Hawaii preview: live in the past, it's better there

Previewing the WAC seems like a good job for an intern. Unfortunately, we do not have an intern. Ugh. Previously: San Jose State, LaTech, and Fresno State. Today: Hawaii.

  Hawaii

  Team motto: "What would Colt Brennan do?"


Last season, the Hawaii Warriors reached the pinnacle of the non-BCS mountain, which only made their fall that much harder. And farther. And more humiliating.

Losing to Georgia quickly put an end to their undefeated dreams (not that their WAC championship rings got the memo), and now look at them. No Colt Brennan. No June Jones. Four fewer cocky wide receivers. This is nowhere near the same Hawaii team we saw last year.

But before you go writing the Warriors off, new head coach Greg McMackin would like to remind you that they still have 85 percent of the team back. He’d also like to remind you that Coke now has fewer calories.

Five questions

Hawaii plays defense?
This year they do. In fact, Hawaii has some of the best defenders in the WAC with LBs Solomon Elimimian and Adam Leonard and DE David Veikune. These players will be key to whatever the Warriors hope to do this season, whether it be competing for another WAC title or simply not losing to San Jose State.

Could Hawaii be the least convincing defending conference champion of all-time?
We have yet to find a single person who thinks that the Warriors will repeat as WAC champs. Not even Trev Alberts in his prime would touch this team. The Warriors simply have too much turnover in key places to be in the conversation for the WAC championship. When the Broncos lose a lot of players, they have the depth to reload and be right back at the top of the conference next year. When Hawaii loses a lot of players, McMackin drowns his sorrows in Fanta and thinks happy thoughts.

I miss Colt Brennan.
You are not alone. The island legend was largely responsible for the success of the team the last few years, but he certainly will not be forgotten at Hawaii, especially when Inoke Funaki is throwing up prayers into triple coverage. Brennan's imprint on the program will remain until the Warriors can find a capable replacement. Funaki may be it. So, too, might junior college transfer Greg Alexander. But secretly, the islands are pulling for Tyler Graunke, and by "pulling," we mean "writing his papers for him." Graunke might be back from academic suspension soon, and he may have time to win the starting job before the season starts.

If the Warriors are not rebuilding, then what exactly are they doing?
The word "rebuilding" is a dirty word on the campus of UH. So, too, is "perspective." Of course this team is rebuilding! They lost half of their offense from last year, the greatest coach in team history left, and Georgia gave everyone a blueprint on how to shut down the run 'n shoot. But if they don't want to use the term "rebuilding," we can respect their wishes. Besides, that's what our Roget's thesaurus is for. Do "renovating," "refurbishing," or "improvising" sound better?

Would Hawaii have gone undefeated last year if they were playing this year's schedule?
The Warriors sailed to the Sugar Bowl on the coattails of an easy schedule, and rest assured that the same thing would not have happened with the murderer's row Hawaii has on tap this fall. Good bye, Northern Colorado. Hello, Florida. Wish you could stay longer, Charleston Southern. Make yourself at home, Cincinnati. At least Weber State will be dropping by for a visit or else the Warriors might have been in serious trouble. Can you say drinking Mylanta straight from the bottle?

Over/Unders

+/- 4.0 GPA that Tyler Graunke earns this semester thanks to some generous Hawaii faculty members
+/- 12,000 Colt Brennan jerseys in the crowd this year
+/- 4 Inoke Funaki jerseys
+/- 3 games where the Warriors score fewer points than the defense has turnovers

The most intriguing part of the fall of Hawaii is that they are no longer intriguing. Hawaii games were known for being shoot-outs; this year they may more closely resemble defensive struggles. No one wants to stay up until 3:00 a.m. eastern to watch that! With their stars gone, the hype and attention typically paid to the program is as non-existent as a "Tyler Graunke 4 Heisman" t-shirt.

Another intriguing part about their fall is that they haven't really fallen yet. The media is quick to bury Hawaii before a single game is even played, yet the Warriors could turn out to be a decent team when all is said and done. They have strong players on defense, Graunke knows what he's doing most of the time, WR Malcolm Lane has potential, and much of the coaching staff returns.

Unfortunately, decent is a long way from good. The WAC has too many other good teams for the Warriors to make much noise. They've lost too many key players, their schedule is daunting, and the momentum from a season ago is only a memory. In other words, we're going to need more Coke.

Perfect situation

McMackin finds a time machine, visits the past to steal Colt Brennan, Warriors go undefeated, face Georgia in championship game, lose by fewer points this time

Reality

the offense struggles, the early schedule puts the Warriors in a hole, Tyler Graunke puts the Warriors in a deeper hole, Hawaii loses winnable WAC games, McMackin lifts the moratorium on the word "rebuilding" for next offseason

Final record: 5-8 overall, 4-4 conference

As the WAC quarterbacks turn: Graunke out, McCormick done

Hawaii and Utah State's quarterback competitions are not as competitive any more.

Tyler Graunke, the favorite for the Warriors' quarterback spot, will not be with the team for the foreseeable future, and Jase McCormick, one of several irrelevant contenders for the Aggies, has quit football entirely. Utah State will do that to you.

Graunke, who backed up Colt Brennan each of the last three years, was suspended in the offseason, but he seemed to have his problems worked out and was set to capture the starting quarterback spot. His situation now is pretty up in the air, and will remain that way so long as Hawaii head coach Greg McMackin continues to make broad, generalizing statements.

"Tyler has things he has to work on," McMackin said yesterday in a release from UH. "At this point, he will not practice with the team. Because of privacy laws, I can't comment any further."

Things are much more black and white with Utah State's Jase McCormick. He's got better things to do than lose to mediocre WAC teams week in and week out.

When reached by The Tribune on Saturday, Guy said that McCormick was involved with a few business ventures that he was doing well with.

Also, he was tired of this happening:



The turmoil at Hawaii and Utah State serves to highlight the QB flux across the WAC this season. In addition to the Warriors and the Aggies, there are several other schools with unsettled quarterback situations:

• LaTech: open competition
  
• San Jose State: open competition
  
• Boise State: open competition
  
• Idaho: Nathan Enderle

The signal callers in the WAC with job security are Tom Brandstater, Chase Holbrook, and Colin Kaepernick. Armageddon cannot be far off.

Graunke left back [Star Bulletin]
Jase McCormick leaves Aggies [Salt Lake Tribune]

Thursday: Links with anonymity

Story of the day:

More reasons to fear Southern Miss [NCAAFootball.com]

In addition to Southern Miss being big, athletic, and playing at home, Boise State will now have to contend with the Eagles being loaded. Conference USA has released its preseason polls and rankings, and Southern Miss is well represented to say the least.

Golden Eagle junior running back Damion Fletcher was chosen as the league’s preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Fletcher carried the ball 29 times for 155 yards in the Papajohns.com Bowl to finish last season with a single-season best 1,586 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Another Golden Eagle, reigning C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Gerald McRath, was picked as the preseason favorite to repeat as the conference’s top defensive player. He led C-USA in tackles with 139 (71 solo, 68 assist) in 2007 and averaged 10.7 per game.

Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year?  Yikes, indeed. Is there any way we can get Weber State back on the schedule?


Other links:

Is Brian Murphy famous enough to interview? [Kellis Robinett]
Relative to Pocatello people, he is.

Budweiser to support Hawaii athletics [Honolulu Advertiser]
Coca-cola to support head coach Greg McMackin.

BSU's new South African walk-on [Fight Fight BSU]
He plays running back, receiver, and philanthropist.

Oregon to sell single-game tickets tomorrow night [GoDucks]
Fifty-four dollars per seat. Seeing the Broncos win in Autzen? Priceless.

"Who is this year's Hawaii" and other disastrous distinctions

Non-BCS contenders hoping to make a name for themselves on the national stage need look no further than the example set by...Hawaii?

At media outlets across the country, the question of "Who is the next Boise State" has devolved into "Who is the next Hawaii," despite the fact that the questions carry nowhere near the same connotation. Boise State won the Fiesta Bowl. Hawaii choked away the Sugar Bowl. Boise State struck a blow for the little guy. Hawaii reminded everyone why WAC schools aren't usually invite to BCS functions.

If we're asking the question of "Who is this year's Hawaii," shouldn't we be asking the follow-up question of "Does anyone even want to be this year's Hawaii?" The way we remember it, the Warriors barely went undefeated against their cupcake regular season schedule, were chosen by the BCS out of default and obligation, laid a giant egg in the Sugar Bowl, then saw every important person on the team leave the program. Not exactly the way you want to build sustained success.

Scout.com was the latest to ask the question, and they had some interesting, if not unwilling candidates.

BYU, Utah, Tulsa, Southern Mississippi, Boise State.

Here's what they had to say about the Broncos:

Autzen is a nightmare no matter when you play there, but the Ducks are replacing Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart in the backfield. The Broncos are going there at the right time if there really is one, and this is a very experienced team. The game in Hattiesburg pits two of the best NBCS teams in the country, and Fresno State coming north to close out the season will likely decide the WAC champion.

We're sure that the media means well when it asks about the "next Hawaii," but assuming that the Warriors and the Broncos had similar experiences over the past two years is completely wrong. If people don't understand that, then it could be only a matter of time before we see some equally uncomfortable questions.

• Who is the next Maurice Clarett?
• Who is the next Bobby Petrino?
• When is the next USC recruiting scandal?
• Who is the next Chase Holbrook?
• What is the next 2k Sports Las Vegas Bowl?
• What are the next Oregon uniforms?
• Who will be the next Big Ten champion?
• What is the next Robb Akey mustache?

Some questions are best left unanswered.

Blog...Who is the next Hawai'i? [Scout.com]

Wednesday: Links with loyalty

Story of the day:

Childs a steal on fantasy football depth charts [RotoWorld]

We consider ourselves pretty big dorks for taking fantasy football so seriously. Yet we are nowhere close to the uber-dork territory of college football fantasy players (although, now that you mention it, we are rather intrigued).

Jeremy Childs found himself on the fantasy football list of RotoWorld as the nation's 37th rated fantasy receiver. Congrats, we guess.

Should all go as planned then Childs is certainly worth a top receiver pick. Yes there's concern over breaking in a new starting quarterback, but if Boise has proven anything over the years it's the ability to make seamless transitions in personnel and keep the offensive train rolling.

We're not sure how the scoring works, but we assume that it is one point for every 10 receiving yards, six points for a touchdown, and 10 points for an "A" on an original essay.

Other links:

Oregon season preview [FOX Sports]
Who doesn't have a QB controversy this summer?

Free magazines at the IPT [Dave's Blog]
What? They're Phil Steele magazines? Then never mind.

Update on stadium construction [Arbiter Online]
Still no mention of a Dairy Queen kiosk.

What went wrong with Hawaii [USA Today]
It's not rebuilding if you're not building anything.

Friday: Links with Boise

Story of the day:

Greg Graham staying with Broncos [Idaho Statesman]

Oft-beleaguered Bronco coach Greg Graham looks to have a new incentive-laden deal with Boise State that could keep him in Boise for the better part of forever.

The contract includes standard components, such as an annual salary of $345,000 and financial incentives for conference championships, postseason berths and academic performance... The contract also has incentives for additional years that strictly relate to wins, championships and postseason bids.

Graham's contract could turn into a nine-year extension, provided he keep winning. Certain criteria range from winning the conference tournament to earning an NIT berth to completing fundamental inbounds plays.

We're happy to have Graham back because we feel that the Bronco men's basketball team has an opportunity to build upon its success from last season. The more winning BSU teams, the better!

Other links:

Extension coming for Hawkins? [Ralphie Report]
Being mediocre in the Big XII is a lot better than being awful in the Big XII, we guess.

Someone's talking Big East split [Fanblogs]
Southern Miss is being thrown around as a possible addition.

Was Hawaii's Sugar Bowl trip unethical? [Star Bulletin]
We mean besides the horribly lopsided loss part.

J Bates column links to OBNUG [J's Blog]
Ergo, OBNUG links to J Bates column. Thanks, J.

San Jose State and NMSU also not good [Rivals.com]
Well, half the WAC is out of the way, and Rivals isn't even out of the 100s yet.

Wednesday: Links with exercise

Story of the day:

Boise State to host big-time QB recruit [Idaho Press-Tribune]

The Idaho Press-Tribune's Dave Southorn is reporting that California high school QB Richard Brehaut will be in camp this summer with the Broncos. Rivals.com ranks him as a four star recruit and gives him a 5.8 on their rating scale that goes up to 6.1.

The following are stats from Brehaut's freshman year. Freshman!

65.0 completion percentage, 2,348 yards, 22 touchdowns
528 rushing yards, 5 touchdowns

Bush Hamdan was not available for comment.

Other links:

Numerical evidence that the BCS is awful [The Big Lead]
Along with the compelling case of common sense and demand, numerical evidence should make things pretty clear.

Boise State's hook-and-ladder spawns new iterations [Scout.com]
One high school is calling it the hook-and-latter. Also popular: the statue of levity, the double reverb, and quarterback stink.

Boise State games are fun to watch [Are you ready for football?]
Was there ever any debate?

McMackin to keep Hawaii's traditional pre-game dance [Scott Slant]
Former BSU WR Bady has new afl2 team [OurSportsCentral]

Hawaii fan blog loads up on quantity, links

We Bronco bloggers are a rare breed, pumping out posts in an offseason devoid of news and information. Thankfully, we are not alone.

One of the big WAC bloggers is Hawaii's The Warriors Will Throw, and they are in the middle of a posting schedule of OBNUG proportions. The wholesale posts are admirable, but we have taken particular notice of the giant amount of linkage. Here is a taste:

• SMU fan site
• Hawaii Warriors wikipedia
• Colt Brennan draft post
• TimmyChang.net
• Ikaika Ilama-Francis' blog
• UH Rainbowtique

No OBNUG link? This Bronco-Warrior rivalry runs deeper than we thought.

Colt Brennan speaks via Google News

Shall we check in with our favorite overrated, system quarterback?

Apparently Google News now pulls out random quotes from the person you're searching for. With Google's tendency to pull the most popular things first, it doesn't look like I'm the first person to put in Brennan's name. See below:

Now, that's the spirit!

To be fair, here's the whole story that he was quoted in. It was part of a longer quote basically about how June Jones had brainwashed him into thinking that he was the best quarterback to ever play college football, ever, but then realizing when he stepped onto the mainland how things really are. He was miffed by the thought of NFL scouts grading him on his physical abilities at this newfangled thing called the "combine". Well, that was my interpretation at least. You might want to read it for yourself.

Redskins Select Hawaii QB Colt Brennan in 6th Round [WUSA9.com]

Fighting The (BCS) Man on Capitol Hill

A resolution is underway in Washington, D.C., to investigate the legality of the BCS. We have never loved politicians more than we do right now.

Representatives Neil Abercrombie, Democrat of Hawaii; Lynn Westmoreland, Republican of Georgia; and Mike Simpson, Republican of Idaho, introduced a resolution saying the B.C.S. restricts trade because only the largest universities compete in its games. The resolution would require the Justice Department’s antitrust division to investigate if the B.C.S. violates federal law.

Good for Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson leading the charge. He has earned our vote from now until eternity.

The measure, if it passes, would put Congress on record as supporting a postseason playoff.

With OBNUG also on record as supporting a postseason playoff, Congress will have a hard time ignoring this issue.

Three lawmakers seek inquiry... [New York Times]

Losing lucratively pays off for Hawaii

The Hawaii Warriors, big-time losers in the 2008 Sugar Bowl, will receive $4.3 million from the BCS for their participation in the bowl game. For comparison, Boise State, who appeared in the Fiesta Bowl the year before, received $4.2 million...and the respect and admiration of the entire country.

After expenses, the Warriors should net nearly $2.2 million, which could buy coach Greg McMackin a lot of Cokes! However, it appears cooler, more financially responsible heads will prevail.

UH athletic director Jim Donovan, who inherited a balance sheet with a $4.4 million accumulated net deficit when he took over last month, said he hopes to use $1.5 million to balance the budget for the current fiscal year. Options for the remaining $600,000 to $700,000, if it stays within the athletic department, include reducing the accumulated net deficit, making investments in the athletic department and purchasing video equipment for the football team.

We think some of the remaining money should go to Donovan's "shirt fund."



Hawaii's lucrative failure does not just benefit the Warriors, though. Each WAC school will receive over $400,000 apiece to do with as they see fit. Fresno State will use its share to pay down a budget deficit, New Mexico State will fund the Chase Holbrook for Heisman campaign, and Utah State has plans to bribe opponents into "taking it easy on us this year."

UH gets $4.3M bowl payout[Honolulu Advertiser]

WAC spring football...catch the fever (or don't)

With nearly every WAC team in action, we thought it would be fun to take a look around to see what our conference rivals are up to. Enjoy.


Hawaii
The Warriors begin their WAC championship defense the only way they know how: getting up at the crack of dawn.

Most practices run from 7-9 a.m. and are open to the public.

Getting up early? Hah! Nothing a 64 oz. Coke can't fix!

Warriors Open Spring Practice [Hawaii athletics]


Utah State
The Aggies are halfway through their spring practices, and head coach Brent Guy is predictably optimistic.

"The main thing was that it was much more physical than in years past because of our numbers; we have a lot more guys to get in there and we were able to get quite a few live snaps in," said Guy.

Utah State Football 2008: Quantity Over Quality.

Guy pleased with...practice [Utah State athletics]


New Mexico State
NMSU will become the final WAC team to open spring practice, when they kick things off later today. The last shall be first? We doubt it.

Aggie football gears up for first spring practice [NMSU athletics]


Idaho
In addition to oily team-building, the Vandals have lots of work to on the football field during spring practice.

"That’s the one thing we really need to work on," Enderle said, "finishing our drives and getting in the end zone.”

"Also, pretty much every other aspect of football," he continued.

Akey likes what he sees [Idaho athletics]


Fresno State
When Kansas State pulled out of the Bulldogs' 2008 schedule, Fresno replaced the Wildcats with Big East power Rutgers. The Fresno-Rutgers season opener will take place on Labor Day, and the Scarlet Knights will return in 2012 to take on the Bulldogs in Fresno.

Gene Bleymaier is hard at work replacing Idaho State with ITT Tech.

Football schedule gets a facelift [Fresno State athletics]


LaTech
Something is going on at Louisiana Tech's spring practice, but we're not sure what exactly that is.

Following Saturday's first scrimmage of spring workouts, the Bulldogs focus was on improving and building a brand of Louisiana Tech football Monday. Head coach Derek Dooley told his players when each of them earns respect from the opponent the team will have an identity as a strong football program.

What?

Bulldogs build brand of football [LaTech athletics]

Hip surgery for Brennan; opportunity for Tharp

Former Hawaii QB Colt Brennan will need surgery on his injured hip, but he does not expect the injury to affect his draft status...at least not as much as being a "system quarterback."

Brennan's injury didn't prevent him from working out at the NFL Scouting Combine last month, and he also will compete in passing drills at Hawaii's pro day at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

"You won't notice anything wrong with my passing," said Brennan, who owns the NCAA record for career passing touchdowns.

Where Colt Brennan sees frustration, Taylor Tharp sees opportunity. The former Boise State signal caller is now the frontrunner for the WAC quarterback most likely to get drafted and never see any NFL playing time.

Hawaii has issues heading into spring ball

WAC nemesis Hawaii begins spring football practice today, having to break in a new head coach and starting quarterback as well as come to grips with the fact that they were destroyed by a BCS-conference school on a national stage. How is new head coach Greg McMackin coping? Giant glasses of Coca-cola!



In addition to obvious emotional scarring, the Warriors have to deal with the loss of several starters and a change in coaching philosophy.

(McMackin) will keep the run-and-shoot offense, with modifications to take some pressure off the quarterback since Heisman Trophy finalist Colt Brennan won't be back. The Warriors coaches must also determine the best players to fill all four receiver positions and several on the offensive line. Eight starters are gone from the nation's highest-scoring offense of 2007.

Hello, rebuilding!

Warriors open McMackin era [Star-Bulletin]

Hawaii's WAC championship rings tell the painful truth

Wednesday night, Hawaii received its WAC championship rings...along with a painful reminder of how they failed on the nation's biggest stage.

The all-silver ring, designed by McMackin, features the words "WAC Champions" and "Sugar Bowl" on the front. One side has a depiction of Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach with the words "Hawaii," "12-0," and "Believe."

For the record, Hawaii lost the Sugar Bowl 41-10, ending any discussion of them being a relevant football program.

The 12-0 record is also somewhat of a boldfaced lie, considering that the Sugar Bowl was an actual game and everything. I guess selective memory is easier to swallow than the truth.

Warriors receive 2007 championship rings [University of Hawaii]