Pretty soon it will be moot if the defense is ahead of the offense or vice versa.
If you’re a University of Hawaii football fan all that will matter a week from Saturday is if the Rainbow Warriors are ahead of the Massachusetts Minutemen on the scoreboard when the game is over.
The oddsmakers see that as a distinct possibility, as the consensus has UH as a 1-point favorite to beat UMass at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Mass.
Maybe that’s a surprise, since Hawaii is rarely favored on the road. Maybe it’s not a surprise, since the Warriors beat the Minutemen 46-40 in an exciting conclusion to the 2016 regular season at Aloha Stadium.
Perhaps this will raise a few eyebrows: While the over-under for total points by both teams is around 64, at least one prognosticating service sees much less scoring, with Hawaii winning 19-17.
Some people who follow UH would see that as a step backward; I know of some who prefer it when the Warriors score a lot of points but lose to when they score very little but win. I don’t really consider them tackle football fans; maybe they’re 7-on-7 fans, or video game fans.
Of course coach Nick Rolovich wants lots of touchdowns. But I believed the Warriors head coach when he said a couple of weeks ago when he doesn’t care if his team wins 3-0.
That was after a practice where he wasn’t very happy with the offense’s effort.
UH allowed 40 points or more in seven games last year, and it’s no coincidence that those accounted for all but one of Hawaii’s losses.
The defense has looked good in camp. Part of that is because they’re motivated.
“We’re just having a good time, being out there playing football. And it’s always a team effort — sometimes the offense gets us, sometimes we get them,” said junior linebacker Jahlani Tavai, who led UH with 129 tackles last year. “But, yeah, definitely, we keep a chip on our shoulder. We want to prove those (defensive) stats from last year aren’t who we are.”
Hawaii allowed 5.3 yards per rush and a 48 percent conversion rate on third down. Those are two of the stats it needs to improve upon; and that is very likely to happen for two reasons 1) the Warriors will be better on defense than in 2016, and 2) UH’s schedule does not include trips to Michigan and Arizona (111 points allowed in just those two games).
The Rainbow Warriors offense will surely be more productive than 19 points per game, but that doesn’t mean UH won’t be able to beat some of its opponents if it scores just a couple of touchdowns.
As the season wears on, the biggest question, as always, will be depth — on both sides of the ball.
Another aspect is having an offense that can keep the defense off the field and keep it fresh for late in games.
There was a time when Hawaii’s offense under June Jones was so prolific that all it expected and all it really needed from the defense was to produce a couple of turnovers in some games. Stops were almost optional.
Norm Chow’s philosophy was nearly the opposite, with an over-reliance on defense and field position. That doesn’t work in college football today, unless your team is blessed with overwhelming physical talent.
Rolovich is building a balanced team, and hopefully a deep one. That second part will take a couple of years, but we can see the first part already developing.
Senior running back Diocemy Saint Juste returns as a 1,006-yard rusher, and junior quarterback Dru Brown seems to get better with every practice after accounting for 23 touchdowns and nearly 2,800 yards in 13 games, but just 10 starts last year.
Brown’s got some good targets for his passes in Dylan Collie, John Ursua and tight end Tui ‘Unga. And watch for second-year freshman Freddie Holly III when Saint Juste needs a break. He’s big, fast and quick.
As always, avoiding injury is key — especially on the line, on both sides of the ball. The healthier they remain, the better chance the Warriors have of keeping their own defense off the field and the opposing offense out of the end zone.