As the Boeing 777-200 airplane landed on a runway at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport the pilot made a congratulatory announcement to the University of Hawaii football team on Saturday’s 38-14 road victory over Wyoming.
The passengers applauded and chee-hoo’d for what was surely the final touchdown of the year for the Warriors.
The Warriors’ slim postseason hope appeared to become none following Saturday’s college football results. The 6-7 Warriors did not meet the bowl-eligible requirement of a .500 or better regular-season record. But they were first on the wait list for an exempted invitation if there were not enough qualifying teams to fill the 82 bowl slots. But by Saturday evening, 83 teams had secured .500 or better records. The Warriors’ only hope would be if at least two qualifying teams decline bowl invitations. The Hawaii Bowl is expected to announce today its invitation to an American Athletic Conference team. Memphis is the leading candidate. The Mountain West, of which UH is a member, is designated as the Hawaii Bowl’s second team.
“We hoped we’d get in a bowl,” said Todd Graham, who completed his second regular season as UH’s head coach. “We’re obviously playing our best football right now. I don’t know if (the bowl omission is) final or not. They haven’t told me anything.”
The Warriors found their offensive mojo for the final two games of the regular season, amassing a combined 88 points. They defeated Colorado State, 50-45, in the home finale, then went on the road to beat Wyoming on Saturday. The production coincided with quarterback Chevan Cordeiro’s full health — he missed three mid-season starts because of an arm injury — and offensive coordinator Bo Graham’s return to the coaches’ booth to call plays.
“I think he’s been healthy the last two weeks,” Todd Graham said of Cordeiro. “I think the weeks before that, he wasn’t healthy. That’s two weeks we’re playing our best football.”
All-purpose player Calvin Turner said he and his teammates had no doubts about the offensive power, even during a three-game slump preceding the final two games.
“We believe in Coach Bo,” Turner said. “We believe in each other. We know our capabilities, and we know what we can do. We all trust Chev. He runs the show for us. … He’s our quarterback. We’re all behind him. We fight for him 100%.”
Todd Graham spoke of the travel challenges of playing in Wyoming. The Warriors departed on a Wednesday night flight — a day earlier than usual for a conference road game — then made the nearly 2-hour drive from Denver to Cheyenne, where they trained for two days. On Saturday, the Warriors made the hour-long drive to Wyoming’s Laramie campus. Signs on I-80 warn of 45-mph gusts. A sign at War Memorial Stadium reminds visiting teams that Laramie is 7,220 feet above sea level. The Warriors had lost six in a row, dating to 1991, in Laramie.
But the Warriors scored on four of their first five drives for a 24-0 lead, and the defense contained the Cowboys’ ground-and-pound tactics.
“We feel great about our players,” Todd Graham said. “Winning in Wyoming hadn’t been done in 30 years.”
The UH coaches will be back at work no later than 6 this morning. A team meeting is scheduled for Tuesday. The Warriors will be serving as hosts to two recruiting weekends ahead of the Dec. 15 start of the early-signing period.
