UH OSU game reaction

This game had the feeling like Hawai'i could have used the momentum to drive their offense in full force. But I believe poor play calling and poor EXECUTION was the factor in this game.

The Rainbow Warriors had a momentum swing by intercepting the ball for a touchdown by Gener. And then a couple of drives later the offense went into their hurry up offense and stormed to the Hawai'i red zone and scored with their tight end.

It was surprising to see Sean Schroeder come in the fourth quarter by Coach Chow. I'm sure Taylor Graham didn't like that. Maybe this will give him a spark and think I can do this. The continued struggles by the offense is still not only Graham's fault. The line was better than last week but still needs improvement. My two biggest concerns are the running game which is still non existent and the receivers. Both the backs and the receivers are very young and inexperienced but we need playmakers to step up now otherwise this system that Chow is trying to implement will not work just like last year. 

The basic for this offense is to establish the run.
(Running game non existent)
Then that will open up the deep ball.
(They don't have a strong line to give the QB enough time and
the receivers cannot make the catch)
I'll say this the receivers have speed they are quick but they need more reps in catching.

I hope now that they will have a bye next week and then go on the road to face a more equal opponent in Nevada that they will get the offense going and score and of course to have the defense keep it up. They are the only reason the past two games weren't blowouts and I believe they are on track to score just as much as their offense scores. Sad.

Let's watch the film. Heal up. Get more reps in practice. And be ready for Reno in two weeks. Go Bows!

Congrats Dave!!!

I don't like to say or write that something is going to happen and then have the proverbial local term "bachi" come in the conversation but UH Wahine Volleyball coach Dave Shoji will break the NCAA coaching win record tonight against Santa Clara.

It is fitting that the current record holder retired UCLA coach Andy Banachowski will be in attendance tonight to celebrate with his long time friend Dave. Shoji will go for his 1107 win which is impressive but equally as impressive is that his record has a winning percentage of 85%. And that is against the likes of Penn State, USC, UCLA, Stanford, and now Texas and the list goes on and on after a 39 year coaching career at UH.

What I hope won't happen is his girls are trying so hard to give Coach Shoji the record and then relax a bit when they have to face 10th ranked UCLA the next night. The ultimate goal every year for the Rainbow Wahine is to make the Final Four and possibly win the title, but they will need to position themselves in the beginning of the season to give them quality wins against top ranked opponents to secure hosting in the first couple of rounds of the NCAA tournament. Last year they had to travel to Seattle to play a trapped game against Washington. I'm sure (whomever the Wahine would have played) at home they would have breezed through the first two rounds and have a chance at regionals and possibly make the Final Four.

I think (putting all "bachi" aside) the Wahine will once again not host the first round of the NCAA tournament but with this experienced team will get over that hump and have a great postseason run into the Final Four. This is the part I don't want to get further ahead on because I believe this year's team has the talent and experience to give Coach Shoji a reason of possibly retiring after this season. I'll just leave it at that.

LET'S GO BOWS!                                                                          Courtesty: espn.com

Iosefa, Tulimasealii make travel roster a good sign

Hearing running back Joey Iosefa and D tackle Kennedy Tulimasealii will make the trip to Corvallis in the 64-man travel roster for UH. This is a good sign both for their progress of being healthy and that they are vital parts to the offense and defense.

What the team was lacking in the USC game was experience and depth and I think both those two players will fill those voids in the Oregon State game. Now the report states they will make the trip however having them play in the game is still unknown. I'm sure the coaches want them to get their feet wet and put them in for a couple of plays to see if they are healthy enough to play more.

We shall see how the offense will bounce back from a dismal game against USC. The Rainbow Warrior defense will try to continue to limit those big plays like they did last week. If the offense gets rollin' from the get go then we should see a competitive game here but if they sputter like last week we may not see the same result. It could be a blowout.

Tomorrow's game day. Let's shock the world like Eastern Washington did!

Hope for UH in 2013

I was at the game and I have to say well done UH fans. For a Thursday afternoon game, I thought the 35,000 in attendance gave the game a great atmosphere even if 5,000 of them were SC fans.

I was so impressed with Hawai'i defense. I almost lost my voice every time they stopped the USC offense especially at that goal line stance and safety. Jerrol Garcia-Williams is a beast and a fast beast. He will be in the NFL very soon maybe after next season. He had 8 tackles, one for loss and one sack.The defense held their own during the first three quarters. After that i'm sure they ran out of gas because they were on the field for most of the game. The D line is stout. For the most part they stuffed USC running game in the middle. They moved USC's O line back and gave both Kessler and Wittek a hard time getting in a groove.

On the other hand I was so disappointed with the offense. I knew Taylor Graham wasn't going to be stellar in his first game in three and a half years. But if he and his receivers can get on the same page, this offense will be lights out. It will feel like the run and shoot again. I mean majority of the sets were double wide and in shotgun formation. The problem with that is we still don't have a strong offensive line and if the defense knows that they can stack the line and blitz every time. It was great to see the young backs for UH even though they did not produce much yardage in the game. Faga Wily seems like a young Joey Iosepa. He just needs to bulk up and he will be a bowling ball up the gut. Stephen Lakalaka was shifty and if the line made a hole I think he could have had great gains. Now the biggest question for me before the game was how fast Diocemy St. Juste would be live. I saw him on Youtube and he makes one cut and he's gone. Of course they played against a talented D line but I see promise in this guy. He is fast! I can't wait till he breaks one.

Now more on Taylor Graham. A lot of Hawai'i fans have a high expectation for the quarterback after Timmy Chang and Colt Brennan. So to think Graham can be just as good as the two mentioned IN THE FIRST GAME! C'mon guys! This was his first collegiate start ever. He will need two to three games to get the rhythm to play in Division 1 football. I know I schedule won't help his cause as he will face a couple of Top 25 teams in the first five games but he will get there and when he does we will have not a Timmy Chang, not a Colt Brennan. We will have a Taylor Graham!

Go Bows!

2013 Hawai'i football team depth chart

Hawaii — Offense

X — 1. Chris Gant or Marcus Kemp

LT — 1. Sean Shigematsu. 2. Leo Koloamatangi

LG  — 1. Kody Afusia. 2. Sully Wiefels

C — 1. Ben Clarke. 2. Kody Afusia

RG — 1. Dave Lefotu. 2. Frank Loyd Jr.

RT — 1. Mike Milovale. 2. David Griffin

TE — 1. Harold Moleni. 2. Clark Evans

F — 1. Scott Harding. 2. Donnie King

Z — 1. Vasquez Haynes or Keith Kirkwood

QB — 1. Taylor Graham. 2. Sean Schroeder

RB — 1. Aofaga Wily. 2. Steven Lakalaka or Marcus Langkilde

Hawaii — Defense

DE — 1. Beau Yap. 2. Craig Cofer

DT — 1. Moses Samia. 2. Calen Friel

DT — 1. Siasau Matagiese. 2. Marcus Malepeai

DE — 1. Tavita Woodard. 2. Iuta Tepa

SLB — 1. Jerrol Garcia-Williams. 2. TJ Taimatuia

MLB — 1. Brenden Daley. 2. Tevita Lataimua

WLB — 1. Art Laurel. 2. Julian Gener

CB — 1. Dee Maggitt. 2. Tony Grimes

SS — 1. John Hardy-Tuliau. 2. Charles Clay

FS — 1. Marrell Jackson. 2. Kawika Borden

CB — 1. Ne'Quan Phillilps. 2. Anthony Pierce

Hawaii — Specialists

KR — 1. Chris Gant. 2. Donnie King

PR — 1. Scott Harding. 2. John Hardy-Tuliau

PK — 1. Tyler Hadden. 2. Joe Uglietto

P — 1. Ruben Guzman. 2. Scott Harding

H — 1. Ikaika Woolsey. 2. Scott Harding

LS — 1. Kawika Borden. 2. Brodie Nakama

SS — 1. Brodie Nakama. 2. Kody Afusia

On offense i'm really looking forward to see how the new freshmen receivers will contribute. Keith Kirkwood and Marcus Kemp are tall trees with blazing speed on the ends. They should be exciting to watch.

The defense should be more solid as it looks like they are all returning from last year. Even though they gave up a lot of points, if they can limit those big plays that end up as touchdowns for the opponent they will give the Rainbow Warriors a chance for most of the games this season.

Special teams should not skip a beat. Chris Gant reminds me of last year's returner Mike Edwards who is now with the New York Jets. Look for Tyler Hadden to have a more accurate season on field goals as he recovers from a groin injury and has a stronger leg from work outs by the new strength and conditioning coach.

Let's try something new.

UH men's volleyball head coach Charlie Wade is in his final year of his contract and while he kept his team from missing the playoffs this season, it's been a while since we seen the Yuval Katz days where the Stan Sheriff Center was rocking and averaging 5,000 fans a match.

It used to be a fun fast pace version of volleyball but now it seems boring and leaves you unsatisfied after the match win or lose. The way the men spike the ball it seems impossible for more rallies during the game. It's like serve, bump, set and SLAM!

I think its time financially to drop the men's volleyball team in UH athletics. If AD Ben Jay wants to see feesible sports, it should be the world's sport SOCCER(futbul).

We have a women's team which is great. Even though they have been down  the past few years they still drew great crowds at Waipio Soccer Stadium. Now i'm not sure if it is free to watch the match but when they finally complete the T.C. Ching complex in Manoa, they should charge an adult general admission fee for the matches and I guess free for the keiki(children). I mean think of all the boys and girls that play organized youth soccer on Oahu and think of how much they would love to go see a match and think about playing for Hawai'i one day.This is the same deal with baseball.. All the little leaguers love to watch UH baseball since we can't go see a major league game here in Hawai'i.

Bringing a men's soccer program to UH would make a lot more sense than men's volleyball. Yes both sports are played in Hawaii high schools but with soccer that brings a much popular sport which will bring in our Asian neighboring markets to sponsor the team and maybe bring in an upcoming Asian soccer star to play for UH.

The schedules between the two sports are the same, 20 games. The roster amount the same, 20 players. Since there are way more college men's soccer teams than men's volleyball, it would not be hard to schedule and of course be in the Big West Conference with our eight other conference members.

So please shut down the men's volleyball program, research if its doable financially to have another men's program and bring this program  to fruition.

Hey Arnold!

Title was based on the TV cartoon show not really randomly yelling out someone's name.

Although we can talk about University of Hawaii's men's basketball coach Gib Arnold and his initial talks with athletic director Ben Jay about extending his contract after 2014. Arnold is entering season 4 and I can't help but wonder why Jay should extend his contract for more than two years. I think since Jay hasn't been here a full academic year and haven't seen the men's team play, he should give Arnold not one year but a two year extension and negotiate extending his contract after that in 2015. AD Jay should take in consideration his overall record which at least is over .500(52-44). You can't give a coach a one year extension and expect him to bring in solid recruits because now days unless the recruit is 4 or 5 stars they want to be at a school knowing the coach will be there for a couple of years.

Love this video.

Slow day just wanted to post my favorite video and bring some excitement in the blog.

Bring back the Hawaiian flag

Photo courtesy: The Mojo Boogie

Players get fired up when they leave the locker room and exit the tunnel. The fans get excited when they see their team run onto the field. Last year UH did several things that I thought was good and some things that actually dulled the mood.

First, they walked out of the tunnel without the inflatable Hawai'i helmet with the smoke coming out of it. That was a bummer. It's seems more intimidating when they suddenly appear from the smoke. Then they walk out in rows of five or six arms locked to each other and walking as a team in unison. That was cool but I think players get more fired up when they run out then walk out.

Then in another game they just walk out and do the haka right out of the tunnel. I think they should do that after their pregame warm-ups. Hey if the fans don't come in early to see it so be it. It's more for the team anyway.

So I would suggest to bring back the inflatable helmet or something new that they can walk out of and of course bring back the smoke. Have the cheerleaders and UH band crowd the side and play "Hawai'i 5-0"Lastly have the team captain of the game or someone who earned it to go in the front of the pack,wave the Hawaiian flag and run out the field.

This is a tradition that we can have for years to come because it shows that the team is playing for Hawai'i.
They are representing us even some of them are from the mainland. Once they commit to the University of Hawai'i they are Ohana for life.

Ohana means Family right Stitch

Photo Courtesy: Lindys

Ferd Lewis of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser wrote an interesting article about conspiracy theories where UH is pushing to sell all their other sports to the Mountain West Conference. This is a full page picture in the West Region Lindy's College Football Magazine. This magazine is only for football so why is UH putting this type of ad in this type of magazine.

My guess it is purely exposure. Even though it's a regional magazine it is seen in big recruiting states like California. I'm sure other schools do similar types of photos of their student athletes but Hawai'i has that special Hawaiian word Ohana. It's the only Division 1 program in the state so most of the TV,newspaper, radio, etc talk about UH sports. It's that important to our state. It is one of the biggest driving machines in the local economy. A lot of people in Hawai'i jump out of their beds the next morning after a Hawai'i win or drag the whole week after a loss.

So i'm going to take the logical approach on this advertisement and say they are showing potential recruits not only in football that there is a special bond you will grow with the university, the community of fans and the state.

As for putting all our teams in the Mountain West we would feel like we are solid as a athletic program, but would feel like traveling in the old WAC and take two to three charter flights to Laramie, WY. As on today and probably the next ten years, Hawai'i will NEVER get in to the Pac __ Conference. It's either stay as it is now or send the football team to be independent. Let's concentrate on winning in all sports and the resume will speak for itself when we go another round of college football musical chairs.

Vegas here I come

It's been 18 years since I last seen a UH vs UNLV game in Las Vegas. I was too young to gamble and at the time was begging my parents to take me. They first thought about it because of my age and how Vegas is called Sin city for a reason. But my parents love to travel to Vegas and gamble. They convinced themselves they would take turns watching me while the other parks their behind in front a Wheel of Fortune slot machine. So we booked with Panda Travel and flew on Hawaiian Airlines.We stayed at the California hotel with thousands of Hawaii fans roaming Fremont Street. It was a sight to see. Tons of people with back then Kelly green shirts partying up after a 58-30 win at San Boyd Stadium. Of course I went with my parents who are die-hard fans as well.

Well today I'm much older, finished college and have a decent job. I feel like I should give back to my parents and treat them to a trip to Vegas to see UH play UNLV on October 12. I went through Panda Travel which has so many packages to choose from and decent prices too. So I bought three tickets and I feel like a kid again waiting for that day to come. To actually fly to another state, attend a game on the road with thousands of UH fans again it seems so nostalgic.

New and reused facilities in Manoa

I've been saying this to my father every time we look out from the parking garage on the lower campus. They should use Les Murakami Stadium to make a football stadium.

Right now UH is in their first phase of T.C. Ching complex by building a concrete grandstand by the mauka(mountain) side of the field. This will be a great facility for Track and Field, Soccer and Sand Volleyball. It is scheduled to be completed this fall.

That's great! Now if UH really and I mean really wants to build an on-campus stadium, then the only logical place to put it is where Les Murakami Stadium currently sits. Now people are saying just build up on T.C. Ching Field but looking at the space around the field they would have to really make the stands steep and that will feel like hiking up those Diamond Head stairs.

I think they should use Les Murakami Stadium as the end zone stands and build grandstands on both sides. Also a short connected end zone seating where the outfield fence is. There is enough room to have a full size college football field there. The field is level so they don't have to dig or flatten the land. This is the part of reusing facilities in Manoa. Depending if Hawai'i wants bleachers instead of all seat then I could see the capacity of the stadium to be at least 30,000 with room for expansion. With only to replace the field and build two sideline grandstands the cost for the stadium should be half of what they are estimating to build a new Aloha Stadium. The range would be around $100-150 million. Can you imagine the view most fans would have on the mauka side of the stadium. Sunset over Diamond Head and the Waikiki skyline. It would be the best view of any college stadium in the country.

Now you're thinking what about the baseball team. Well there is enough room by the grass practice fields to build a more modern and efficient baseball stadium.  P.K. Park on the campus of the University of Oregon comes to mind. It is a beautiful facility with about 3,500 capacity and an all FieldTurf playing surface except for the pitcher's mound. The cost was $30 million.

Ok finally the BIG question(s) Parking and Traffic. Well AD Ben Jay suggested to build more levels on the current parking structure and I agree. I mean if they can do that to Ala Moana Shopping Center why not at UH. They would also need to find places around the island like malls to agree to have fans park at a designated area and take a shuttle to and from the stadium.Park and Ride I think they call it same idea. For all the tailgaters out there they could make an area where you can have your BBQ's. It won't be tailgating but at least you can have a get together have great food and enjoy the game after.

Ben Jay is right. The students need to stay on campus to practice and compete in games. The student body will be more involved like they are at the basketball and volleyball games because they are on campus. They can study first then go to the game or at least not have to travel so far and waste time where they could be studying.

I know this won't happen anytime soon because there isn't much $$$ support in the community but once they find a private donor they need to have a plan and pounce at it.

Welcome to 'Bowbloggin!!!

I'm your host blogger Brandon. I will be covering most of University of Hawai'i athletics as much as I can. This is an open blog so anyone can share their opinions on UH sports, the State of Hawai'i, this blog, etc.
I hope you will enjoy it and support all of UH athletics. If you have passion for Hawai'i then you must bleed GREEN!