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Ward’s turn
One attribute of the run-and-shoot offense is any of the four receivers could end up having a big game, depending on what the defense gives. So after Hawaii’s Cedric Byrd caught 14 passes for 224 yards and four touchdowns against Arizona, it figured another receiver might benefit from extra attention given Byrd by Oregon State’s defense. And it was no surprise that JoJo Ward would be that guy.
Ward was stellar in UH’s 31-28 win Saturday, pulling in 10 passes for 189 yards and all four UH touchdowns. One of the most impressive grabs came late in the third quarter when a Beavers pooch punt put the Warriors at their own 2. Ward’s catch of a perfectly placed pass by Cole McDonald put the ball at the OSU 45.
Byrd caught seven passes for 61 yards.
Ward latched onto four passes for 70 yards and a touchdown in the season opener.
>> Click here to see photos of the game between Hawaii and Oregon State.
Third-down defense
As it was in the season-opening victory against Arizona two weeks ago, Hawaii’s defense was spectacular on third down against Oregon State — but only in the second half. The Warriors stopped the Beavers from reaching the marker eight times out of nine after intermission, and that translated into zero points for Oregon State.
It was a U-turn from the first half, when the Warriors found a way to get off the field on third down, but not the preferred method. On a Beavers third-and-8 at UH’s 37, Hawaii yielded a touchdown run by Oregon State’s Artavis Pierce — one of four for the visitors as they took a 28-21 lead into intermission.
The Beavers converted four of six third downs in the first half, and immediately after one of the two stops, Oregon State got the first down on fourth down.
Fourth-down follies
Both teams had problems on fourth down.
For Oregon State, it was a missed field goal by Jordan Choukair to tie the game with 1:25 left and two questionable decisions earlier in the final quarter: Going for it on fourth-and-5 and fourth-and-6. Jake Luton completed a pass for 4 yards to Isaiah Hodgins on the first try, with 10 minutes left, and punter Daniel Rodriguez threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-6 from the Beavers’ 34 with less than 4:30 left on the clock. That one led to Ryan Meskell’s go-ahead field goal.
For UH, it was Meskell missing three field goals before hitting what turned out to be the game-winner from 28 yards to give Hawaii its only lead with 2:17 left.
Turnovers
Hawaii beat a Pac-12 team again despite UH’s offense committing more turnovers than the opponent. This time, UH took care of the ball better, giving it up twice, on one fumble and one interception by UH quarterback Cole McDonald, compared to six times against Arizona that kept the Wildcats in the game.
The Beavers did not lose the ball by fumble or interception.
Oregon State was hurt, however, by 92 yards of penalties on nine infractions. Hawaii was flagged four times for 40 yards.
Not your father’s football
In the end, it did not matter that Oregon State out-gained Hawaii on the ground 263 yards to 67. Because the run-and-shoot passing attack was so prolific — to the tune of 421 passing yards — and the defense toughened up in the second half, UH starts the season 2-0 for the third season in a row. The difference this time is that it is against two teams from a Power Five conference.
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