It's showtime tonight for Spartans

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SLOWING WARRIORS IS SPARTANS' GOAL


Just how do you beat Hawaii?

Tonight at Spartan Stadium, in front of a national television audience, it is San Jose State's turn to answer one of college football's most enigmatic questions. Or at least try to.

The No. 16 Warriors are 6-0 this season and 17-2 since the second week of 2006. Their run-and-shoot offense, directed by Heisman Trophy candidate Colt Brennan, plays - and churns out statistics - like something out of a video game.

So can an offense that leads the nation in scoring for the second year in a row be stopped - or even slowed? If not, do you really want to get into a shootout with a team that is 21-0 when it has scored at least 40 points since the middle of the 2005 season?

Even Boise State Coach Chris Petersen isn't sure, and his Broncos defeated Hawaii 41-34 last season, the Warriors' lone Western Athletic Conference loss in two years.

"Hawaii's got multiple problems they pose for most people," Petersen said. "Fortunately, we had one more touchdown than they did."

The Spartans (3-3, 2-0 WAC) have won three in a row and are 10-1 at home since the end of the 2005 season. Their only loss was to No. 14 Boise State on a last-second field goal.

A victory tonight would be another landmark moment in the Dick Tomey era.

"Winning gives us confidence, but we have to realize that we can't play like we've been playing or we can't win," Tomey said. "You've got to hope that the occasion of all this

- being tied for first place, national television, a big crowd - brings our guys to a different level."

SJSU got a taste of how explosive the Warriors (6-0, 3-0) can be last season in Honolulu. The Spartans trailed 27-17 late in the third quarter, but the Warriors needed barely 10 minutes to score 27 unanswered points to put the game away.

"You will not see the same team that we were last year in Hawaii," SJSU cornerback Christopher Owens said.

Hawaii, even with Brennan hobbled the past month by a sprained ankle (he missed one game and came out early in two others), continues to be a defensive coordinator's worst nightmare. The Warriors are averaging more than 50 points and 500 yards per game and haven't scored fewer than 45 points.

The Spartans counter with a defense that hasn't allowed 300 yards in three games and has intercepted eight passes during that stretch.

"You want to slow them down," said Louisiana Tech Coach Derek Dooley, whose squad lost to the Warriors 45-44 after a failed two-point conversion attempt in overtime. "I think stopping them is almost impossible."

Still, scoring points is a key. Only three times in the past two years has Hawaii scored fewer than 40 points (against Boise State, Oregon State and Alabama), and it lost each time. SJSU, on the other hand, has scored at least 40 points once (last season against Louisiana Tech) since its early morning double-overtime loss to Boise State four years ago.

If Brennan can't start or is limited because of his ankle, backup Tyler Graunke has proven he can keep the offense rolling. Graunke relieved Brennan last week against Utah State and completed 9 of 11 attempts for 246 yards and three second-half touchdown, including one rushing.

The SJSU offense finally is coming into its own, producing 11 of the unit's 13 touchdowns in the past three weeks. But the Spartans will face the conference's second-ranked defense, which is allowing barely 320.8 yards and 21.8 points per game.

The Spartans passing game has paced the recent turnaround. Adam Tafralis is the first SJSU quarterback in 17 years to throw for at least 300 yards in three consecutive games. But the Spartans should be a little more diverse after finally establishing a running game last week against Idaho. SJSU averaged less than 3 yards a carry, but the added dimension could help keep Brennan and Co. off the field.

"We just can't force things," Tafralis said. "We have to score, of course, but a shootout plays more into their hands. They take a lot of chances on defense because they know if you score quick, they will come back down and score.

"Time of possession will be big, but the main thing is that when we get an opportunity, we can't leave it out there."

 

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Spartans a big test for Warriors


SAN JOSE, Calif. ? The Hawaii football team stands at a crossroads of credibility today, as the Warriors visit San Jose State.

UH (6-0, 3-0 WAC) is ranked No. 16 in the nation, but questions remain about how good the Warriors really are and how good they can become because of the quality of their competition to date.

San Jose State (3-3, 2-0) has won more games than the three WAC teams Hawaii has already played.

Today's game is the first of four on national TV for the Warriors this season.

Hawaii has beaten San Jose State six times in a row and won both games played against former UH coach Dick Tomey. Also, Hawaii has won its last six road games.

But the Warriors did not function as well as they can in a 52-37 win against Utah State last week. If UH plays without fervor from the outset, a fired-up San Jose State team -- battling for first place in the WAC -- could knock Hawaii out of the Top-25 rankings.

If UH wins today, it qualifies for a fifth Hawaii Bowl berth in six years. But the Warriors and their fans are aiming for higher goals, such as a BCS bowl game.

"Things have changed so much since when I first got here (in 1999)," coach June Jones said at an alumni reception last night at the team hotel. "People talked to me before this season expecting us to go undefeated."

The team went through a light workout at San Jose City College yesterday. Former Warrior and current San Francisco 49er Isaac Sopoaga attended the practice, as did about a half-dozen scouts. A total of 20 have credentials for the game. Most came to get a close look at Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan (16 touchdowns, six interceptions).

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SAN JOSE, Calif. ? Hawaii and San Jose State meet today in the biggest game of the season to date for both teams, and it's on national TV at a time when college football fans throughout the country can watch.


The Warriors have won the last six times they've played the Spartans. This is the third meeting of the teams since former UH and Arizona coach Dick Tomey took over the Spartans.






When Hawaii has the ball

Protecting QB Colt Brennan has always been of paramount importance, but even more now with his ankle becoming a target for defenses.

"We don't want him to get touched or hurt or anything, especially now," center John Estes said. "He's a tough guy and he'll stick it out, and play through the pain. But especially with guys tackling at the knees and below we have to take those hits away. I'm sure every defensive coach wants to knock out the quarterback, especially if he's as good as Colt."

The UH offensive line -- which lost three seniors from last year's starting group -- has allowed only nine sacks this season.

UH averages a staggering 53.8 points per game to lead the nation. The four starting receivers take turns producing eye-popping spectacular catches. Last week it was C.J. Hawthorne making an over-the-shoulder diving grab for the fourth TD of the season for the converted cornerback.

San Jose State has a ball-hawking defense with 11 interceptions. The Spartans have eight in their three-game winning streak. Jonathan Harris and Chris Owens have three each, with All-America cornerback Dwight Lowery adding two.


When San Jose State has the ball




Adam Tafralis may have taken Brennan's title of best quarterback the country hasn't heard of. His accuracy is almost as good as Brennan's.

Jacob French and James T. Callier are the main ballcarriers in the absence of All-WAC performer Yonus Davis due to an ankle injury.

The Spartans throw the ball much more than usual, with Tafralis passing to talented new receivers David Richmond and Kevin Jurovich.

San Jose State uses three true freshmen on the offensive line at times because of injuries. Senior right tackle John Booker is the glue.

The Warriors showed last week how much they need DT Mike Lafaele in the game, especially at key junctures. Lafaele was out with a strained hamstring, but is expected to play today. Middle linebacker Solomon Elimimian continues to shine; he was in on a career-high 20 tackles against Utah State and was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.

UH defensive coordinator Greg McMackin said Dane Kealoha Porlas will play in certain five-defensive-back formations. Also, OLB Blaze Soares is expected to rotate with Brad Kalilimoku, who has started every game.

Hawaii is sixth in the nation in sacks with 22; David Veikune leads the team with four.



Special teams




Hawaii has now returned four kickoffs or punts for touchdowns this season, with Malcolm Lane scoring on two of them. Kicker Dan Kelly boomed a career-long 54-yard field goal last week against Utah State. And with the exception of a one-time lapse, when the Aggies' Kevin Robinson ran one back 100 yards, the UH kickoff coverage team has been excellent. But several Warriors said the special teams need to be more consistent.

"We've got to stay focused," said J.P. Davis, who is on the kickoff coverage team.

"It's not that hard, it's not rocket science. We have to play responsible, and also fast and hard. And you have to remember there's repercussions for everything that you do."

San Jose State kicker Jared Strubeck has achieved way below his standards this season, making just two of nine field-goal attempts. The kicking game is always a major point of emphasis for Dick Tomey-coached teams, but the Spartans special teams have been mediocre statistically.

KEY MATCHUP



Brennan's precision vs. San Jose State's DBs
Take away the one-game aberration of five interceptions against Idaho two weeks ago, and Colt Brennan is among the best at making sure the football doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Heck, leave that game in the accounting, and Brennan still averages exactly one interception per outing for his 31-game career.

That's quite an achievement considering he's thrown 1,281 passes.

But Brennan goes up against a San Jose State team that has 11 interceptions in its six games this season, good for fifth in the nation.

In 2005, UH beat San Jose State 45-38 at Spartan Stadium with Brennan leading the way. The Warriors won despite two interceptions thrown by Brennan. Brennan was also intercepted in last year's San Jose State game, but that was offset by five TD passes in a 54-17 rout.

Brennan and his receivers always seem to be in tune with each other and in addition to leading to big plays, it also helps prevent interceptions. If the receivers don't make the proper moves during their routes, it can lead to a pick.

The gem of the Spartans' secondary is cornerback Dwight Lowery. He has two interceptions this season after nine picks last year. He did not get one against Brennan.

In San Jose State's victory over Utah State, Lowery limited Aggies star receiver Kevin Robinson to three catches for 32 yards.

 

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Injuries won't scare off Warriors




. ? If these walls could talk ...

At the Dolce Hayes Mansion, the Hawai'i football players were told of the haunted tales involving this estate that was turned into a luxurious hotel.

"We heard a lot of stories," defensive lineman Josh Leonard told visitors.

The biggest horror story would be if the Warriors, who harbor visions of an unbeaten regular season, were to falter against 17-point underdog San Jose State in today's nationally televised game.

"This is a big game for us," quarterback Colt Brennan said.

So significant that defensive left tackle Fale Laeli, who has added a sore right calf to the tendinitis in his left knee, said: "I'm running out of legs. But if I have to crawl on my hands to play, I'll do that."

Defensive right tackle Michael Lafaele, who has a menu of ailments ? fractured right hand, strained right hamstring, strained left calf ? also will play.

"Come on now," Lafaele said. "Nothing is going to keep me out of this game."

Here's a look at the teams:

HAWAI'I OFFENSE

Pos.?Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

LWO?84 Jason Rivers 6-2 189 Sr.

LSB?7 Davone Bess 5-10 190 Jr.

LT?62 Keith Ah Soon 6-1 315 Jr.

LG?65 Hercules Satele 6-2 293 Sr.

C?55 John Estes 6-2 292 So.

RG?73 Larry Sauafea 6-2 294 Sr.

RT?78 Keoni Steinhoff 6-3 282 Jr.

RSB?1 Ryan Grice-Mullins 5-11 180 Jr.

RWO?2 C.J. Hawthorne 5-11 168 Sr.

QB?15 Colt Brennan 6-3 201 Sr.

RB?21 Kealoha Pilares 5-11 190 Fr.

RB?4 Leon Wright-Jackson 6-1 211 So.

RB?48 David Farmer 6-1 224 Jr.

Outlook: How much has Brennan recovered from a sprained right ankle? While visiting yesterday, his mother, Betsy, said she had forgotten he was injured. Brennan's mobility is vital to the Warriors' four-wide offense. Brennan not only has been effective on deep passes this season, he also has resurrected the magic of the shovel pass with Pilares. When Brennan is the quarterback, Pilares is averaging 11.6 post-catch yards on shovel passes. During the offseason, Pilares said he watched cut-up videos of Brennan shoveling passes to Nate Ilaoa, last year's running back.

"Colt and Nate were doing some crazy stuff," Pilares said. "I tried to learn from that. When I take my steps, I know Colt's going to get me the ball."

Like a baseball pitcher who uses the same motion to throw different pitches, Pilares has learned that the best way to sell the shovel pass ? or any draw play, for that matter ? is to make the defense believe he is a backfield blocker on every play. "(Running back) coach (Wes) Suan pushes us to make it consistent," Pilares said.

Last week, Rivers, who had missed the previous six quarters because of lower-back tightness, had his best game of the season, catching seven of the nine passes thrown in his direction. He did not make any mistakes in his routes. Rivers leads the UH receivers with a yards-after-catch (YAC) average of 6.66.

Hawthorne has emerged a sure-handed receiver (he had five catches for first downs last week), but his YAC is a team-low 2.13. Still, he has become a physical blocker. Aligned as a tackle in an odd formation last week, Hawthorne made a pancake block. "I'm an OK blocker," Hawthorne said. "I'm not as good as Jason or Davone."

HAWAI'I DEFENSE

Pos.?Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

LE?54 Amani Purcell 6-4 277 Sr.

LT?96 Fale Laeli 6-1 292 Jr.

RT?67 Michael Lafaele 6-1 302 Sr.

RE?12 Karl Noa 6-4 251 Sr.

SLB?43 Brad Kalilimoku 5-10 221 Sr.

MLB?17 Solomon Elimimian 6-0 218 Jr.

WLB?44 Adam Leonard 6-0 236 Jr.

LCB?23 Gerard Lewis 5-9 175 Sr.

LS/NB?35 Keao Monteilh 5-11 193 Jr.

LS?30 Dane Porlas 5-10 186 Jr.

RS?31 Jacob Patek 6-0 204 Sr.

RCB?3 Myron Newberry 5-9 174 Sr.

Outlook: The value of "gold" ? the nickname for the defensive tackles ? should increase with the return of Lafaele. The Spartans are known for their A game (the space between the center and guards), and Lafaele, Laeli and Keala Watson are aggressive gap pluggers. "The key is they have great quickness and they play vertically into the offense," defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold said. "They use their hands extremely well. They have the toughness that it takes. There are not many gentle things that go on in there during the course of a game. They can handle it, and actually enjoy it."

Within the framework of the defensive call, Lafaele, a co-captain, is empowered to make changes in the line stunts. His main objective is to push back the line of scrimmage and, along with Laeli, try to draw multiple blockers. "When they're double-teamed, that allows our linebackers to make plays," defensive coordinator Greg McMackin said.

Leonard, who has been playing with a tiny fracture in his right hand, and Elimimian are effective open-field tacklers. McMackin said Elimimian has some of the characteristics of All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis, whom he coached at Miami. "He's got Ray Lewis' speed, his instincts," McMackin said of Elimimian, who leads the Warriors in solo (32) and total (73) tackles. "They're both vicious competitors. He's a sideline-to-sideline player like Ray was, not just a tackle-to-tackle guy."

HAWAI'I SPECIALISTS

Pos.?Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

K?86 Dan Kelly 6-3 202 Jr.

P/H?49 Tim Grasso 5-11 221 Jr.

S?57 Jake Ingram 6-4 234 Jr.

KR?89 Malcolm Lane 6-2 184 So.

KR?5 Michael Washington 5-7 173 Jr.

PR?7 Davone Bess 5-10 190 Jr.

Outlook: As the nation's scoring leader, UH has the most kickoffs (53), but is ranked 80th among 120 I-A teams in kick-return defense (22.79 yards). Still, with an average kickoff of 64.2 yards, Kelly is forcing opponents into difficult situations. His kickoffs average 4.2 seconds of hang time; anything above 4 seconds is considered to be good.

Meanwhile, the Warriors lead the nation in kickoff returns (30.1 yards), and that's despite Ryan Mouton being out with a slightly torn posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

SAN JOSE STATE OFFENSE

Pos.?Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

WR?8 David Richmond 6-4 200 Jr.

LT?65 Fred Koloto 6-3 290 Fr.

LG?76 Moa Ngatuvai 6-2 303 Fr.

C?79 Ronnie Castillo 6-0 292 So.

RG?72 Isaac Leatiota 6-4 295 Fr.

RT?69 John Booker 6-4 335 Sr.

TE?9 Jeff Clark 6-6 250 Sr.

WR?6 Kevin Jurovich 6-0 183 Jr.

QB?17 Adam Tafralis 6-2 219 Sr.

RB?42 James T. Callier 6-0 220 Sr.

RB?20 Jacob French 5-10 205 Sr.

Outlook: SJSU head coach Dick Tomey has made a career of relying on run-first offenses. But partially out of necessity ? injuries to running backs Yonus Davis and Pat Perry; three 2007 high school graduates starting on the offensive line ? the Spartans have green-lighted the passing offense. Against Utah State, the Spartans were in a no-back formation 42 times. Tafralis was not sacked in that game, either.

"We had to go to something that was going to work for us," Tafralis said of the hybrid attack, which is rooted in the West Coast offense. "It just hit us against Utah State. Why go away from a good thing?"

The Spartans still like to use two-tight end formations, and run between the guards. But Tafralis, who has completed 68 percent of his passes (to Brennan's 73.4 percent), was billed by one Bay Area newspaper as the best quarterback in today's game. Tafralis traces his accuracy to repetition.

"All summer, all season, I mean, I do nothing but throw all year," Tafralis said. "I hope I have some accuracy."

He said he began his offseason training Dec. 26. "We went anywhere from four to seven days a week. A lot of the young guys didn't understand why I was making them go out every day, but it's paying off right now. That's all that matters to me."

The cost of living in the Bay Area is expensive, but the majority of the Spartans made the sacrifice of staying around this summer. "It is very hard," Tafralis said. "I made sure I made myself available any time of the day they needed me. I told them, 'Call me, and I'm there.' That's how it went down this summer."

SAN JOSE STATE DEFENSE

Pos.?Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

DE?53 Jarron Gilbert 6-6 280 Jr.

DT?99 Justin Willis 6-1 305 So.

DT?96 Adonis Davis 6-2 295 So.

DE?93 Justin Cole 6-3 240 So.

LB?46 Demetrius Jones 6-1 230 Sr.

LB?35 Matt Castelo 5-10 228 Sr.

LB?14 Travis Jones 6-1 220 So.

CB?25 Dwight Lowery 6-1 185 Sr.

S?27 Jonathan Harris 6-0 190 Jr.

S?33 Dominique Hunsucker 5-10 194 So.

CB?29 Christopher Owens 5-10 170 Jr.

Outlook: As good as Castelo has been in his career ? he entered 2007 as the nation's leading-returning tackler ? Jones has had a better season. Jones, who can play piano despite not reading music, also is instinctive in football. He has double-digit tackles in each of the last five games, and leads the Spartans with 62 tackles.

Castelo is a household name only in his house. A linebacker since the age of 8, Castelo uses his quickness and strength to swoop in for tackles. "I've played against good competition growing up," Castelo has said. "These coaches have been teaching me how to know the play before the ball is snapped. You kind of get a feel for the game." He leads the WAC with 7.5 tackles for losses.

The Spartans are tied for the WAC lead with 11 interceptions.

UTAH STATE SPECIALISTS

Pos.?Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

K?23 Will Johnson 5-8 180 Jr.

P/H?15 Waylon Prather 6-3 225 Sr.

S?40 Grant Izokovic 6-0 250 Sr.

KR?3 David Marrero 5-10 190 Gr.

PR?25 Dwight Lowery 6-1 185 Sr.

Outlook: Tomey's teams have always been efficient on special teams. This team is not. The Spartans are last in the WAC in kickoff coverage (average opponent drive starts on the 27), and punting (average net of 30.1 yards), and eighth out of nine teams in punt returns (8.6-yard average). They have missed seven of nine field-goal attempts.