1. Muff
>> Situation: Hawaii 0, Louisiana-Monroe 0, 11:04 remaining, first quarter, Hawaii ball, fourth-and-5 at own 12.
>> The Play: Aaron Novoa punts 37 yards, where the ball is mishandled by Junior Williams and Damien Packer recovers for Hawaii at the 50.
>> Impact: Instead of good field position for Louisiana-Monroe, Hawaii retained possession and cashed in on the turnover six plays later.
>> Louisiana-Monroe interim coach John Mumford: “You never know when the plays early in the game are going to come up and count, and in a close game like this, it came down to three or four plays in the first half.”
2. A Grand Time
>> Situation: Hawaii 0, Louisiana-Monroe 0, 9:42 remaining, first quarter, Hawaii ball, first-and-10 at Louisiana-Monroe 25.
>> The Play: RB Paul Harris carries for 13 yards and a first down at the Louisiana-Monroe 12.
>> Impact: On the play, Harris became the ninth Hawaii player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season and first since Alex Green in 2010. He scored two plays later (and carried all six plays on the drive, covering 50 yards) to give Hawaii the lead it would never relinquish. Harris rushed 27 times for 166 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter with a head injury.
>> Harris: “I’m just doing what I can for the team. The line did a great job, so did the outside receivers, so I just read their blocks and just did what I could. … Hopefully the new coach likes me and wherever he wants to use me that’s what I’m going to do.”
3. Snap
>> Situation: Hawaii 28, Louisiana-Monroe 20, 3:03 remaining, fourth quarter, Hawaii ball, third-and-10 at own 17.
>> The Play: C Brenden Urban’s snap is wild and goes into the end zone, where DL Lorenzo Jackson recovers for a touchdown.
>> Impact: Hawaii’s failure to move the ball and then lack of execution led to a Louisiana-Monroe touchdown that could tie the game after Hawaii had never trailed.
>> Urban: “As soon as I let it go, I heard people screaming. I was like, ‘Oh, no.’”
4. Drop or Breakup
>> Situation: Hawaii 28, Louisiana-Monroe 26, 3:03 remaining, fourth quarter, Louisiana-Monroe ball, setting up for conversion at Hawaii 3.
>> The Play: QB Earnest Carrington’s pass to TE Harley Scioneaux is dropped, with some assistance from S Marrell Jackson.
>> Impact: Louisiana-Monroe failed to tie the game.
>> Jackson: “I got picked a little bit. I was late to it. All I did was dove toward him to get the ball out as best I can.”
5. Clutch Catch
>> Situation: Hawaii 28, Louisiana-Monroe 26, 2:18 remaining, fourth quarter, Hawaii ball, third and 6 at own 29
>> The Play: QB Ikaika Woolsey passes for a 14-yard completion to WR Makoa Camanse-Stevens.
>> Impact: The third-down conversion gave Hawaii some breathing room and allowed it to run down the clock and force Louisiana-Monroe to use its remaining timeouts.
>> Woolsey: “We have to stop making close games when we don’t need to. We made some mistakes. It wasn’t a pretty win, but a win is a win. We’ll take it.”
