Game Day: Hawaii vs. Wyoming

RAINBOW WARRIORS OFFENSE

The Rainbow Warriors average 6.6 yards on first down, including running back Diocemy Saint Juste’s 6.58 per carry. But an average of 6.7 offensive penalties per game has resulted in more third-down situations of 10-plus yards (15) than 1 to 3 yards (12). The Warriors have converted on 45 percent of third-down plays. Saint Juste is having a prolific season, displaying production (144.7 yards per game), toughness (3.59 post-contact yards) and versatility (15 red-zone carries in three games this year compared to 13 as a junior and 11 as a sophomore). His role might expand as a receiver (only two targets this season). The Warriors’ passing attack has been inside-oriented so far, with the starting slots receiving more attention (26 targets) than the two starting wideouts (25) and tight end (8).

Against UCLA, the Warriors added to their hybrid offense with direct snaps to the running back, a shovel pass to tight end Dakota Torres, and their version of a triple-option, with quarterback Dru Brown having the choice of keeping the ball, handing off to Saint Juste on a dive or flipping to a wideout on a jet sweep. This year’s surprise is offensive lineman Chris Posa’s emergence. He has been a bruiser as a pulling guard and a battler as a front-side tackle. His best outing was when he shifted to right tackle in the first half against UCLA, ditching his off-the-field cheeriness. “You go on that field, especially as an offensive lineman, you’ve got to flip that switch in your head,” Posa said. “There are no friends on that field.”

• LWO | 12 | Keelan Ewaliko | 5-11 | 200 | Sr.
• SB | 5 | John Ursua | 5-10 | 165 | So.
• LT | 50 | Dejon Allen | 6-3 | 295 | Sr.
• LG | 51 | John Wa‘a | 6-4 | 315 | Sr.
• C | 65 | Asotui Eli | 6-4 | 305 | Jr.
• RG | 64 | Fred Ulu-Perry | 6-2 | 305 | So.
• RT | 60 | Chris Posa | 6-4 | 290 | Sr.
• TE | 7 | Metuisela ‘Unga | 6-5 | 240 | Sr.
• RWO | 80 | Ammon Barker | 6-4 | 215 | Sr.
• QB | 2 | Dru Brown | 6-0 | 200 | Jr.
• RB | 22 | Diocemy Saint Juste | 5-8 | 195 | Sr.

RAINBOW WARRIORS DEFENSE

Against UCLA’s speedy receivers and multi-skilled tight end, the Warriors played more coverage packages. But with minimal pressure, Josh Rosen was 22-for-25 and the Bruins had 18 plays of 12-plus yards in his 46 snaps. “Obviously, it didn’t work out the way we wanted it to,” said defensive coordinator Legi Suiaunoa, who used last week’s bye to prioritize pressure and tackling. “We’re a better football team than what we showed. They worked really, really hard. I know they’re excited to get back on the field.” While corner Manu Hudson-Rasmussen has been busy the past two games, he also has been a reliable tackler (fourth-best 16) and disrupter (team-high three breakups). Corners Zach Wilson, Mykal Tolliver and Eugene Ford will get more snaps in Laramie’s thin air.

Middle linebacker Jahlani Tavai, who was recruited as a rush end, has emerged as an active run-stopper. Of his 27 tackles, 22 were on running plays (he also has two sacks). Opponents average 2.7 yards on Tavai’s run stops. Zeno Choi, who was used as a defensive end the first three games, is expected to have an expanded role in the D-line rotation. He relies on strength as a run-stopping end and quickness at the 3-technique. “I do what I’ve got to do,” Choi said. Suiaunoa said Choi is “big, fast and strong. And he still has a lot of room to grow. I think he’s a guy, as the season goes on, who’ll contribute more and more.”

• DE | 3 | David Manoa | 6-3 | 240 | Sr.
• NT | 8 | Penitito Faalologo | 5-11 | 295 | Sr.
• DT | 99 | Zeno Choi | 6-3 | 270 | Jr.
• DE | 97 | Meffy Koloamatangi | 6-5 | 240 | Sr.
• WLB | 44 | Russell Williams | Jr. | 6-1 | 230 | Sr.
• MLB | 31 | Jahlani Tavai | 6-4 | 235 | Jr.
• SLB | 27 | Solomon Matautia | 6-1 | 225 | So.
• CB | 14 | Manu Hudson-Rasmussen | 6-0 | 185 | Jr.
• FS | 39 | Trayvon Henderson | 6-0 | 200 | Sr.
• SS | 4 | Daniel Lewis | 5-11 | 180 | Jr.
• CB | 18 | Rojesterman Farris II | 6-1 | 180 | So.

RAINBOW WARRIORS SPECIAL TEAMS

Gold Coast’s highest point is Tamborine Mountain’s summit (1,722 feet), heightening Australia kicker Ryan Meskell’s anticipation for playing at Laramie’s 7,200-foot elevation. “I hear it’s a good thing for kickers,” Meskell said of the thinner air. “We can kick it farther, apparently.” But long-snapper Noah Borden will have to adjust to the grip being drier because of the altitude or slippery because of the projected storm.

• PK | 46 | Ryan Meskell | 6-0 | 180 | So.
• PK | 46 | Alex Trifonovitch | 6-1 | 180 | So.
• LS | 1 | Noah Borden | 6-1 | 215 | Jr.
• P/H | 99 | Stan Gaudion | 6-3 | 210 | Fr.
• KR | 12 | Keelan Ewaliko | 5-11 | 200 | Sr.
• PR | 5 | John Ursua | 5-10 | 165 | So.

COWBOYS OFFENSE

The “exit” sign was illuminated, but quarterback Josh Allen opted not to apply for the 2017 draft and instead return to Laramie for his junior season. During the preseason, Allen was widely ranked as one of the top three QB prospects for the 2018 draft. But while struggling against Power 5 schools Iowa and Oregon — 50 percent accuracy, average of 119.0 passing yards, zero touchdowns — Allen has remained confident. He experienced soreness in his right (passing) arm and ankle following last week’s game, but he declared himself physically fit this week, insisting his health is “not even a question.” Neither is his toughness. Allen was raised on his family’s 2,000-acre, row-crop farm, where he moved irrigation pipes, drove tractors and weeded cotton. He has arm strength (he can roll to his far right and throw to the far left), level-route comprehension (reading defenses from deep to short), and 4.6-second quickness over 40 yards. He can operate in the shotgun in either empty, four-wide or double-tight-end sets, and also is effective under center on bootlegs or play-action passes off 3- or 5-step drops. But an inconsistent running game (the Cowboys average 2.78 yards per first-down carry) and inexperience (center Logan Harris and right tackle Alonzo Velasquez are true freshmen) have hindered the offense. Wyoming has pared the back-by-committee approach, and quick-cutting Milo Hall and Trey Woods, a downhill runner, will get most of the carries.

• X | 14 | C.J. Johnson | 6-2 | 204 | So.
• LT | 72 | Zach Wallace | 6-7 | 310 | Jr.
• LG | 55 | Gavin Rush | 6-3 | 298 | So.
• C | 79 | Logan Harris | 6-3 | 308 | Fr.
• RG | 61 | Kaden Jackson | 6-2 | 295 | Jr.
• RT | 78 | Alonzo Velazquez | 6-6 | 288 | Fr.
• TE | 85 | Tyree Mayfield | 6-3 | 241 | Jr.
• Z | 25 | Austin Conway | 5-10 | 180 | So.
• QB | 17 | Josh Allen | 6-5 | 240 | Jr.
• FB | 36 | Drew Van Maanen | 6-1 | 245 | Sr.
• RB | 3 | Milo Hall | 5-8 | 190 | So.

COWBOYS DEFENSE

After clinching the 2016 Mountain Division title, the Cowboys lost their next three games, leading to Steve Stanard not being renewed as defensive coordinator. Head coach Craig Bohl quickly hired Scottie Hazelton, reuniting a partnership that won three FCS championships at North Dakota State. Hazelton also coached at Nevada in 2013, when UH coach Nick Rolovich was the Wolf Pack’s offensive coordinator, and the past two years with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hazelton retains a Tampa 2 scheme that revolves around two active safeties (Andrew Wingard and Marcus Epps), an aggressive middle linebacker (Logan Wilson) and quick ends (Carl Granderson and Kevin Prosser). Prosser can align as a stand-up rusher. Granderson is a high-motor end. Both are effective on loops. A favorite tactic is for nose tackle Sidney Malauulu to drive a tackle while Granderson curls into the backfield. Granderson is a workout-holic who lifts weights after every practice. The Cowboys sometimes split the line wide, leaving Wilson alone in the middle. They also have used a six-man front (with cornerback Robert Priester as a presser) or a 4-6-1 alignment with Epps as the deep safety. Even without the waist-length hair, Wingard is easy to spot: he’s the one in constant motion as a quasi-linebacker, blitzer or rover.

• DE | 91 | Carl Granderson | 6-5 | 255 | Jr.
• NT | 96 | Sidney Malauulu | 6-3 | 310 | Jr.
• DT | 93 | Youhanna Ghaifan | 6-4 | 290 | So.
• DE | 42 | Kevin Prosser | 6-2 | 227 | Jr.
• WLB | 46 | Cassh Maluia | 6-0 | 230 | So.
• MLB | 30 | Logan Wilson | 6-2 | 240 | So.
• NB | 8 | Jalen Ortiz | 5-10 | 200 | Sr.
• CB | 2 | Robert Priester | 5-9 | 180 | Sr.
• SS | 28 | Andrew Wingard | 6-0 | 210 | Jr.
• FS | 6 | Marcus Epps | 6-0 | 206 | Jr.
• CB | 9 | Tyler Hall | 5-10 | 190 | So.

COWBOYS SPECIAL TEAMS

In two games in high altitude, punter Tim Zaleski is averaging a pedestrian 37.2 yards per attempt. It is worse at sea level, where Zaleski averaged 29,0 yards, including a whiff when the ball slipped from his hands, against Iowa. Cooper Rothe has converted four field goals in a row. The Cowboys, meanwhile, have allowed only one field goal in three games.

• PK | 40 | Cooper Rothe | 5-11 | 174 | So.
• LS | 36 | Drew Van Maanen | 6-1 | 245 | Sr.
• H | 11 | Nic Szpor | 6-3 | 205 | So.
• P | 27 | Tim Zaleski | 6-5 | 230 | Fr.
• KR | 5 | Rico Gafford | 5-11 | 185 | Sr.
• PR | 25 | Austin Conway | 5-10 | 178 | So.