Game Day!

HAWAII 0-4, 0-2 IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST

HAWAII OFFENSE

Through Friday’s walk-through, the Rainbow Warriors were debating how to split reps between Sean Schroeder and Ikaika Woolsey. Schroeder was at the controls in last week’s 34-0 surge, the second-most efficient run in the program’s history. In 13 minutes, 24 seconds, Schroeder led five touchdown drives, going 10-for-14 for 256 yards and three scores. His efficiency rating was 295.74 during that span. UH ran the two-minute offense after Woolsey was pulled with a 42-3 deficit in the third quarter. The Warriors actually are equipped to maintain that pace — they don’t huddle before snapping and have rehearsed scores of plays all week — but will allow the game to dictate the tempo. UH pondered whether Schroeder, whom coach Norm Chow termed “our Mariano Rivera,” is better suited as a starter or reliever. Against Fresno, Woolsey was 7-for-19 for 56 yards in his first start since his high school senior season three years ago. But two passes were dropped and a third was intentionally discarded. Because of penalties and ineffectiveness, when Woolsey was the quarterback, UH’s average second-down play needed 10.75 yards for a first down. Woolsey is mobile (he averages 3.0 yards after eluding a tackler) and has a strong arm, enabling the Warriors to mix read-option and vertical-route plays. “Ikaika did some nice things, but he has to do a better job of putting the ball up and letting our guys make plays,” said Jordan Wynn, who coaches the quarterbacks. UH receivers had a yards-after-catch average of 8.1 against Fresno. Steven Lakalaka, who shed 20 pounds in the offseason, is shedding tacklers. His best run came when he made a jump-cut move to elude a blitzer and scoot into the end zone.

HAWAII DEFENSE

UH has had to improvise because of injuries and circumstances. UH was in 3-3-5 and 3-2-6 coverages 86 percent of the plays against Fresno State’s hurry-up, spread-’em-out offense. In the nickel package, Charles Clay, who has become a capable open-field tackler, entered as the fifth defensive back. In the dime scheme, freshman Trayvon Henderson was the bonus DB. In either scheme, UH had to pull a down lineman, which siphoned the pass rush and thinned the run defense. When Fresno began to establish a run game, Brenden Daley, who usually is pulled on passing downs, remained in sub-packages because of his run-stopping skills. Art Laurel has been medically cleared after being held out of two practices this week. If he needs a break, TJ Taimatuia can slide to the weak side, while Jerrol Garcia-Williams will enter as the strongside linebacker. Taimatuia played all three linebacker positions against Fresno. The Warriors worked this week on eluding cut blocks, re-routing receivers and wrapping up. The Warriors had 20 missed or broken tackles last week, including 16 on running plays. “Guys were getting cut down and missing tackles,” defensive coordinator Thom Kaumeyer said. “Instead of having a 2-yard gain, they had 7, 8 yards, which was putting us in a hole.” Look for linebackers Kamalani Alo and Lance Williams to have expanded roles today.

HAWAII SPECIAL TEAMS

One of the biggest compliments is Fresno State sent a blitzer after Scott Harding on a rollout punt. “We want to feel (the punt) is an offensive play,” said Harding, who can punt with either foot on rugby-styled rollouts. Of Harding’s 16 punts this year, only five have been returned, for an average of 3.4 yards. Two of the punts resulted in lost fumbles. Six of his punts were downed, four were fair caught and one bounced out of bounds. Harding helps the coverage unit by buying time on the rollouts. He also is a threat to run, a tactic he has yet to use but has often considered. Return teams “play it pretty safe because they don’t know what we’re going to do,” Harding said.

SJSU 1-3, 0-1 IN the MOUNTAIN WEST

SAN JOSE STATE OFFENSE

The ring could come at any time. “Sometimes early in the morning, he would call, and I’d look at my phone, and it was like: ‘Fales, come on. Thirty more minutes,’ ” receiver Chandler Jones said of his restless summer of workouts with quarterback David Fales. “(Fales) always wanted to work out. Every day we were throwing or working out or doing something.” After a breakout — and farewell-to-the-WAC — season in 2012, SJSU has a new head coach, offensive coordinator and scheme (switching from the pistol) this year. “The terminology is definitely different,” Fales said. What remains is the no-huddle approach and trust in Fales, the nation’s most accurate passer in 2012. This year, Fales is completing only 58.2 percent of his throws in a quickened pace. He is averaging 1.7 seconds from catching the snap to releasing the ball. He has been sacked on only 3.4 percent of SJSU’s passing plays. The Spartans had favored three-receiver sets. But with receivers Noel Grigsby and Jabari Carr out with injuries, the Spartans have turned to formations involving both a fullback and tight end. Jason Simpson has 59 percent of the non-sack carries, a workload that increased because of running back Tyler Ervin’s continuing injury issues. The Spartans’ ground game consists of inside zones and read zones. Billy Freeman is reliable on 5-yard checkdowns. Jones is a sure-handed receiver. Jones received his first name because his parents lived in Chandler, Ariz. He was born on Thanksgiving Day. “My mom always teases me that she couldn’t have turkey that day,” Jones said.

SAN JOSE STATE DEFENSE

Keith Smith’s right arm is a tattooed canvas of palm trees, his mother’s image and Psalms 27:1. The rest of his body is ink-free. “I want to be kind of different,” Smith has said. Smith has separated himself with an FBS-best 17.8 tackles per game. His 71 tackles are 44 more than the Spartans’ No. 2 tackler. Coach Ron Caragher has described Smith as “our heart and soul on defense.” Smith is considered a “downhill” defender who aligns 5 yards from the line of scrimmage at the snap, then picks gaps as if he were a running back. “For the most part, it’s line up, fill the hole,” Smith has said. “For the most part, it’s still football.” Christian Tago, a former quarterback, redshirted last year. Tago’s strong play in spring training enabled Vince Buhagier to move to the outside. Only half the plan worked. Buhagier suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Bene Benwikere, their best corner, is not expected to play today because of concussion-like symptoms. Anthony Larceval, the Spartans’ second-best defensive lineman last year, has made a remarkable recovery from meningoencephalitis, a condition that can cause swelling and infection in the brain. He has nine tackles in four games. The Spartans’ base is a 3-4 scheme, although both outside linebackers often align in the tackle box. Nate Falo is a nose tackle who has two-gap responsibilities.

SAN JOSE STATE SPECIAL TEAMS

Keith Smith’s right arm is a tattooed canvas of palm trees, his mother’s image and Psalms 27:1. The rest of his body is ink-free. “I want to be kind of different,” Smith has said. Smith has separated himself with an FBS-best 17.8 tackles per game. His 71 tackles are 44 more than the Spartans’ No. 2 tackler. Coach Ron Caragher has described Smith as “our heart and soul on defense.” Smith is considered a “downhill” defender who aligns 5 yards from the line of scrimmage at the snap, then picks gaps as if he were a running back. “For the most part, it’s line up, fill the hole,” Smith has said. “For the most part, it’s still football.” Christian Tago, a former quarterback, redshirted last year. Tago’s strong play in spring training enabled Vince Buhagier to move to the outside. Only half the plan worked. Buhagier suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Bene Benwikere, their best corner, is not expected to play today because of concussion-like symptoms. Anthony Larceval, the Spartans’ second-best defensive lineman last year, has made a remarkable recovery from meningoencephalitis, a condition that can cause swelling and infection in the brain. He has nine tackles in four games. The Spartans’ base is a 3-4 scheme, although both outside linebackers often align in the tackle box. Nate Falo is a nose tackle who has two-gap responsibilities.

THE FAN ZONE