Five big plays from Hawaii’s 31-21 loss to Fresno State

Decent Start

>> Situation: Hawaii 0, Fresno State 0, 5:19 remaining first quarter, Hawaii ball fourth-and-3 at Fresno State 31

>> The Play: QB Dru Brown passes to WR Kamoku Noa for an 11-yard gain and a first down.

>> Impact: The fourth-down conversion extended Hawaii’s 11-play, 54-yard drive that ended with Brown’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Noa, his first career TD.

>> Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich: “(UH had energy) early on, and then we didn’t get much done after that.”

Tropic Lightning

>> Situation: Hawaii 7, Fresno State 7, 10:19 remaining second quarter, Hawaii ball first-and-10 at own 36

>> The Play: Officials postpone play for 41 minutes due to nearby lightning strikes.

>> Impact: After the delay, the Hawaii drive sputtered and Fresno State scored two touchdowns before the end of the first half, part of 31 consecutive points as Hawaii did not score in the second and third quarters.

>> Fresno State receiver KeeSean Johnson: “That was my first weather delay ever, so it’s a little different. It gave us a chance to figure out what they’re running and switch up a little bit to the defensive scheme and it worked out.”

Fumble

>> Situation: Fresno State 24, Hawaii 7, 4:20 remaining third quarter, Hawaii ball first-and-10 at Fresno State 49

>> The Play: Brown scrambles and is tackled after a gain of 1 yard. The ball is knocked loose by LB Tobenna Okeke and recovered by LB Robert Stanley

>> Impact: The Hawaii turnover set up Fresno State’s fifth unanswered score.

>> Okeke: “The back end stayed on the receivers long enough for me to get in there. Great play-calling by Coach and us executing our plays.”

Thanks For The Tip

>> Situation: Fresno State 31, Hawaii 15, 13:09 remaining fourth quarter, Fresno State ball second-and-13 at own 9

>> The Play: DE David Manoa tips a pass by QB Marcus McMaryion, and it is intercepted by LB Solomon Matautia. Matuatia returns it 19 yards for a touchdown.

>> Impact: Matuatia’s third interception of the season and first touchdown got Hawaii back into the game.

>> Matautia: “The coaches have been bugging us for a turnover, we needed to score, we needed to change momentum and everything worked out the right way. We got good pressure and we got the tip and when I caught it we had good blocking.”

Picked Off

>> Situation: Fresno State 31, Hawaii 21, 2:14 remaining first quarter, Hawaii ball second-and-goal at Fresno State 5

>> The Play: Brown fakes a hand off and his pass into the end zone is intercepted by DB Tank Kelly.

>> Impact: Hawaii failed to capitalize after CB Eugene Ford’s interception gave it a chance. Fresno State took over and ran out the clock.

>> Brown: “I tried to throw a 50-50 ball. I guess the situation wasn’t right.”