PonyFans.com preview: HAWAII

[PonyPride]

The SMU football team seeks its first Western Athletic Conference victory - and its first win of the season - when the Mustangs travel to Honolulu for a late Saturday game against the Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii (2-1 overall, 1-0 WAC). The game kicks off at 11 p.m. Dallas time, and can be heard on KTCK-1310 (AM).

The Rainbow Warriors, who opened the WAC portion of their schedule by thumping UTEP, 31-6, in El Paso Saturday, are a potent offensive team, scoring a whopping 41.3 points per game through their first three games. The average is boosted by the 61 points they put up in their season-opening 61-36 romp over Eastern Illinois.

Hawaii no longer has quarterback Tim Rolovich, who threw for 8 touchdowns in his final college game last year, or star wide receiver Ashley Lelie, who now is a rookie with the Denver Broncos.

So head coach this year turned the team back over to quarterback Timmy Chang, who two years ago was heralded as perhaps the best recruit in Hawaii history. But against UTEP, Chang (6-foot-2, 191 pounds) struggled, completing 9-of-27 passes for a career-low 85 yards and a touchdown. He was replaced by backup Shawn Withy-Allen, who rushed six times for 67 yards and a touchdown, and completed 5-of-10 passes for 89 yards and two more scores, while leading the UH offense to a season-LOW output of 389 total yards.

While Hawaii has outscored its opponents by an average of 41.3-25.7, the statistics are not always so lopsided. UH opponents have 75 first downs through three games, compared to Hawaii's 61. Opponents also are out-rushing the Rainbow Warriors by a slight margin, 146 yards per game compared to 140.3 yards per game for the UH ground game. Mike Bass is Hawaii's top rusher, averaging 48.7 yards per game.

Of course, Hawaii's strength is in the air, where Jones, a former NFL quarterback and coach, employs a pass-first approach; the Warriors average 44 pass attempts per game, and have thrown for 327 yards per contest.

The top receiving targets are Chad Owens, who has 12 catches for 131 yards through three games, and Justin Colbert and Clifton Herbert, who have nine receptions each. Colbert has two scores, and Herbert one.

The offensive line is led by guard Vince Manuwai, a 6-2, 309-pound senior from Honolulu who the UH athletic department is touting as an All-America candidate. Through three games, he has 10 pancake blocks.

The UH defense is led by cornerback Hyrum Peters (5-8, 188), who has a team-high 29 tackles through three games, and inside linebacker Chris Brown (6-1, 255), who has 28. Peters also has a team-high three interceptions.

[Big Easy Pony]

So does this mean we have to get the aerial game untracked and engage in a shootout with Hawaii? When Chang played a couple of years ago, people were saying he was going to be a star. Why did he lose his job to Rolovich last year? Performance problems or injury?

[Crusaders]

He (Chang, in my opinion was highly overrated. He has some skill, but NO confidence. At this point, I can honestly say that he's somewhat of a detriment to the team. Our third string quarterback, while not as physically talented, was more comfortable in the role. I'm not sure why Jones is going to stick with Chang, but he's apparently still the starter, which should make for an interesting game. With that said, anyone up for a shirt bet?

Crusaders
crusaders914@yahoo.com

[Corso]

Chang hurt his hand in Hawaii's preseason workouts when he banged it on a defender's helmet. Word out of Honolulu is that it still bothers him.

Shawn Withy-Allen is a much better runner than Chang, who prefers to stay in the pocket and throw all day.

[ProudPonyPa]

I had the opportunity to watch Chang play when he was in high school. I agree that he is good, but he is not the best recruit in recent Hawaii football by far. He played with the St. Louis Crusaders and was part of their 13 straight championships (may be more, by now), but it was the whole team that won. If we can get past their line, we can rough him up and get him rattled.

Garrett will be back on his game and with Rutledge will give Chang something to think about. I don't think our defense will be a problem.

[Pony4Life]

Hawaii usually has a massive o-line. Anyone know how the line is this year? Did they lose any senior linemen from last year?

[Dement-ed]

They have a lot of guys with Samoan names who are well over 300 pounds.

Good luck to Rich Phillips and Craig Swann pronouncing those names.

[WildHorse]

The Hitman from Quitman is going to have a heart attack trying to say those names. I hope he's studying up on the Hawaii roster already.

[rsnBG]

I'm a Hawaii fan just here to exchange a little info. To answer the question about O-line losses...Warriors lost 2, the center and left guard.

Last yr's starting LT, Lui Fuata (sr, 6'3", 313) moved to center. Wayne Hunter (jr, 6'6", 300) moved from DE/DT to LT. Shayne Kajioka (jr, 6'3", 315) moved into the LG slot. RG is Vince Manuwai (sr, 6'2", 309), and the RT is Uriah Moenoa (so, 6'4", 320).

So far, the O-line coach has not been satisfied with the performance, but he does have very high expectations. After 3 games, the line seems to be settling in.

I'll be at the game with wife. I like to watch the work on the D-line and O-line. Because the Warriors throw so much, this is where the game is usually decided. Do the Mustangs have any D-linemen who can put pressure on the QB? I'd like to watch the match-ups. Thanks for any replies.

[GrapevineMustang]

Thanks for the scoop, rsnBG! All five o-linemen are over 300? SOunds like a traditional wall of Hawaii blockers - huge.

The two best defensive linemen this year are the tackles, Lute Croy and Allan Adami. Neither is overly quick when rushing the passer, but they've been more effective than expected. Their role is more to collapse the pocket and occupy blockers, allowing the linebackers to run free to the ball, and they've done fairly well at that this year. Croy is probably the best run stuffer on the team, and Adami has spent much of the first four games in the opponents' backfield, with a few sacks and several tackles for losses. He's one of those brawling, high-energy guys who just keeps going until the final whistle on every play.

As much as I love the Mustangs, I don't think our defensive ends will give your tackles much trouble.

[Higher Authority]

How's the Hawaii run defense? If they're susceptible to the run, we should be able to hang with them. They'll throw, we'll run (and take time off the clock and allow our defense to rest).

SMU 24
Hawaii 17

[rsnBG]

Thanks for the reply, Grapevine. I'll see how it goes in the middle of the line.

I don't know if the question about the run defense was directed at me, but I'll try to answer it.

Last couple of years, it was pretty bad. First two games of this season, it wasn't great, but there were some bright moments. Last week, the Warriors shut down the UTEP running game which was gaining 200+ per game with their option attack (wonder what happened to Rice?). But, the Warrior DC put 8 and 9 in the box and UTEP couldn't pass.

I'm sure after looking at film, that your HC knows this. My guess is that the Mustangs will utilize a lot of play action with possession passes to your All-American TE.

I'm anxious to see how the Warrior D-line will fare against your O-line. Although we lost our best run-stopper in the season opener, his replacement (Sopoaga) really came on in the last game. Brown, the MLB, subluxed his shoulder against UTEP and won't be 100% if he plays. His backup (Kalilimoku)is pretty good, tho'. A little lighter (235 vs 255), but just as quick and maybe a little more instinctive...a hard hitter.

Where does SMU like to run? I'm thinking that they'll have a tough time between the tackles, but could do better off tackle because Hawaii's DE's get up the field pretty quick. You have some talented RB's, so it'll be interesting.

Interesting note...Hawaii does some weird things with time of possession. UTEP controlled the ball for about 38 minutes and lost by 25. Last year, Air Force ran for 500 yds and kept the ball for almost 40 minutes and lost by a bunch. Go figure.

Finally, SMU does have the best pair of CB's in the WAC. We could see that last year. But, this game may turn on how the nickel and dime backs do.

Hoping for a well played game with no injuries tomorrow.

[fbdad]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by rsnBG:
<B>Thanks for the reply, Grapevine. I'll see how it goes in the middle of the line.

I don't know if the question about the run defense was directed at me, but I'll try to answer it.

Last couple of years, it was pretty bad. First two games of this season, it wasn't great, but there were some bright moments. Last week, the Warriors shut down the UTEP running game which was gaining 200+ per game with their option attack (wonder what happened to Rice?). But, the Warrior DC put 8 and 9 in the box and UTEP couldn't pass.

I'm sure after looking at film, that your HC knows this. My guess is that the Mustangs will utilize a lot of play action with possession passes to your All-American TE.

I'm anxious to see how the Warrior D-line will fare against your O-line. Although we lost our best run-stopper in the season opener, his replacement (Sopoaga) really came on in the last game. Brown, the MLB, subluxed his shoulder against UTEP and won't be 100% if he plays. His backup (Kalilimoku)is pretty good, tho'. A little lighter (235 vs 255), but just as quick and maybe a little more instinctive...a hard hitter.

Where does SMU like to run? I'm thinking that they'll have a tough time between the tackles, but could do better off tackle because Hawaii's DE's get up the field pretty quick. You have some talented RB's, so it'll be interesting.

Interesting note...Hawaii does some weird things with time of possession. UTEP controlled the ball for about 38 minutes and lost by 25. Last year, Air Force ran for 500 yds and kept the ball for almost 40 minutes and lost by a bunch. Go figure.

Finally, SMU does have the best pair of CB's in the WAC. We could see that last year. But, this game may turn on how the nickel and dime backs do.

Hoping for a well played game with no injuries tomorrow.</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
After losing to Hawaii last year, we started using the nickel or dime package. The philosophy this year for whatever reason seems to not favor the nickel/dime package even though our defense improved when we implemented it last year. Lets hope we get it going again for the Hawaii game and make it a real contest.Good luck to all....