Hawaii Warriors vs Fresno State Bulldogs

October 5th, 2008 kNuke Posted in NCAA Football | No Comments »

The Hawaii Warriors defeated the 22nd ranked Fresno State Bulldogs on a Dan Kelly 33-yard field goal in Overtime.  This was the first ever Hawaii victory over a ranked opponent on the road.  Fresno State turned the ball over 6 times and missed 2 FGs.

This win puts Hawaii back in the bowl hunt.

Offense: Last week I used the word UGLY to describe the offense, this week I’ll use another word, PATHETIC.  The defense forced 6 turnovers and the offense was only able to muster 2 TDs.

Inoke Funaki was 17-25 for 170 yards with 2 TDs and led the team in rushing with 79 yards on 14 carries, but he is not the answer.  He made one good throw all game, the 28-yard TD pass to Malcolm Lane, but that was it.  I’ll give him credit for making plays with his feet, but he can’t move the offense.  If Tyler Graunke can’t play, it’s time for Brent Rausch or Greg Alexander.

It looked like Ron Lee tailored the offense a little bit more to Funaki’s strengths with rollouts and QB draws.  That’s a step in the right direction, but the guy seems incapable of making good in-game or halftime adjustments.  How long do you give an Offensive Coordinator before you decide he just doesn’t have what it takes?

Defense: The defense played solid again.  They were getting gashed with the runs, but forcing 6 turnovers more than makes up for that.  The front four still can’t get any pressure on the QB, but I doubt it’ll change at this point in the season.  Hawaii will just have to time their blitzes and hope for tipped passes and errant throws.  I am not a big fan of delayed blitzes and only outside blitzes, so I was glad to see some pressure brought up the middle.

Special Teams: Helmet Sticker to the Special Teams.  Punt coverage was solid, Kick coverage was solid, and only one penalty that I can recall.  Not to mention Dan Kelly’s 4 FGs, Antwan Mahaley’s FG block, and Ryan Mouton’s 90-yard kickoff return, which was #3 on ESPN’s Top Plays segment.  The only blemish was Kelly’s missed extra point, what was up with that?

Coaching: Hawaii won the game, but I feel that it’s in spite of the coaching, minus whoever coaches Special Teams.  The staff needs to get better at in-game and halftime adjustments.

Final Word: Hawaii’s bowl hopes are back alive.  The Offense sucked, but the Defense, Special Teams, and Lady Luck came up HUGE to propel Hawaii to an OT victory.

I had a feeling Hawaii was going to beat either Fresno State or Boise State this year.  Maybe they can beat both of them?