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| continued discussion of hawaii warriors and its quality
the 11-0 record discussion:
So hawaii has one of the worst strength of schedules, and critics talk up and down about the supposed blowout wins that became only close wins. The flaw in this statement is that critics dig deep enough to reveal the weak schedule and the close wins against weak teams but just stop there. But if you go that route then you also can say pretty much the same about USC and Oklahoma and Kansas? And although they don't have a weak schedule like Hawaii they also don't have an unbeaten record either. So it is a toss up, but critics are just quick to point out the weak wins and stop. They don't point out to the fact that LA Tech was the first road game of the season and Hawaii followed with a 49-14 win over UNLV. They don't point out that the SJSU game was played in one of the worst playing conditions ever for a FBS game. The wet conditions in the recent Steelers/Dolphins game held the total number of points to 3. And they don't point out the 37-30 Fresno win was because the main star of the offense just got hit with a potential season ending injury and that Hawaii scored 34 of its points it the first half. And the win against Nevada was with the back up qb. So my point is, if you want to scrutinize the record you have to look both ways and not just at the numbers. For example, to quote: Tulsa can gave up 700 yards of offense while producing only 541 yards...and win. Or that USC, Oregon, Oklahoma, Florida all had great upset losses because of injury, where as Hawaii avoided upsets because of injury and playing field. Or that Graham Harrell (who often gets put into the picture b/c his superior statistics) can throw for 397 but only 1 TD.
my bottom line is, there is a mood amongst all fans and critics to jump to the gun one of two sides:
good until proven bad
bad until proven good
While you can debate this all you want, the only way to settle this good/bad is to put Hawaii against a solid opponent in which a victory can ensure Hawaii the status of being "good." That game would be a BCS Bowl. And deserving or not, Hawaii is the only team left with an unbeaten record in a season full of unbelievable upsets. Kansas didn't play anyone ranked in the top 20 all season and only 2 teams with winning records, but were seemingly on the road to a BCS championship game with a win over Mizzou. Hawaii is in a similar predicament of schedule strength and can't even be guaranteed a BCS bid despite going 12-0. Tell me something isn't wrong with that. Say what you want about schedule strength but we're not talking about a potential #1, but a potential #12! Similar could be said for Ohio State and Youngstown State, Akron, and Kent State. Again we are not talking about #1 but a #12 ranking!
My other thought is the speculation that X number of teams could play Hawaii's schedule and win and be unbeaten, win the WAC, etc. This is pure speculation and you can argue it all you want but the bottom line is pure speculation. There is no basis to compare opponent and schedule with other teams because every game plays out differently. It's just opinion/fan trash talk or critic speculation and nothing more. And because this type of outcome is not possible of course its easy for everyone to say the woulda and shoulda. Just pure trash talking to me.
One game state that most people don't know or compare. UNLV played the Badgers and kept them to 350 yards total and only 20 points in a 7 point loss. The next Hawaii played them and put up nearly 500 yards total and 49 points. The Badgers ended the season 9-3 in the Big Ten. That is just another indication of Hawaii's offense. And i know the limits of comparing this and that, but critics always quick point to point out BSU's rout of OSU last year and OSU's eventual victory over USC. Dare I make a similar comparison here?
Finally, the potential Sugar Bowl game between LSU and Hawaii has almost everyone with an opinion. Mine? I don't have one. Neither team has played each other. That is the one fact that no one can dispute going into this game. Sure Hawaii has played at Alabama but that was a first game for both teams starting the season where as this is the last game of the season. Not really a comparison. And you can say that LSU is much better than Alabama too but remember LSU won over Alabama by only 14 points that year, and 7 this year.
Other games to compare Hawaii's quality with, if you feel this type of comparison is valid. In 2006 season, Hawaii beat ASU 41-24. That same team lost to #20 Cal 49-21, #2 USC 21-28, #12 Oregon 48-13, OSU 44-10, and UCLA 12-24. So in other words the teams who were ranked high in the team last year beat ASU by about the same amount.
One lasting mark: Hawaii's offense is a two front attack with its quick accurate pass and quick strike ability. It puts pressure on BOTH opposing offense and defense because not only do you have to try to limit scoring but also you have to put points up as well find yourself in for a long night. A good defense puts pressure primarily on the opponents offense only. And one more thing of note: ALL opponents of Hawaii know and expect brennan to toss 50, 60 passes a game. this is not a surprise and they design their defensive plays around it. so hawaii's consistly high performing offense is surprising because unlike almost every other offense the plays run are almost universally known and predictable. and to continue finding the end zone is quite remarkable. and say what you want about X's teams defense against the pass, etc. oppposing players are every bit as human as hawaii's players, so its not a question of domination of the defense.
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| here are my thoughts on hawaii versus washington
1) we are almost guaranteed a win with the way things both teams are playing. we put up 45+ points and 500+ yards up per game, even against a talented defensive team like BSU. hey guess what? huskies let up 400+ yards and 35+ points. so things are definitely not looking in their favor. in fact, they just lost their in state rivalry game at home when they were up a touchdown in the middle of the 4th quarter by letting up 2 late TDs in quick big plays. and guess what? quick big plays are hawaii's specialty. cougars are efficient at passing with 350 yards per game. and they did better than that against UW. sorry UW fans, ur chances of winning this game are slim. esp on the road, right after that loss. you can play your heart out and i expect that you will, but u will most likely not prevail. i predict hawaii to win by 2 to 3 TDs, and somewhere likely would be 45-31 would be my guess. there are many idiots on the message boards of warriors football and huskies football alike who say different things but i am telling you no one runs an offense like june jones and this run and shoot. its highly effective and will give defensive coordinators and backs near nightmares.
2) that being said, we can also most definitely lose this game. make no mistake about washington though: they can bring the heat, they are just terrible at doing it consistently. locker and rankin are powerful and strong runners with potential to break open into major real estate. in their 4 wins, they gained major rushing yardage. they have to be contained and slowed down. thus, they have to be really on their game and we have to be really bad at ours to lose it. but it is possible.
3) with a win we are almost guaranteed a place in the bowl. unless of course bc, tennessee and ucla all win. unlikely though marginally possible. and in the event that happens you are most likely to hear fire and brimstone upon the bcs, as hawaii with its insane offense and ultra-accurate qb will have to settle to play the 3rd ranked team from C-USA. no offense to them but we will be undefeated, the ONLY team left that way, and to be left with only a mediocre opponent would be an injustice to just about anyone who watches college football. thus we have A LOT to play for in front of a home crowd.
GO WARRIORS!
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| beat boise state and now we are #12
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| i'm just pretty pissed about the BCS rankings, or as it call, the bullshit computer systems
hawaii moves up 0 places in BCS rankings after WINNING to 9-0
hawaii moves DOWN after WINNING to in the harris poll to 9-0
boise state moves up TWO places after winning against a winless 0-9 utah state team.
that's bullshit. pure bullshit.
and that's just about the feeling of everyone else. that they'll lose to boise state or washington. i think they been drinking too much haterade. all the speculation right now is just that, SPECULATION. so quit hating on hawaii and just see who wins. if hawaii loses then we're not as good as we say. if we win out, we're better. but so many out there are JUST SO SURE we're going to lose like they're nostradamus or something. we lost by one touchdown last year to boise state, and that's the only history you have to go on, if you can even say anything.
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| today i will begin my "only in america" series to highlight some of the unique features our country has that is exclusive or almost exclusive to us:
only in america,
can you get married,
join the armed forces and fight for your country,
buy your own home,
you can vote and participate in democracy,
BUT
you can't buy alcohol, not yet anyway. | | |
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