Just a few days after returning from Australia, the Rainbow Warriors packed their bags and hit the road again Wednesday, this time to take on No. 7 Michigan in Ann Arbor.
It’s the team’s second straight game more than 4,000 miles from home. But one thing Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich made sure his players left out of their luggage was a lengthy list of excuses.
“The reality is if they start looking for excuses, they will find them,” Rolovich said. “Anything can happen in 60 minutes. The ball is funny shaped and bounces funny sometimes.”
The Rainbow Warriors (0-1) will need plenty of fortunate bounces to hang with the Wolverines, who have been favored by as many as 41 points. Many have the Maize and Blue pegged to contend for the Big Ten title and possibly a spot in the College Football Playoff.
“I think it’s going to be an incredible experience,” Rolovich said. “This is a team that some people say is ready to compete for a national championship. It’s an incredible challenge and an incredible opportunity.”
Hawaii lost 51-31 to Cal last week in Sydney, Australia. The Golden Bears racked up 630 yards of total offense to spoil Rolovich’s debut, led by the exploits of senior transfer Davis Webb, who finished with 441 yards passing and four touchdowns.
There were some positive takeaways from the opener, however. UH’s 31 points totaled the highest output in its last 14 meetings against Division I squads. The ‘Bows also got touchdowns from three different running backs — Diocemy Saint Juste, Steven Lakalaka and Paul Harris. Saint Juste finished with 118 yards on 14 carries, just his second career 100-yard game.
Rolovich hopes that putting those opening day jitters behind them will give his players at least one advantage over their vaunted opponent.
“There could be some first-game mistakes being made, and at least we have played a game and we understand each other and understand the mistakes we made,” Rolovich said.
Playing against a top-tier opponent on the road isn’t something entirely new for the Rainbow Warriors. Last season, Hawaii took on a well-hyped Ohio State team loaded with future NFL players.
The ‘Bows hung with the Buckeyes for a half — entering the break down just 14-0 — before Urban Meyer’s squad accelerated late to a 38-0 victory.
“I saw that film,” Rolovich said. “For me, personally, it’s not that big a deal. But for them, it should give them a lot of confidence that they went in and played an incredibly talented Ohio State team and played them incredibly tough.”
Quarterback Ikaika Woolsey tossed just two passes in that game against the Buckeyes, but is one of the returning ‘Bows with experience playing against a national power.
“We can play with those big teams,” said Woolsey, who completed 17 of 34 passes for 234 yards against Cal last week. “More importantly, we have to worry about ourselves — take care of the ball and cut down on turnovers. I think it will be a good game this week.”
The stadium is called the Big House for a reason. More than 100,000 fans are expected for the Wolverines season opener, and a capacity crowd could break the record (107,145) for the largest audience in front of which a UH team has played. Not too many of those fans will be cheering for the Rainbow Warriors.
“It’s going to be a loud venue,” Woolsey said. “You have to be completely locked in. It shouldn’t matter if you are playing the No. 1 ranked team in the nation or not — you have to come in with the same mentality.”
Tale of the tape
Just like most college football fans around the nation, Michigan players and coaches likely watched Hawaii’s opener against Cal in Australia last week live. That tape exists. But as the Wolverines have yet to play a game this season, Rolovich and his staff tried to get a little creative in their scouting.
“With them not having a game and us having a game, we asked if they would send us their scrimmage,” Rolovich said. “But they wouldn’t. … So there’s a little bit of uncertainty on our side.”
Some of that uncertainty stems from Michigan not having publicly named a quarterback yet.
“I guess they’re trying to hide the quarterback for a reason,” Rolovich said. “I guess it’s a little bit of a ‘strategery’ and maybe something for us to talk about, but there’s enough to worry about (beyond) us worrying about who the quarterback’s going to be.”
Despite the film faupaux, Rolovich has labeled himself a fan of the Wolverines head coach — khaki king, Jim Harbaugh. The duo got to know each other this summer working at satellite camps on Oahu.
“I like him. I like him for college football,” Rolovich said. “When we finally got together for the camps, I said ‘this guy might be a little crazy, too.’ I figured he would be.”
Big Island ‘Bows
A trio of former BIIF players are making an impact for the Rainbow Warriors early on.
John Ursua, who graduated from Cedar City High School in Utah, but helped lead Kealakehe to a BIIF title his freshman year, joined the team this season after doing a two-year church mission in Paris, France. His first career catch went for a 32-yard gain and he finished with a team-high five catches.
Damien Packer (Keaau) got his first career start at safety. He racked up 10 tackles, the third highest total on the team.
Asotui Eli (Kealakehe) was named to the Rimington Trophy watchlist, given to the nation’s top center, in the preseason, but has moved over to guard. Eli — a redshirt sophomore listed at 6-foot-4 and 315 pounds — allowed just four sacks last season.