TLOS Preview: #20 Hawai’i

By Richard Rice
Love of Sports Correspondent

(Starting August 1st, The Love of Sports will be featuring one college football program each day, breaking down their offense, defense and - most importantly - their food, beverage, cheerleaders, tailgating prowess and all-around campus life! That’s because those are the things we value here the most. College football is all about the atmosphere, and that’s exactly what we’ll give you all season long!)

Today’s Preview: Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors

TLOS Ranking: #21
TLOS Prediction: 8-5
2007 Record: 12-1

Coming off their best season in school history, the University of Hawai’i looks to be a completely different team then the one that went (12-0) in the regular season as they made it to the first BCS bowl game in school history.

Not only did the Rainbow Warriors lose their head coach, June Jones, to SMU, but they also lost their best player, quarterback Colt Brennan, who was drafted by the Washington Redskins. Hawai’i also loses 14 starters from last year’s team, returning only four starters on offense and four on defense. First year head coach Greg McMackin will have his work to do if they’re to make it back to a bowl game.

Offense

Obviously, with the departure of a Heisman caliber QB in Brennan, it’s a safe bet the quarterback position will not be as productive in 2008 as it has been in recent years with Brennan and Timmy Chang at the helm before him. Tyler Graunke, a senior, was to be the starter, but had some personal issues and left the team last week. That leaves the team in the hands of junior Inoke Funaki and Junior College transfers Greg Alexander and Brent Rausch, all of whom are vastly inexperienced. Nebraska transfer running back Leon Wright-Jackson, who started four games last year and averaged 6.6 yards per carry in limited duty, should be the starter in the backfield. The wide receiving corps won’t be as experienced as in years past, either, after all four starting receivers left the team after last season. However, expect Malcolm Lane, Michael Washington and Daniel Lofton, among others, to again put up huge numbers in the passing game. Hawai’i has three returning starters on the offensive line, and this unit will make or break their season for the offense. If the incoming starters are able to work together, then they could have a decent year as the QB and RBs will have more time to create plays.

Defense

The defense is loaded with upper-classmen. They may be inexperienced, but should be pretty good. The loss of three starters on the D-line, including first-team All-WAC defensive tackle Michael Lafaele, will be difficult for Hawai’i to overcome. But David Veikune, who was a backup and was still named to the first team All-WAC team last year with seven sacks, will be the anchor for the line in ‘08. The linebacking corps will be perhaps the best unit on the team. Leading the charge is perhaps the coolest name in sports, junior Blaze Soares. (How could you not root for a guy named Blaze?) The only returning starter in the secondary fwill be senior SS Keao Montelih, so this unit would appear to need help and to be “coached up” if they’re to contend on defense.

Season Outlook

With so many new starters coming in this season, it would be nearly impossible for Hawai’i to duplicate what they did last season: an undefeated regular season and a BCS bowl trip. Their non-conference schedule is tough having to play at Florida and at Oregon State early. However, with their WAC schedule and what should be another high-octane offense, I think the Rainbow Warriors will be at least bowl eligible, but most likely not win the WAC again. Seven wins and a second straight bowl game is do-able, but with so many new starters and a new head coach, I wouldn’t be surprised if they only win four or five.

Stadium

Aloha Stadium’s the largest and most versatile and fan-friendly stadium in all of Hawai’i. The 50,000-seat facility was opened on September 12th, 1975 and has an air film cushion movement system that makes it possible to move four 7,000-seat sections of the stands into three different configurations: a traditional diamond for baseball (doubling as a wide rectangle for soccer), an oval for football and a triangle for concerts.

Schedule

After last season’s undefeated regular season, Hawai’i won’t be sneaking up on anybody. They open the season August 30th at Florida. After that likely beating, they’ll play at Oregon State on September 13th and finish the season against Cincinnati on December 6th. In the middle of the season they face a tough four-game stretch from October 4th-25th when they play at Fresno State, at home against Louisiana Tech, at Boise State, then vs. Nevada. Even in the WAC there will be few, if any, sure wins for the Warriors in 2008.

Homecoming Game: October 11th vs. Louisiana Tech

Biggest Game: October 25th vs. Nevada Wolfpack - A last second field goal last season helped Hawai’i stay undefeated in the regular season, as the Warriors slipped past the Wolfpack 28-26. This year, you can bet Nevada will be looking to return the favor.

School Atmosphere

Tailgating: All around Aloha Stadium there’s plenty of room to park and party in the glorious Hawai’i sun. It’s an open parking area, so have at it.

Delicacy of Choice: Don’t really know, but if they’re like the Hawai’ians on TV, then they’re probably grilling entire pigs and eating a ton of Spam.

Females: I’ve never been myself, but I would have to guess Hawai’i has hot girls lined up as far as the eye can see. Eat your heart out Ball State.

Shameless Cheerleader Pics

Famous Alumni

--Beau Bridges, Actor
--Jason Elam, NFL kicker
--Hiram Fong, First member of U.S. Senate of Chinese ancestry
--Bette Midler, Singer/actress

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