A home football game. The first one in what seems like forever. And the first one for Norm Chow in the spot where so far it looks like he belongs and maybe should have been stationed the past 15 years or so — University of Hawaii head coach.
It’s good Chow is no longer on the athletic director search advisory committee. His job is to search for football wins, not administrators, and he’s still looking for his first. While it’s hard to resist the opportunity to be intimately involved in choosing your new boss (imagine if everyone got to do that), Chow has other priorities.
We can talk more about the AD situation and all the intrigue involved on another day … that one, unfortunately, is going to go on awhile.
But right now, we’ve got a football game coming up. Got your tickets? Is your cooler packed? Or more likely, have you secured a Pay-Per-View party invitation?
Betting lines are hard to find on this game, but apparently someone has installed Hawaii as a 30-point favorite against little Lamar. Whoever did that must think the Cardinals roster includes athletes with the physical prowess of Lamar Latrell from Revenge of the Nerds and the competitive motivation of Lamar Odom.
That’s not quite the case. Lamar’s got some legitimate talent, especially at the skill positions. There’s a running back named Herschel Sims, and he’s got to be at least as good as O.J. Payton or Barry Dickerson.
Sims rushed for more than 100 yards twice as a freshman — while at Oklahoma State, against Big 12 teams. That isn’t quite the same as doing so in the SEC, but it’s still a top-notch conference and Sims is no joke. Neither is fellow Cowboys refugee, receiver Kevin Johnson.
Lamar is 1-1, and coming off a 31-0 win. It was against Prairie View, which is mostly known for losing 80 games in a row. But that was back in the 1990s, and the Panthers aren’t that bad now: 12-12 since 2010, and their other loss this season was by just three points.
The Cardinals’ loss at Louisiana-Lafayette to start the season doesn’t look as bad when you see that the Ragin’ Cajuns went on to beat Troy (five winning seasons in the past six). And also that Lamar played much better after falling behind 40-0 in the first half (which turned out to be the final score).
Now, let’s look at how UH has fared against some of the "little guys" over the years in openers at Aloha Stadium.
Remember Portland State in 2000? I know you don’t want to; that was when the overhyped Warriors were bushwhacked by June Jones’ alma mater in the season opener and set the tone for a 3-9 ledger.
How about Florida Atlantic in 2004? The Owls stunned UH in overtime 35-28. It took a late-season surge after that, but Hawaii finished 8-5.
More recently, Hawaii barely escaped with a 25-20 win over Central Arkansas at Aloha Stadium to start the 2009 season, which UH finished 6-7. That was the only other game Hawaii has played against a current member of the Southland Conference, in which Lamar plays.
Don’t get me wrong — I remain very encouraged about the way Hawaii finished against USC, and still think UH is a lock to get its first win of the season Saturday. But it must remain focused and disciplined and play with the heart and competence it did two weeks ago, particularly in the third quarter of that game against the preseason No. 1.
One more thing to note: Whoever installed that 30-point spread might have forgotten UH’s offense is no longer the run-and-shoot. Chow’s offense is more deliberate. Even if they dominate, the Warriors could run out of time before they can build up that big a lead.
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783.
