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HONOLULU- During halftime of the Oahu Bowl, Hawaii coach June Jones
told his players to capitalize on their opportunities. Oregon State had
outgained the Rainbow Warriors by 97 yards but missed three field goals
and the score was 10-10. "Our kids realized they were trying to hand it
to us and that we had to take it," Jones said. The Rainbow Warriors
scored on their opening drive of the second half and went on to beat the
Beavers 23-17. The victory in their home stadium Saturday capped a
remarkable turnaround for Hawaii, which improved from 0-12 in 1998 to
9-4 - the greatest single-season improvement in NCAA history. "I'm happy
for the fans, the players," Jones said. "It's awesome."
The improbable season began with a 62-7 loss to Southern California that
extended Hawaii's losing streak to 19 games. The Rainbow Warriors then
won eight of their next 10 games to the astonishment and delight of
their fans, who returned to Aloha Stadium after fleeing during the 5-31
record in three years under Fred von Appen. "It's amazing, after going
0-12," said Avion Weaver, who had 84 yards rushing, 65 yards receiving
and was chosen outstanding player of the Oahu Bowl.
The loss was a bittersweet end to Oregon State's first winning season in
29 years and its first bowl appearance since 1965. "We are happy with
our season ... we're not very happy with what happened in the bowl
game," first-year coach Dennis Erickson said.
Dan Robinson passed for 266 yards and two touchdowns to Channon Harris,
the second a 30-yarder during Hawaii's first possession after halftime,
making it 17-10 (video). A field goal by Eric Hannum on Hawaii's next possession
made it 20-10. Hannum kicked his third field goal with 2:58 to play
before Ken Simonton's 13-yard run with 1:27 left made it 23-17 (video).
Simonton had 157 yards on 18 carries. Oregon State recovered the onsides
kick, but was offsides. The second attempt landed out of bounds and
Hawaii ran out the clock. The Beavers failed to convert several chances
and had 14 penalties for 138 yards.
Ryan Cesca kicked a field goal as the second quarter ended after missing
two and getting one blocked. The Beavers had the ball at the Hawaii 16
after a fumble and got nothing, and managed only Cesca's field goal
after a long pass to the 5. Simonton scored from the 1 on the game's
opening 79-yard drive. "I thought we ran the ball very successfully, but
when we got into the red zone a couple of times, we didn't do what we
needed to," Erickson said. Hawaii sacked Jonathan Smith six times. Smith
passed for 269 yards but no touchdowns. The Rainbow Warriors credited
defensive coordinator Greg McMackin, Erickson's defensive coordinator
with the Seattle Seahawks last season. "We had some gap situations. We
stunted in," said McMackin, who is leaving Hawaii to be an assistant and
defensive coordinator at Texas Tech. "I'm proud of them."
Hawaii hopes that the win on national television convinces doubters and
proves the program is back. "A lot of people know we're for real now,"
defensive tackle Tony Tuioti said. "We're not a fluke." |
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Attendance- 40,974
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
OSU - Simonton 1 run (Cesca kick)
UH- FG Hannum 26
Second Quarter
UH- Harris 9 pass from Robinson (Hannum kick)
OSU- FG Cesca 37
Third Quarter
UH- Harris 30 pass from Robinson (Hannum kick)
UH- FG Hannum 22
Fourth Quarter
UH- FG Hannum 35
OSU- Simonton 13 run (Cesca kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
UH- Weaver 18-84
OSU- Simonton 18-157, Battle 6-19
Passing
UH- Robinson 23-40-266
OSU- Smith 19-40-269
Receiving
UH- Harris 5-81, Weaver 5-65, Stutzmann 4-50, Lelie 4-43, Carter 4-29
OSU- Percoats 5-67, Prescott 4-61, Simonton 3-25, Houshmandz 2-53,
Kintner 2-27, Maurer 1-16, Jones 1-14
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