Beavers gnaw away at UH’s inept offense

CORVALLIS, Ore. » Once upon a not-so-distant time, the University of Hawaii was renowned for its point-a-minute offense.

Now it has a touchdown-a-week offense.

And for the second consecutive week, a single offensive TD wasn’t nearly enough to get the job done against a Pac-12 Conference opponent.

This time, the Rainbow Warriors fell victim to Oregon State, 33-14, in an 0-2 start that further underlined their offensive futility.

The ‘Bows have been so offensively challenged that twice the Beavers were emboldened to go for it on fourth and 1 on the 47-yard line or deeper in their own territory. The feeling apparently being that even if they didn’t convert, it wasn’t like the ‘Bows were going to make them pay for it, so what the heck.

Especially when UH converted just one of 11 third-down opportunities and whiffed on its one fourth-down try.

Nine of UH’s 14 possessions ended in punts and six of those were of the dreaded three-and-out variety that further winded an already over-burdened defense.

Speaking of over-worked, at this rate, Ruben Guzman and Scott Harding, who have been dividing the mounting punting chores, will be the first players on the roster to letter.

It isn’t just one offensive breakdown, either. It is a plethora. It is dropped passes (four), at least two of which would have been good for first downs. It is mix-ups on pass patterns, overthrown receivers, protection breakdowns and missed reads.

In short, it is the whole laundry list from the opener against Southern California all over again.

And it wasn’t like the Beavers have been a defensive juggernaut, either. Last week, Eastern Washington, a Football Championship Subdivision opponent, laid 49 points and 625 yards of total offense on Oregon State in an upset.

You got the feeling UH could play until next Wednesday and not match those numbers.

Though for a brief time — 3 minutes and 51 seconds in the second quarter — the ‘Bows seemed like they might just be finally turning the corner on their offensive frustrations. They roared down the field 80 yards in nine plays to tie the score at 14. The passes were crisp, the catches secure and the blocking impressive.

This, of course, after the defense had pointed the way to the end zone six minutes earlier with linebacker Julian Gener’s 23-yard interception return after John Hardy-Tuliau had pressured quarterback Sean Mannion.

Suddenly, the 38,179 mostly orange-clad Beavers faithful at Reser Stadium were stunned, and UH was hopeful it would leave with more than the $350,000 visitors check in its pocket.

But, alas, the UH drive that culminated in Taylor Graham’s 15-yard scoring pass to tight end Clark Evans was only a tease for ‘Bows fans. And then it was right back to the routine of one-two-three punt.

When it was over, all UH had to show for its first road trip of the season was a meager 239 yards of total offense, 69 yards of it on the ground. Not surprisingly, it added up to the ‘Bows’ eighth consecutive road loss since Idaho in 2011.

Every time an Oregon State opponent faces a third-down situation, the Reser Stadium scoreboard flashes a video of the Beaver mascot taking out a chainsaw at full roar.

"We like that," said OSU defensive end Devon Kell, a Hilo High graduate who had a sack and four tackles and was in on the safety. "It fires us up."

Saturday night, the chainsaw was was all too symbolic for a splintered UH offense.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820