Louisiana Tech ruins Christmas spirit in handing Hawaii a dispiriting defeat

For the University of Hawaii football team, the last dance lacked rhythm.

The Rainbow Warriors never got into a groove in Saturday’s 31-14 loss to Louisiana Tech in the SoFi Hawaii Bowl before 27,837 at Aloha Stadium.

“It just stings,” UH rush end Kaimana Padello said. “(Stuff) happens. This isn’t the end of the world.”

But it marked a disappointing end to the Warriors’ 8-6 season. It ended with two UH quarterbacks — sophomore Cole McDonald and freshman Chevan Cordeiro — misfiring while under fire from the Bulldogs’ heat-seeking defensive line. It ended with an offense, which never could gain traction, contained to 226 yards, the lowest output in more than two years. And it ended with a final accounting of 12 penalties for 140 yards.

“That’s the most disheartening thing, the embarrassing thing,” UH coach Nick Rolovich said of the numerous 15-yard infractions. “We weren’t able to control our emotions in probably our biggest stage of the year when we did a great job all year. The penalties — they’re a couple you can live with, but some of those were a lack of composure. You get some selfishness thrown in there.”

The Warriors were without their top playmaker, slotback John Ursua, who was the nation’s regular-season leader with 16 touchdown receptions. Ursua said he suffered a partial tear to his left hamstring on Tuesday, a diagnosis confirmed by an MRI.

“I tried to play the mental game, and see if I could play,” Ursua said. “But I knew I wasn’t able to go. … It was definitely tough not to play.”

Rolovich said Ursua’s unavailability was “not the reason we lost the game.”

Ursua’s replacement, Jason-Matthew Sharsh, caught five passes for a team-high 67 yards. Sharsh’s 24-yard reception from Cordeiro gave the Warriors their only lead, at 7-3, with 8:20 to play in the first half.

“A lot of this game, a lot of the inefficiency on our side, is due to the amount of talent (the Bulldogs) have on the defensive line,” Rolovich said.

The Bulldogs amassed nine sacks, including 2.5 from Jaylon Ferguson, a 6-foot-5, 262-pound defensive end. Ferguson surpassed Terrell Suggs to set the NCAA career record with 45 sacks. Willie Baker, a reserve who is viewed as Ferguson’s successor, had four sacks.

“They’re one of the better defensive lines we’ve played all year,” UH left guard J.R. Hensley said. “Hat’s off to them. I was very impressed with the way they came out to play.”

The Bulldogs actually had to alter their defensive plan after the Warriors found moderate success with their run-pass option. In a pick-your-antidote, defensive coordinator Blake Baker opted to turn up the pressure. Head coach Skip Holtz said the Bulldogs emptied their menu of blitzes.

“Those guys were really good up front,” said Craig Stutzmann, UH’s quarterbacks coach and pass-game coordinator. “They probably made us feel uncomfortable in the pocket. We couldn’t get in the rhythm. We couldn’t find our guys.”

After UH’s first three possessions resulted in punts, Rolovich replaced McDonald with Cordeiro. Cordeiro struggled in his first possession, threw the scoring pass to Sharsh in his second drive, and then endured the Bulldogs’ all-points pressure. After that, McDonald and Cordeiro took turns dodging the Bulldogs’ pass rush.

McDonald was 10-for-20 for 85 yards and a touchdown. But he was intercepted twice. Cordeiro was 7-for-14 for 83 yards and a pick.

“Neither one of them played exceptional,” Rolovich said.

The Warriors did make some big plays defensively. They forced three turnovers, two of which involved Kendall Hune. After cornerback Rojesterman Farris knocked the football free from receiver Adrian Hardy, Hune recovered it. Hune also batted a J’Mar Smith pass into the air, then made a diving catch.

“Defense got us the turnovers we asked them for,” Rolovich said. “But not putting the ball in the end zone was not how we’ve chosen to live scoring 14 points.”

The Bulldogs parlayed UH mistakes into big plays. Smith threw a quick hitch to Teddy Veal, who eluded a tackle en route to a 41-yard gain, setting up Israel Tucker’s 5-yard scoring run for a 10-7 lead in the third quarter.

Later in the period, Smith threw a screen pass to running back Jaqwis Dancy behind a wall of blockers. Dancy raced 58 yards to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 17-7 with 4:44 remaining in the third quarter. That drive was kept alive when Smith gained 25 yards on a third-and-13 keeper.

“I knew what I had to get,” Smith said. “I could have gotten more, but some quarterbacks can’t run. It was a good play.”

Another UH whiff resulted in Hardy’s catch-and-run for 54 yards, leading to Smith’s 4-yard scoring run.

“It’s a matter of making the play or not making the play when you need to,” UH defensive coordinator Corey Batoon said. “It’s about being in the proper position, winning in proper leverage, and executing.”

After the game, Louisiana Tech’s Smith reflected on the journey. “We came out here for one reason, and that’s to get a ‘W.’”

Outside the UH locker, Rolovich said of his team: “I’m proud of them. We ended up with a winning season. … Now the cycle starts over.”