Big plays doom Hawaii in OSU’s electric first half

To open the season against Washington, the Hawaii defense gave up a single big play.

In the first half against Oregon State on Saturday night, the Rainbow Warriors gave up a plethora.

Forty yards here, 35 yards there. The Beavers, led by senior quarterback Sean Mannion and running back Terron Ward, gashed UH repeatedly for large gains in the early going. The visitors from the Pac-12 Conference led by 24 points at halftime before ultimately prevailing 38-30, outlasting another spirited UH comeback attempt.

UH (0-2) gave up 464 yards of total offense — 348 of which came before halftime. The 6-foot-5 Mannion posted an even 300 yards passing, converting 26 of 37 attempts. Perhaps more troublesome, Ward gained 124 yards in 15 attempts on the ground, an 8.3 average.

"There were breakdowns as far as gap control," linebackers coach Kurt Gouveia said. "We were there but not quite there. We weren’t tackling well in the first half. We were arm tackling, which you can’t do that. As far as our gap control, we weren’t quite in the gap … and then they run right through our arms. We tried to make an adjustment at half and … played pretty tough the second half. By that time it was too late for us."

Just like UH’s 17-16 loss to Washington — in which a 91-yard post route score was the biggest blemish on the D — the UH defense locked in after halftime to give the offense a chance at a comeback, only to fall a little short.

Unlike that game, these Beavers ran wild, chewing up the "dams" UH threw up for large yardage at a time for a 31-7 halftime advantage.

If defensive coordinator Kevin Clune’s troops can draw upon anything after two losses, it’s that they seem to perform better with their backs to the wall, down by a little or down by a lot.

"I’m proud of them because they fought hard in the second half and tried to come back," Gouveia said. "You know, with a good team like that you can never give them that many points in the first half, right off the bat. So now we’re chasing them. They’re sitting back and playing their game, and we’re changing our game plan. It makes it tough."

Oregon State, running a pro-style offense, piled up seven plays of 20 yards or more in the first half, but only two after the break.

"Shoot, we came out more pissed off," senior linebacker Tevita Lataimua said. "Obviously we weren’t happy with the first half, so we just tried to pick it up. Play our own defense, play as one. … We just gotta do a better job of holding our gaps, holding our assignments. Being where we’re supposed to be at the right time."

OSU’s offensive line fended off UH’s 3-4 pass rush effectively for most of the game, though the Warriors did sack Mannion twice in the fourth quarter to aid their comeback hopes, as UH rattled off 23 unanswered points.

The damage was done, however. With a score on their first drive of the third quarter, the Beavers went 5-for-5 in the red zone.

"They got a lot of good players," Lataimua said. "There’s always going to be big plays, you just gotta learn how to bounce back from it and worry about the next one."

UH senior cornerback Dee Maggitt was burned twice by Beavers receivers on OSU’s opening drive, but he finished with eight tackles, forced a fumble and broke up two passes.

OSU receiver Victor Bolden had career highs in receptions (six) and yards (86) by halftime. He finished with 11 grabs for 119 yards.