HONOLULU – From the joys of victory to the despair of defeat. The University of Hawai’i gave a Week 1 scare to brand new Big 10 Conference member UCLA on Saturday, but ultimately ran out of gas as the Bruins came from behind for a 16-13 victory.
The loss for the Rainbow Warriors, who entered the day as 14-point underdogs, evened the record at 1-1 as they enter the first of three bye weeks in the 2024 schedule. Brayden Schager took multiple hard hits throughout an up-and-down day for the senior quarterback while the Hawai’i running game struggled again. Defensively, the Rainbow Warriors “played with hair on fire” in the opening 30 minutes before showing cracks in the armor in the 3rd quarter.
While the loss leaves a bad aftertaste, UH showed reasons this squad is better than last year’s unit. Without further delay, here are three takeaways following Hawai’i’s Week 1 loss against UCLA:
Self-inflicted wounds still outweigh the physical ones for Hawai’i
Hawai’i suffered various injuries throughout Saturday’s physical contest as starting QB Brayden Schager and starting tackle Luke Felix-Fualalo, among others, came up limping in the 3-point loss to the Bruins. While the injuries had an impact in Hawai’i’s ability to maintain the lead in the final 30 minutes of action, the bigger issues for UH remained mental ones.
The Rainbow Warriors committed 10 penalties for an extra 97 yards to UCLA throughout the day, lost the turnover battle in the 2nd half and failed to connect when needing to move the chains. The first interception thrown by Schager bounced off Pofele Ashlock’s hands before being hauled in by UCLA, but the throw was behind the sophomore wideout in traffic.
For a team trying to pull off the first win in the last 15 tries against current Big 10 members, little mistakes added up to a major problem. The second pick was a worse decision by Schager, who attempted to throw as he was hit deep in Hawai’i territory and was intercepted just before the end of the 3rd quarter. The Rainbow Warriors were backed up after UCLA tracked down Tylan Hines at the 11-yard line after he decided to take the kickoff from just outside the endzone instead of signaling for a fair catch and touchback.
The defense had an excellent afternoon in the heat but made their fair share of mistakes as well. Of the 10 penalties for Hawai’i, half came while the defense was on the field, while the offense committed three and special teams had a pair. Talent is no longer the question for Hawai’i. All three phases for UH showed moments of glory in the contest against UCLA, but a shaky 2nd half and too many missed chances in the 1st half sank the Rainbow Warriors from floating to the top of the Mountain West and dropped them to 1-1.
The defense can still produce against “Bigger, Faster, Stronger”
One of the main questions following the flashes of excellence for Hawai’i’s defense in Week 0 was how the unit would fare against higher level opponents than FCS program Delaware State. In the first real test for Dennis Thurman and the Rainbow Warrior defense, the unit held strong. While the pass rush took a small step back after a five-sack week, Hawai’i defended well against the run throughout the afternoon on Saturday.
The Rainbow Warrior defense received a 71.3 grade against the run from Pro Football Focus after holding the Bruins under 100 yards rushing, similar to how the unit rated to end last season in wins over Nevada and Air Force. UCLA was held under 100 yards rushing just twice last season while Foster oversaw the running back room, struggling only on the road against Utah and late in the season against Cal and eclipsing 150 yards in 10 contests. Hawai’i also produced a pair of takeaways – both coming from members of “The Lion’s Den” – as linebackers Jalen Smith and Logan Taylor got their first and second career interceptions, respectively.
Despite not finishing sacks, the pass rush for the Rainbow Warriors was able to produce some significant pressure throughout the 1st half that led to an extremely shaky Ethan Garbers performance. In a Mountain West Conference that is as loaded with skill-position talent as any year in recent memory (hello, Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty’s 267-yard, 6-touchdown Week 1 performance), it was vital for Hawai’i’s defense to be up to the task when talent got bigger.The good news: they were and look like they will continue to be up to the proverbial task as the season progresses.
The offseason punter drama may have been a blessing in disguise
Phew, now THAT is a sentence. After starting punter/place kicker Matthew Shipley hit the transfer portal to enjoy his final season of eligibility elsewhere, Hawai’i cycled through a few different options at the punting position via the portal themselves. Originally gaining the commitment of Division III All-American Cameron Shirangi, Hawai’i saw the former Pomona-Pitzer standout exit for USC after spring camp when the Rainbow Warriors got Australian Rules Football player James Rendell’s word to join the 2024 squad.
After Rendell, who has the nickname “Thor” for his thunderous punting power, flipped his commitment to play for Notre Dame, Hawai’i was stuck back at Square One. The Rainbow Warriors moved quickly, gaining Ball State punter Lucas Borrow’s commitment on the same day to fill the spot.
The graduate transfer has been everything Thomas Sheffield and the special teams could want out of the punter spot, gaining praise for his keen ability to place the ball on his kicks despite not having the power to pound the ball 70 yards in the air. In the opening week against Delaware State, the Australian punter sliced through swirling winds for eight outstanding punts.
He continued his field-flipping ways into Week 1’s contest against UCLA and even added a fake punt conversion where he took off for a 19-yard gain on Hawai’i’s first offensive drive. His run, which saw him end the day as UH’s top rusher, extended the drive to help Hawai’i score the day’s first points.
While Hawai’i’s offense continues to work out some early-season kinks, Borrow has helped put the defense in spots to defend a longer field and proved why he was placed on the preseason Ray Guy award watch list with the best punters in the nation. Not too bad for a May addition to the roster.