This tells you all you need to know about how the University of Hawaii football team’s season has gone:
The most noise from the Aloha Stadium crowd (yes, I admit that is a very loose interpretation of the word "crowd" when it’s 16,131) all season was due to a personal foul called against the Rainbow Warriors last night.
At least it wasn’t the home team being booed for a change, noted the guy next to me, Billy Hull.
It was the zebras, this time.
And, as the Rainbow Warriors fell to 2-9 with their eighth loss in a row, this was a team that needed new scapegoats. The guy who made the schedule is gone. The coach is gone. The starting quarterback benched (well, maybe not now).
So, back to old reliable when fingers need to be pointed. The fellas in the Foot Locker shirts.
Actually, they were a somewhat worthy target. But were they really the reason UH lost a game in which it was outscored 42-14?
Interim head coach Chris Naeole didn’t take the bait afterward, and neither did the players.
But the fans did, and how could you really blame them? The Warriors were called for 132 yards in penalties. Whether infractions had occurred was irrelevant, and someone was going to get an earful. Might as well be the men who got sore arms throwing so many flags.
They had just called the fifth personal foul of the first half against Hawaii. The previous four were roughing the passer calls. Has anyone ever seen anything even close to that before?
The flag that pushed the fans over the edge was for yet another shove of Bulldogs quarterback Zack Greenlee, but technically unnecessary roughness. A shove of the type we’ve seen called sometimes, more often ignored.
Some were legit calls. Others were love taps. Regardless, Greenlee took more shots than Ronda Rousey … or the unwise guy at the bar who took Hawaii and gave the points.
The 90 yards in penalties keyed FSU’s two touchdown drives that put the visitors up 14-7. The Bulldogs would’ve almost had to try not to score, receiving such gifts.
After that, the roof caved in.
Near the end of the half, Fresno State was driving for its fourth touchdown and the Hawaii offense had fizzled. The Bulldogs scored again, and the fans were yelling bull-something-else.
UH had more first-half penalty yards (117) than rushing (69) or passing (92). For the game it was penalized for more yards than Paul Harris gained on the ground (126) in another fine but fruitless effort.
And it’s not that Fresno State was good … the Bulldogs dropped more passes than the Warriors. And if you’ve been watching UH this season (and if you still are, you are remarkably loyal), you know that’s quite an accomplishment.
But Fresno State was bailed out of the drops by the roughing the passer calls.
The Bulldogs with the best hands were on defense, Jeff Camilli and Ejiro Ederaine, who intercepted Ikaika Woolsey’s first pass of the game and that of his replacement, Max Wittek, to start the second half.
And then the second interception of Wittek, by Tyquwan Glass of a pass thrown into the end zone. UH still had a slim chance at a comeback? Inexplicable, but we’ve come to expect the unexpected in futility from this squad.
These used to be two of the best mid-major college football programs in the country. This used to be a great rivalry. When they played, something was almost always on the line for one or both teams.
June Jones and Pat Hill put their friendship on hold for one week, and promoted it WWE-style.
Footballs, screwdrivers and end-zone pylons flying all over the place.
Now Hill does radio and Jones is trying to get his old job back.
Now, for these teams that came in with two wins each, it was just pride and trying to escape the division cellar.
It’s now nine losses for Hawaii, and if it makes anyone feel better go ahead and blame the refs for this one.
There isn’t really anyone else left.
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.
