Today’s opposing football coaches — Navy’s Kenny Niumatalolo and Hawaii’s Nick Rolovich — are former UH quarterbacks and graduate assistants, caretakers of innovative offenses, and Honolulu homeowners.

Reminded of Niumatalolo’s deed, Rolovich joked, “It’s probably been about a year and a half surveillance he’s had on me. When I found that out, you know … military’s got a lot of capabilities.”

Niumatalolo, who is beginning his 11th season as Navy’s head coach — the longest tenure in the program’s history — is a graduate of a high school (Radford) within a mile of Aloha Stadium. His son, Vaa, is an offensive intern with the Rainbow Warriors.

“It shows Hawaii never really left his heart,” Rolovich said of Niumatalolo’s Honolulu home. “He knows, when it’s all said and done … that’s an investment in his life. I don’t think that’s a monetary thing. I think he’s really got a piece of his heart still on the this island — in these islands — and if he ever decides to come back, Hawaii will be lucky and blessed to have him back.”

Navy runs a triple-option offense that Niumatalolo learned from Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson, a former UH offensive coordinator. Rolovich has resurrected the run-and-shoot schemes he learned from former UH coach June Jones.

Both offenses serve the same purpose: to elevate blood pressures.

The Midshipmen’s triple-option is an aggressive, run-oriented offense that rarely uses the pause button on the game clock. Last year, their average time of possession per game was 36 minutes, 18 seconds.

“Their offense helps their defense,” Rolovich said. “It makes people take chances. It stresses people because they’re so efficient in moving the ball and putting points on the board. That invisible pressure starts creeping into the other side on offense.”

With Navy hog-cheesing the clock, particularly when they earn a lead, opponents often try to strike back quickly. “Their offense puts pressure on the opponents’ offense, which helps their defense,” Rolovich said.

But when successful, the Warriors’ run-and-shoot also can create stress. The scheme, in theory, is designed for every play to produce chunk yards. The run-and-shoot is football’s equivalent of a 3-point-shooting team that has the potential to produce offensive surges.

It also will be a homecoming for Navy offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper, a former UH quarterback. “It’s a little bit different,” Jasper said. “It’s not like I’m coming back for a vacation or anything like that. I’m coming back for a very important business trip and trying to win a football game.”

The Warriors’ season-opening upset of Colorado State a week ago appears to have energized their fan base.

“We’re going into a tough environment that I know all too well,” Jasper said. “Coach Niumatalolo always says it’s a hornet’s nest, a beehive, a lion’s den, a snake pit. We have to be ready to play. … They have a good football team, good players, great staff. They’re at home after a really big win. All the ingredients are coming together for us to walk into a hostile situation. … And they have the Little League world champs.”

UH defensive coordinator Corey Batoon praised the Midshipmen as “really smart football guys who work hard.”

Batoon was Florida Atlantic’s defensive coordinator in the Owls’ 2017 opener against Navy. The Midshipmen rolled up 526 yards in a 42-19 victory.

“The biggest challenge for us is we have to match their intensity,” Batoon said. “They’re a very physical, very intense football team. If we can match their intensity and be assignment sound, it’ll give us a chance.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. at Aloha Stadium.

Hawaii’s AD Matlin expects ‘27,000-plus’ for today’s game

Following its upset victory over Colorado State, the University of Hawaii said it anticipates issuing “27,000-plus” tickets for tonight’s home football opener against Navy.

Athletic director David Matlin, who made the projection, said, “We’ve had a good last week of sales.”

If the estimates hold up, UH could be looking at its largest home-opening crowd since 2014, when 32,197 went through the turnstiles for a game with Washington. Through Thursday, UH said it had sold approximately 12,100 season tickets, with sales continuing by phone through next week.

The game, with a 5 p.m. kickoff, will be shown on the CBS Sports Network. Aloha Stadium manager Scott Chan said, “We’ve had a consistent flow at the box office and strong (sales) for the sky boxes.” — Ferd Lewis, Star-Advertiser