HONOLULU — Hawaii cornerback Mike Edwards feels the Warriors have come together despite things falling apart last week on national TV. Hawaii (3-3, 1-1 WAC) hosts New Mexico State (3-3, 1-1) on Saturday, eight days after the Warriors suffered a
HONOLULU — Hawaii cornerback Mike Edwards feels the Warriors have come together despite things falling apart last week on national TV.
Hawaii (3-3, 1-1 WAC) hosts New Mexico State (3-3, 1-1) on Saturday, eight days after the Warriors suffered a heart-breaking 28-27 loss at San Jose State. The Warriors forced six turnovers, but committed six of their own, had a dreadful performance on special teams and allowed the Spartans to drive 87 yards on six plays for the game-winning score with 36 seconds left.
“We’re more family-oriented, more together, we understand each other a little bit more,” Edwards said. “When you go through trials and tribulations like that you can do one of two things: you can get down as a team or get up as a team.”
Both teams like to air it out.
The Warriors, led by quarterback Bryant Moniz, rank ninth in the nation with 337 yards passing per game.
Aggies coach DeWayne Walker said senior Matt Christian and freshman Travaughn Colwell will see time at quarterback. New Mexico State ranks 30th in the nation with 271 yards passing per game. The Aggies also mix in a solid run game with Kenny Turner coming off three consecutive 100-yard rushing games.
“They have a good run game and they incorporate that with the play-action (pass), and they like to throw it deep and make plays, so we need to stop that,” Hawaii safety John Hardy-Tuliau said.
New Mexico State has won two straight, including a 31-24 victory over Idaho last week, but the Aggies haven’t beaten the Warriors in seven meetings, including a 59-24 loss last year in Las Cruces where former Warrior Alex Green rushed for a school-record 327 yards.
Green, drafted by the Green Bay Packers, is gone. The memories, however, of the lopsided loss aren’t. And the Aggies are using last year’s game as motivation as they arrive on the islands.
“Hawaii’s tough. I talked with the players and coaches about all the distractions up until the game and all the travel, and all the administrators are happy because it’s a vacation for them, but it’s business for us,” Walker said.
The Warriors are glad to be at home after playing four of their first six games on the road, including losses at Washington, UNLV and San Jose State.
“We’re excited about being at home,” Hawaii coach Greg McMackin said. “Our fans haven’t seen us in 28 days. Believe me, it feels good to be home. It makes a big difference. Everybody’s attitude is really good. We’re looking forward to this ballgame.”
Hawaii sophomore receiver Billy Ray Stutzmann doesn’t expect any hangover after last week’s tough loss.
“We’re just the type of team where we’re just one snap and clear,” he said. “We learned from our mistakes, but at the same time we just take it forward and just do our thing.”
As for last week’s turnovers, Stutzmann said: “We had a couple of days to go over it and put it behind us. After that we don’t really think about it too much. We just go out, practice, execute and then it’s game time.”
New Mexico State has six players on its roster from Hawaii, so Walker did his best to keep his team focused on the game.
“We have players from the Hawaii area, so trying to manage family and big baskets of food and all that stuff . so it’s a challenge from that standpoint,” Walker said. “But I gave them a tongue-lashing just to set the tempo for the week and for the game.”
Hawaii’s top receiver, Royce Pollard, averaging 106 yards receiving per game, suffered a strained right hamstring against San Jose State and is questionable for Saturday’s game.
