groove in the first half because they hardly ran any plays. In the second half, they put together scoring drives of 8 plays, 11 plays (the game tying drive) and 11 plays (the game winning drive).
Historically, this has been a neutral site game with the Warrior fans making the pilgrimage to the 9th island. This year should be no different. I expect a competitive rivalry game and as always, Let’s go Bows!
