Coach Todd Graham said the University of Hawaii football team came out flat for its first home game, and he’s pretty sure he knows one of the reasons why.
The Rainbow Warriors did battle back from a 13-point first-half deficit to win 39-33 to improve to 2-1. But Graham doesn’t think it would’ve been that close against 14-point underdog New Mexico if not for 49,700 empty seats at Aloha Stadium due to COVID-19 concerns. And not a whole lot of noise was coming from the 300 seats filled with cutouts of fans.
There was a soundtrack of stadium noise, but it wasn’t anything close to the real thing.
“If I were younger I’d tell you something different. But I’m old now,” Graham said. “I hate it. This is very unusual. I’ll be glad when we can get our fans back.
“It was strange. It’s such a big place. I do think that contributed a lot to (the slow start).”
Graham knows how loud Aloha Stadium can get, having coached against UH here in 2004 and again in the 2010 Hawaii Bowl
>> PHOTOS: Hawaii beats New Mexico
Receiver Nick Mardner had a career-game with a game-high 147 yards receiving including a 42-yard first-half touchdown. The fact that it happened in an empty stadium didn’t bother him.
“It still feels the same, it still feels great.”
Few flags
The Warriors committed just three penalties for 30 yards, with the first coming with about five minutes left in the third quarter. It’s especially impressive because this is just UH’s third game.
“As we play more football we’ll be better and better with that,” Graham said.
There was just one for 5 yards against the offense.
“We’re a rhythm offense, so going without penalties, that’s a big plus for us,” Mardner said. “Penalties slow everything you do.”
Not perfect
Chevan Cordeiro and UH’s defense were in fine form, especially in the second half. After a poor showing at Wyoming last week, Cordeiro posted his best game statistically Saturday against New Mexico — except for two interceptions.
Except for Cordeiro at times, Hawaii’s running game wasn’t much against veteran defensive coordinator Rocky Long. UH netted 93 yards on the ground. After Cordeiro’s 39, Dae Dae Hunter was next with 29 on eight carries.
The Warriors did leave some room for improvement heading into next week’s game against at San Diego State, which is also 2-1.
UH lost the turnover battle 3-1 Saturday with two interceptions and a fumble lost compared to one and zero for the Lobos. (and with no points off turnovers compared to 10 for New Mexico).
They were less than stellar on third down, converting just five of 13 chances. However, the defense was good at getting off the field, keeping the Lobos at five of 15 on third down.
