Hawaii Warriors vs UNLV Rebels

September 20th, 2009 kNuke Posted in NCAA Football | 1 Comment »

The UNLV Rebels defeated the Hawaii Warriors 34-33 in dramatic fashion. A 15-yard TD pass from Omar Clayton to Phillip Payne with 36 seconds remaining in the game was the difference. It was an exciting end to an exciting game on an exciting college football Saturday.

Offense: Greg Alexander was 31-48 for a career best 477 yards and 3 TDs with 1 INT. He will definitely be in consideration for a second consecutive WAC player of the week honor. Rodney Bradley was Hawaii’s best WR with 8 catches for 189 yards and a TD. Greg Salas was solid again with 6 catches for 104 yards and 2 TDs. Kealoha Pilares posted 13 catches for 146 yards.

The offense played well enough to win, but they did leave points on the field in the 1st quarter. Alexander looked comfortable again in the offense, but some of his throws were a little off; especially to Bradley. The offensive line play has been really encouraging as they provided Alexander adequate protection, allowing only 2 sacks. Things are starting to click for the offense, they should be fun to watch the rest of the way.

Defense: The talent on the defensive side of the ball finally caught up to the Warriors. The defensive line again provided no pass rush and the secondary was picked apart to the tune of 340 yards. They did intercept 2 passes, but there were too many missed tackles and not enough stops.

Special Teams: You have to be sound in the kicking game… Enos nailed a 47-yard FG and made a 20-yard FG, but missed a 31-yard chip shot, which would have been huge. Royce Pollard had one nice kickoff return, but Pilares should not be on the kickoff return team. And I’m stilling waiting for a decent punt.

Coaching: The offensive play calling was suspect at times, but it’s hard to argue with 33 points; I would have gone for it on the first 2 drives instead of kicking FGs though. The defensive play calling was soft; it seemed like Hawaii was too afraid of the big play. The bend but don’t break philosophy is nice, but there are times to take risks. Those times were in the 2nd half as UNLV was unstoppable. Hawaii is going to have to take risks with some blitzes to create confusion and get pressure on the QB.

Final Word: Tough loss for the Warriors in their first real test of the season.

Helmet Stickers:
Greg Alexander – 477 yards, 3 TDs
Rodney Bradley – 189 yards, TD
* Greg Salas would have made the list if he didn’t drop that pass on the last drive.