Back to the grind
The UH coaches were back in their offices early this morning, studying video of last night’s 41-38 loss to UNLV and all those missed opportunities.
In any fight, it’s the early blows that can set the psychological tone. The Warriors whiffed when they got zero points following Paul Harris’ 75-yard kickoff return.
Head coach Nick Rolovich said he will address the lack of crispness in the pre-game rituals. He said he noticed the Warriors were not in sync during that segment, and he feared a carryover into the opening quarter. That proved to be perceptive and prophetic.
Rolovich said that too often receivers tried to catch passes with their body instead of only their hands. That led to several key drops.
On defense, the Warriors just couldn’t get off blocks consistently, nor make enough third-down stops. The Rebels converted on 62.5 percent of their third-down plays. A miscommunication led to a player becoming the 12th defender on the field.
The players have the day off today. The coaches will work into the night.
Good morning Tsaikos…
Aiyaaaahhh…tough and frustrating loss last night. But, we cannot dwell on it. Fix the errors and move on. Like they say, if you don’t get back on the horse immediately , you’ll never get back on it.
I still think we’re headed in the right direction though.
GO WARRIORS!!!
Oh…and first…That hasn’t happened in a long time. LMAO
Glad Rolo is concerned about receivers trying to catch passes with their body instead of their hand– it has been a pet peeve of several fans. You have to reach out and grab the ball instead of waiting for it to come to your body or (1) a defender will reach and grab it or knock it down before it reaches your body, or (2) you will juggle the ball and that can result in a “lack of possession” incompletion or a drop. Or the worst case, the receiver gets called for interference as the DB reaches and grabs the ball first.
Why wasn’t Collie pulled after those dropped passes? He dropped them under Chow.
If the defense plays like that next week, we will be looking at a repeat of last year against AF.
Frustrating, disappointing loss last night. Looks like the Warriors’ failure to stop an option running attack is a continuing trend, so what does coach Lempa plan for the upcoming games v Air Force and New Mexico? And how do you get Dru to stop holding the ball in one hand and swinging his arm when running? Seems to be another continuing problem.
So, what was the attendance of the game last night?
Brown does not have an interception since starting but doesn’t he have a fumble/turnover a game since starting? Last night they scored off the fumble. Can’t remember if his other fumbles resulted in scores.
Exciting yes, careless absolutely. If he keeps this up, qb competition may occur at the start of next season.
Attendance:: 31,287
TURNSTILE ATTENDANCE: 28,729
Yes there were bad calls, but if the team can’t consistently stop our opponents on defense then the offense can’t continue to shoot thenselves in the foot. Dru not throwing away the ball when the play broke down and getting sacked after a great opening kickoff return by Paul Harris, that really set the tone of the game and killed all the momentnum that filled Aloha Stadium. Also Dru’s fumble issues continues as he has a fumble in every game he has played in. We had the ball with 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter, score tied 38-38, and he fumbles in our own territory. We had this game, I envisioned us marching down the field and kicking a field goal or scoring a touchdown as time expired. We gave UNLV this game. I still believe this team has the right coach and we are moving in the right direction but with that being said, we should have won this game. This loss stings and severely hurts our chances of winning the division and making a bowl game. Just my two cents.
The attendance was good. The fans at Aloha Stadium were into the game. The coach and players appear committed to and capable of improvement. I appreciate their achievements and continued efforts. I am glad Coach Rolovich has plenty of experience with high altitude games. It will be interesting to see how they prepare and compete.
“Attendance: 31,218 tickets issued and 28,729 turnstile” … http://hawaiiathletics.com/sports/2016/10/16/post-game-notes-vs-unlv.aspx
Must agree with the number one poster, (Jesse) James. “I still think we’re headed in the right direction though.”
We are playing much better overall and exceeding what was expected of us at the beginning of the season. Patience with the process is important. The Warriors have learned to win, they need to learn consistency and perseverance.
I have faith in the Warriors and the coaches.
We have found the enemy! UH team themselves. It wasn’t pretty. Collie dropped on, Kemp dropped one, Barker dropped a long one. Sh**** happens. It is what it is on defense. Not a single takeaway last night. When you give up that many yards and that many points it’s hard to win a game, any game. Our offense is good enough to score enough points, but the untimely plays hurt. You can go through all the missed opportunities and all of them hurt. I would have liked to see John Ursua get the ball more, both in the passing and run game. He’s terrific in the open area and on the perimeter. Use him on sweeps and reverses and let him get some yards. Get him the ball in the flat and let him run. This illegal block in the back and holding on returns is killing some good returns.
The recruiting should be on defense. We have to do a much better job on the stopping the run, especially the front seven. We miss Kennedy, but he ain’t here. I shudder to think what Air Force is going to do this week. Last year they torched us for over 400 yards rushing. We can’t stop anybody, so we might as well try to outscore them. The idea is to try to score at least 48 points and hopefully we can win the game. Hey, that’s only 12 points per quarter, right? When you get a 75 yards KO return to open the game and don’t get any points that was the killer right there and the tone of the game changed right there. If it was me, the first play after the kickoff to the UNLV 25, I would have thrown the ball in the end zone to Kemp instead of running up the middle. Go for the juggular. Come on, man!
It was good to be a part of the big crowd at Aloha Stadium last night. There were glimmers of the old days and the atmosphere of excitement.
There were several important individual moments when we had the opportunity to make a big play but it did not happen. This seemed different from the last two games when players stepped up and made the big play at the big moment.
It feels to me that there is still a lingering hangover from four years of chronic losses and futility. A lack of belief that we will prevail and win the game. We could easily have won this game. UNLV played well but they are not a great team. Our defensive performance felt like the days of old when we all watched the futility, knowing we could not stop the opposition.
I got nervous when a penalty reversed UNLV’s long return after Dru Brown’s fumble. This created the possibility of UNLV runnning out the clock before scoring and not allowing our offense enough time to score in return. The way our defence was playing I would have felt more confident if UNLV had scored and given the ball back to our offense with two plus minutes left. At least we could have played for the tie and overtime. UNLV played this strategy very well. They ran the ball and drained the clock.
Even with the short amount of time left at the end of the game Brown missed a wide open Marcus Kent 25 or 30 yards downfield and Dylan Collie dropped a long pass that hit him in the hands. It just felt that we do not yet believe we are going to win. It still feels like we have not fully exorcised the losing mentality that we developed over the last four years.
I just hope the fans return again two Saturdays from now. It makes such a difference to have a good crowd. If we can win at Air Force I think they will return. But that is a big task. If we lose I dunno.
Offense has a promising future. Reconditioning fundimentals will take time, but important. Dropped passes were killers. Defense lacks a dynamic line and killer dbs. Tavai and Henderson are prime leaders for the future of this defense. Should be fine for now if defense plays their assignments. I think we can all agree that the refs were sloppy on all sides of the ball.
UH fans don’t give up on this team. Coach Rolos guidance will lead us to a championship(or more) within 5 years. Touching up on some issues. Let’s get Paul Harris and Laka more touches. Rotate the RB’s cause Diocemy is struggling. Harris impressed me with his hunger since he lost the starting spot. Sunshine Dru is a young quarterback, but I’d suggest enforcing discipline during practice and sitting him out for a little. He needs to feel like holding the ball like a Punaluu sweetloaf will lose him a spot in the starting lineup. And again receivers need to build new habits by catching the ball with their hands. Even Kemp. I’d like him to succeed in the next level and making plays with his hands will evolve him instantly into a better WR.
When you can’t stop the run 5 things are going to happen.
1) The opponent will control the clock, and time of possesion.
2) Our defense will get tired, physically and mentally.
3) We can’t score without the ball.
4) When we do get the ball, the pressure is on our offense to sustain and keep the ball to hoefully score and rest our defense.
5) We end up losing.
When it comes down to it, we have to get stops, period. Offenses today in college football are very efficient. Just look at all the scoring every week. In the Mountain West, teams can score. There isn’t much defense except for Boise State and San Diego State. The early line for this week is Hawaii +17 1/2 at Air Force.
Let’s pray.
Yes, the game was a gut hurting loss. And yet, after years of watching the games in silence and feeling frustrated, the team has brought excitement back to Saturday night under the lights. Don’t forget that just 12 months ago, the miniscule crowd would only get excited when Scott Harding punted, and prayed the team would score two TD’s to get the free tacos.
Under Coach Rolo, the offense scores in bunches. Last night, the stadium was rocking. The rumbling wave was exciting. The cell phone “starlights” in the crowd were awesome. It was a great experience.
Sure, Coach Rolo and his staff still have a large task ahead of them. They have to instill “believe” into every team member. With our offense, 56 seconds is more than ample time to score. The team must believe it is a routine task, as long as they execute.
I will continue to attend the games to experience the growth of Rolo’s team first hand. And I want the free tacos.
Even with the missed opportunities, the offense put up 38 points.
This loss is on the defense. They were bad overall. Obviously the Dru Brown fumble was very costly at the end, but UNLV manhandled UH’s D all night long.
Unfortunately, my fears of the D’s run of good form came largely because they played two inept offenses of Nevada and SJSU came true.
UH really needed a W Saturday for hopes of a bowl game this season. The next month is going to be a killers row of difficult offenses for the D. You have two potent option offenses at Air Force (at altitude), then New Mexico (which I think will be a shootout), then SDSU and the conference’s best player in Pumphrey, and then Boise (who will light up what’s left of the D after two weeks of chop blocking and SDSU pounding Pumphrey down UH’s throats).
Basically, I think UH will need to score 50+ to maybe get a W in the next 4 games.
From what I’ve seen in the past 3 games from Dru Brown led offense, UH can get 50 if they cut the mistakes.
Hope to see more exciting FB from the Bows
A little perspective is in order. Just remember how things were the last few years. GO BOWS!!!!
….and on the NFL front, How ‘Bout Dem Cowboys!”
Chicken Grease “Are you kidding? This is AWESOME. By the people for the people. Local TV at its best and the way it should be. Getting really tired of hearing the likes of Kanoa and/or Kekaula (who I can barely understand when he play-by-plays; and I got Bose speakers here) doing Hawaii sports announcing.”
idk bruh. I look for more production value when I watch football on tv/live stream. UH needs to get this figured out quick because recruits don’t want to play for hawaii when the only exposure they’ll get is through some random’s pixelated cell phone video.
but good on him for being for the people and providing the game for all of us, because it’s obvious UH won’t.
I don’t know enough about football to speak authoritatively, but did anyone else feel UH squandered an opportunity to send the game into OT on its final possession?
Warriors had the ball at the 25 with 49 seconds left, and needed but 40 yards to get into Rigo’s range.
Yet, they throw three successive 25-yard attempts, then can’t protect against a 3-man rush on fourth down.
UNLV aligned five defenders 10 yards off the line of scrimmage, but I still felt if UH could hit a few quick hitches under the coverage and rely on YAC to move the chains it might have been able to get into FG range even with time expiring.
Unlikely with no timeouts? Temple trailed UCF 25-20 when it took possession at its 30. They had no timeouts and 32 seconds on the clock.
QB threw under the coverage for gains of 20, 16, 26 and 8 — the final one into the EZ where former Warrior Keith Kirkwood made the catch with 1 second to play.
Seventy-yards in 31 seconds, and they didn’t even spike the ball. UH needed 40 yards in maybe 40 seconds to get into FG range, but instead wound up with negative 5 yards in four downs.
Apples and oranges? Post-game second-guessing? No doubt, but I wonder if Rolo/Smith will attack the same way if a similar situation arises in the future.
OK, time to put this one to rest …
Did the Aussie OT commit de-commit? His name was previously listed on Scout’s recruiting list as a commit for Hawaii, but was not listed today when I checked.
Didn’t help that UNLV sported better uniforms than our own. Expected the rebels to have on that odd red and silver scheme that seems to only work for Ohio State.
Looks like Rolowicz is only a three-termer at best.
Welcome home, UH people.
Bleehhh… I hate to lose.
Dru Brown is not Colt Brennan and the receivers are not Leile, Stutz, Owens, Grice-Mullins and Bess…yet.
But the expectation of that is building…and I appreciate the efforts and this generation of future Hawaii stars.
Let’s go out and win a few more in a row.
I missed grabbing the lower rung of the bowl bandwagon ladder last night. I gotta aim higher for the second rung next game.
How do you fix just giving up?
This game felt like we won it the whole game except we didn’t.
Not a real big fan of the canon.
It comes off as sounding like a homage to bombs.
During the halftime show, people around me were complaining about the female vocalist’s rendition of Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For A Hero”, but I thought the off-key singing was artful. There is good bad singing and bad bad singing.
I’m disappointed with the loss, but I think Coach Rolovich has the program ahead of schedule. Most likely, we’ll get thumped at Colorado Springs, but I wholly expect Hawaii to squeak past New Mexico. And I will be there.
Clapping is back at Aloha Stadium.
I thought that their quarterback was the difference. Stood in the pocket and took some mean shots. Still got up to make plays. Was effective running the ball.
They stretched our d on the edge and their runningback had enough pop to hit the cracks for good yardage. We have been soft on the edge and still are. Their coaches schemed for this and it worked. Good coaching on their part. We just need to find players who can take this away. Need to find a JGW type who can seal the edge. Not going to happen against an offense like this with the DEs that we have.
I thought that our kick coverage team did a nice job. Timoteo looks to be solid at wide receiver. What can you say about players like Padello who just makes big plays?
Clyde … you are right on regarding that last drive. We kept yelling, “just take the short ones on the sideline!!!” Was really shaking my head on that last drive.
Also, while I am still convinced that Dru gives us the best chance, I wonder about his passing ability overall. Many of his passes seem to require the receivers to stop and either come back for it or attempt a jump ball against the db. I know some of that is by design, but not that often.
Obviously, by now I accept that Ewaliko must lack the ability to see time as a receiver. But why does Dylan “Drop-um” Collie get so many chances? That guy drops passes when they are needed the most. And that drop last night was in and out of his hands before he got hit (for those of you who will try to defend him).
I’d rather take my chances on a wide out who can stretch the field.
Nice timeout by Rolo when Kemp fumbled the ball. We got to keep the ball. Lucky.
I wonder if the coaches thought of scheming where both tight ends Torres and Unga were on the field at the same time. Run to set up pass to either as both have terrific hands, block well and appear to be able to get separation.
Timoteo is a very good receiver for a youngster. I agree, Collie drops too many untimely passes. Maybe we just ahead of ourselves after two wins and believed we were already there. Hopefully the loss is a teachable moment. The defense has to find ways to create pressure in passing situations without always having the blitz. Henderson is a terrific player. Very consistent.
Regroup, onward.
“I’m loving it” Bobby Curran and his side kick.
But I still scratch my head when he says, “Trips right”
or Trips left” What exactly is a “trips”? I tried to google
it but nary an explanation.
Their QB was the difference. His play took all the aggression out of our defense. His mobility seemed to get into the heads of the players and D coaches. Seemed like on blitzs too many people were worried about keeping the QB from getting outside. We rushed him hard but with a bit too much thought about their assignments. The Defense just couldn’t get him out of comfort zone. The QB deserves the lion share of credit for their victory.
I thought that our oline did a good job. Tough to run when they put up to 8 in the box. Our qbs happy feet also creates blocking problems for our linemen too. Perhaps things will get better in time. I don’t think that we can cure our qb of his ball security problem. He was holding the ball loose from the beginning of the game. I don’t recall seeing any coaches getting on him for that. It was just a matter of time before the fumble. Old habits are hard to break. Some times no can.
IPU Man,
Trips left or right is three receiver on one side.
Yes, this was a very frustrating loss. Even my 12-yr old said that he felt like crying.
BUT, I must say that the game was really exciting to watch. I got to scream and yell almost the whole time. Had the Warriors won (as we thought until 3 minutes left in the game), I don’t think I would make a big deal about the “shoulda, coulda, woulda’s”.
I do believe that this coaching staff is doing a good job. The players have the ability to do well, but just need to remained focused. I don’t believe that “talent” is all that it takes – It’s the drive and focus to do well that will make the players (as a team) do well.
I do look forward to all of the upcoming games – whether they win or lose. But, wins would be nicer (not to mention happier kids)!
Love Bobby Curan morning
show. But his Uh game announcing is horrible.
He Trips me out!!!
Trips???
UH OL and DL blocking are very simplistic “static” — always the same on offense, but it may be due to the play calling which could have been better — notice after a few offensive series, the same plays were called including the “dive” up the middle?
DL also “static”, lack of movement, trying to out muscle their assignment when it would not happen!! like the offense, up the middle/straight ahead blocking against opponents who were stronger and faster — I mentioned to MasaBoy during pre-game warm ups that UNLV line seemed to to slow of foot — however, in the game when the entire line moved left or right, they looked a lot faster and pushing aside UH DL
LBers were another story of looking for who had the ball and not finding him most of the time – credit to the QB who replaced the starter after 3 series – slick as heck hiding the ball from UH defenders — and with the entire OL moving right or left controlling the LOS, QB had multiple options to complete the play
what’s wrong with UH running the “sweep options”? why does UH OC refuse to call those plays? or, is it at the direction of Rolo???
very frustrating loss – – great emptiness — an not hopeful of a turn around at USAF or New Mexico
I too was very frustrated with the loss but some things to think about.
UNLV did not beat us, we did that to ourselves (with some help by the Zebras) that means all problems are fixable
Like many have mentioned, the ball movement has improved light years from previous coach
We all knew that this team is not very deep or stacked with talent. But have to respect the fight in them. This is Rolo’s first year, new offense and players that aren’t recruited to fit Rolo’s system.
Clearly there are many basic mistakes that are unacceptable (tackling, fumbles, dumb penalties etc) that keep repeating but I think Coach Rolo and Co will right the ship.
JJ spoiled us, many just expect there to be a magical turnaround season. We knew it would be a battle this should be no shocker. Rome was not built in a day!
Hey! I just got done from work. What’s happening in Las Vegas? They’re are saying that? The University of Hawaii football program should schedule Bishop Gorman, Hart High, Mater Dei High School, St. John Bosco or Las Vegas High. University of Hawaii football could get smashed by this High School in the mainland!. If they can’t beat any last place teams in any place!. This can really happen!. That’s is what going around in Las Vegas right now!
This was a simple case of the team feeling over-confident (not fired up) since we were heavy favorites to win–I admit as a fan, I was a little bit. The team took UNLV too lightly; since UNLV got crushed at SDSU the week before; and their freshmen QB was 2-12 for 10 yards passing? We also assumed Nevada and SJSU were stronger than UNLV based on their records the past few years. Emotion is a big part of the game; and the more fired up UNLV team won! The score should not have been that close at the end of the game.
The Warriors gave this away plain and simple-should ave been a +14 win-if we weren’t quite revved up to play it showed. UNLV did nothing special but take what was handed to them. Each and every unit and almost each and every player had a part in it. If they go back to the mentality they showed previously they can win every game except for one. Yep they can-distractions are a killer when your young inexperienced and short of talent in a couple of spots.The only thing left is effort and emotion…….so go gettem!!! Go Warriors!!!
Both Kavapalu and Faalele are not included in Scout’s master list of potential recruits nationally. UH recruit Kavapalu’s name may have been purged (along with Brown and Brownholtz) because his name is not on that list.
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