1. Short Memory
>> Situation: San Jose State 3, Hawaii 3, 14:57 remaining second quarter, San Jose State ball, third-and-7 at Hawaii 8
>> The Play: QB Kenny Potter finds WR Justin Holmes open in the end zone for the first touchdown of the game.
>> Impact: San Jose State took the lead, but Hawaii came back with a touchdown pass from QB Dru Brown to SB Dylan Collie on the next series and the defense did not allow another score. CB Jalen Rogers, beaten on the touchdown pass, got a Hawaii interception later.
>> Hawaii cornerback Jalen Rogers: “They kind of got me on that early touchdown. But to play cornerback you have to have that mentality of a short memory.”
2. Brown scores
>> Situation: Hawaii 10, San Jose State 10, 8:32 remaining second quarter, Hawaii ball, fourth-and-1 at Hawaii 38
>> The Play: Brown fakes a handoff up the middle to RB Steven Lakalalaka, then goes around right end for a 62-yard touchdown run.
>> Impact: Hawaii took a lead it would never relinquish on a risky call by coach Nick Rolovich to go for it, and then Brown taking advantage of how San Jose State’s defense was bunched up to prevent an inside run for a first down and vulnerable to deception and a long outside run.
>> Brown: “I noticed it on the play before. … There were a lot of guys in the box. Now that it’s on tape we probably can’t run it again for a while. But it should help spread (defenders out) on short yardage.”
3. Brown fumbles
>> Situation: Hawaii 24, San Jose State 10, 4:16 remaining third quarter, Hawaii ball, first-and-10 at San Jose State 49
>> The Play: LB Isiah Irving knocks the ball out of Brown’s hand, LB Frank Ginda picks it up at the Hawaii 19 and runs in for a touchdown.
>> Impact: The sudden turn of events finally halted Hawaii’s momentum after it scored 21 unanswered points, and put San Jose State within a touchdown of the lead. Brown has performed well overall but suffered from ball-security issues.
>> Rolovich: “We’ve been telling him about that stupid fumble. I told him it was coming, and it came. … Maybe this will be a lesson he gets. If he wants to keep doing it, we’ll make another change.”
4. Henderson picks it off
>> Situation: Hawaii 24, San Jose State 17, 14.52 remaining third quarter, San Jose State ball, first-and-10 at own 19
>> The Play: S Trayvon Henderson intercepts QB Kenny Potter for Hawaii’s third pick of the game.
>> Impact: Hawaii defensive backs made three interceptions, matching the total for the entire team in the entire 2015 season. The defense also sacked San Jose State quarterbacks six times.
>> San Jose State coach Ron Caragher: “Their secondary is much improved from last year. Sometimes our passing game stared some things down that pulled the free safety over. A couple of those (intercepted) balls were up there. It’s a painful lesson.”
5. Delay Of Game … Defense
>> Situation: Hawaii 24, San Jose State 17, 13:15 remaining fourth quarter, Hawaii ball, fourth-and-1 at San Jose State 35
>> The Play: San Jose State was assessed a 5-yard penalty for trying to interfere with the Hawaii signals being called out by C Asotui Eli.
>> Impact: On the next play, Lakalaka ran 30 yards up the middle for an insurance touchdown.
>> Eli: “Oh, well, it ended up going bad for them.”
