UH RB Iosefa suits up, sits out
Hawaii running back Joey Iosefa was suited up for Saturday’s game, but spent the evening on the sideline.
Iosefa, UH’s second-leading rusher through two games, suffered an ankle injury a week earlier against Lamar and ended a streak of 10 consecutive starts.
Along with his power running, Iosefa had also contributed as a quarterback in the wildcat set, a variation the Warriors didn’t use on Saturday.
John Lister made his second career start in the backfield and rushed for 21 yards on seven attempts. Will Gregory ended up leading the Warriors with a season-high 92 yards, 70 coming on 11 carries in the fourth quarter with Nevada well ahead.
Safety Bubba Poueu-Luna remained UH’s top rusher through three quarters, thanks to his 36-yard gain on a fake punt to open the second period. Gregory finally passed him with 39 yards on four carries on UH’s first drive of the fourth quarter and later scored his first career touchdown with 6:22 left in the game.
Warriors lose again on national TV
With NBC Sports Network televising Saturday’s game, Hawaii lost for the ninth time in its past 10 appearances on national television. The Warriors’ only win in that span was last year’s season opener against Colorado. UH has been outscored 404-184 in those nine losses, dropping those games by an average score of 45-20.
UH is 0-2 on national TV this season and 17-41-2 all-time and has another date coming up with ESPN carrying Friday’s game at BYU.
Block that kick
It was still a close game when John Hardy-Tuliau blocked a Nevada extra-point try in the second quarter to hold the score at 20-10, Wolf Pack. And with the way things went in previous meetings between these teams at Aloha Stadium, there was a feeling at the time it could factor in on the outcome.
"All week we worked on it. Coach (Chris Demarest) said we could do it," Hardy-Tuliau said. "I just timed up the snap, laid out and got it. We were still in it then, so it gave us a good boost."
It is the junior’s second blocked kick of the season and seventh of his career. The school career record is 13 by Matt Harding.
Poueu-Luna has longest rush on fake
On fourth and 2 from the UH 41 to open the second quarter, sophomore safety Bubba Poueu-Luna took a handoff along the right sideline 36 yards on a fake punt, setting up the first of UH’s two first-half touchdowns.
It tied for the Warriors’ longest offensive play of the game. No other UH run went for more than 9 yards until fourth-quarter garbage time.
Nevada gets pick-happy
Lost in Nevada’s offensive explosion was the key play of the game recorded by the Wolf Pack’s much-maligned defense.
Sophomore defensive back Charles Garrett recorded Nevada’s first interception of the season, picking off UH quarterback Sean Schroeder with less than 5 minutes left in the first half.
The pick ended a run of seven straight scoring drives by the two teams combined and allowed Nevada to punch another one in before half to take a 34-17 lead.
The Wolf Pack hadn’t intercepted a pass in 18 quarters dating back to Nevada’s regular-season finale against Idaho last year.
Senior Khalid Wooten one-upped his teammate early in the fourth quarter, returning a Schroeder interception 78 yards for a score to put Nevada ahead 62-17.
