RENO, Nev. >>

Guess who said the following earlier this week:

“We have to find a way to play better and start faster. … We got behind too quickly in that game. … We’ve got to find a way to play better pass defense. It’s base fundamentals now. Playing off of blocks, making tackles in space, that we really have to improve on. … We need more self-confident players that are aggressive and confident about what they do.”

It happened to be Nevada football coach Jay Norvell, in the wake of the Wolf Pack’s 41-21 loss at Fresno State. But it could easily have been his counterpart in today’s game from Hawaii, Nick Rolovich, assessing his team’s 51-21 loss to Colorado State.

Something has to give at Mackay Stadium as the Rainbow Warriors, who have lost three in a row, visit the Wolf Pack. Nevada is 0-5.

The teams share the above problems cited by Norvell as Rolovich, the Nevada offensive coordinator from 2012 to 2015, tries to extend his personal winning streak in this series.

But UH has the added burden of a massive distraction — or, should it be looked at as the removal of a distraction? That remains to be seen. It could turn out to be either.

The big news for UH this week has been the absence of Chris Naeole from practice — and now, from the team, period. It makes a win for the Rainbow Warriors even more imperative.

In regards to today’s game, it doesn’t really matter if Naeole quit, resigned or isn’t here for some other reason. It’s not good to go into a game you need to win to keep reasonable hopes for conference championship contention alive without one of your position coaches. It’s not good to go into any game that way.

It is sadly reminiscent of a couple of times during Norm Chow’s tenure when UH went into games — and in one case, an entire season — short-staffed because assistants were either fired or forced to resign.

Naeole was on those staffs, and was the acting head coach to complete the 2015 season after Chow was relieved of his duties. Assistants Tom Mason and Wayne Moses ended up not finishing the season as on-field coaches, too.

This time, Naeole is the one leaving.

This game, even on the road, was supposed to be a relatively easy one for Hawaii. Even the most pessimistic observers had it marked as a “W.”

That’s changed now. In addition to one fewer coach for the game, Naeole’s stated reason for leaving the program weighs heavily, at least in public perception.

Differences in philosophy with the head coach when it comes to discipline can mean a lot of things. It can mean nothing. But even if that is the case, it’s not a good look — especially since UH can’t release specific information about student-athlete misdeeds.

We didn’t even mention yet how suspensions can hurt a team that is still trying to build depth for its way of doing things.

The rash of suspensions can be looked at in two very different ways, too. Either the players are out of control, or they’re being held accountable to a higher standard than they were by the previous regime.

Now UH has to decide if it will hire someone to fill Naeole’s position on the full-time coaching staff.

One option is promoting graduate assistant and former UH player John Estes, who is now working with offensive coordinator and running backs coach Brian Smith in coaching the offensive linemen.

Another is to bring in Brian Derby, at least on an interim basis. The former Rainbow Warriors center is a popular figure in the state’s football community, largely because of his long-running and highly regarded camp for offensive linemen. Derby recently retired from the Honolulu Fire Department and might be ready to give a second career a go.

Then there’s Mike Cavanaugh, the hugely popular and effective O-line coach at UH from 1999 to 2004. He’s still gainfully employed at Nebraska and the Huskers have won their last two games. But with the firing of athletic director Shawn Eichorst and a meat-grinder Big Ten schedule ahead, Cavanaugh could become available.

Yes, Hawaii and Nevada, both on losing streaks, have a lot in common right now.

But only UH is going into this game under the cloud of distraction, and short a coach.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.