Preview: Hawaii at Nevada
By Denis Brown
November 12, 2007
Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan is among a small group of players that are still being considered for an invitation New York for the Heisman Trophy Presentation. Brennan has led Hawaii to an undefeated 9-0 record overall, 6-0 in the Western Athletic Conference. The Warriors are just one of two teams that have not lost a game this season.
Hawaii’s finishing schedule will test whether they should be considered for a BCS game this January. The Warriors already beat Fresno State last week 37-30 and now finish the season at Nevada (5-4, 3-2), before returning home to face WAC power Boise State (9-1, 6-0) and PAC-10 member Washington (3-7).
The Nevada Wolf Pack have bounced back to win three straight games after losing a four overtime thriller to Fresno St. 69-67. However, those wins came against New Mexico State, Utah, and Idaho who have combined to win one game in conference all season.
Hawaii leads the nation in scoring offense by averaging 50 points per game and only allows 23 points. On the other hand, Nevada’s 37 points per game ranks 15th in the nation, but the Wolf Pack have given up 37 points a game as well. The Warriors have the statistical advantage on both sides of the ball.
Hawaii linebacker Solomon Elimimian is one of the main reasons why the Warriors have had so much success on defense. Slimimian ranks 11th in the nation with 99 tackles, which includes seven-and-a-half tackles for loss and one-and-a-half sacks. Elimimian is able to plug up the holes and make the tackles to ensure opposing running backs do not get too far past the line of scrimmage. Hawaii ranks first in the WAC in allowing 111 yards per game on the ground.
Nevada’s three conference wins have come to teams with lesser records and its two losses have come to teams with better records. The Wolf Pack has not had a big win this season and will need to play above their record to win this game. Nevada is the second-best team in the WAC when it comes to defending the pass, but ranks last against the run in allowing an average of 209 yards.
Hawaii wants to throw ball as its running attack ranks among the worst in the nation. The Warriors do not have a player that has rushed for over 300 yards on the season. Brennan will try to lead Hawaii’s strength against Nevada’s strong pass defense. In order for Nevada to win, they will need to contain Brennan and not allow him to win the game by himself.
Nevada’s rushing attach ranks first in the WAC, led by junior Luke Lippincott who has already rushed for over 1,000 yards this season. The Wolf Pack will attempt to develop long drives on the ground to try to keep Brennan and Hawaii’s offense off the. However, the game will be won or lost depending on if Nevada can slow down the Warriors offense.
Brennan, who has 121 career TD tosses, needs just one more to eclipse Ty Detmer as the NCAA's career leader. Detmer set the mark while playing in 46 games for BYU from 1988-1991. Brennan tied Detmer's mark in 36 games. Shortly after making the record-tying throw last week, Brennan was knocked out of the game with a concussion. He returned to practice Monday and reported feeling fine, hopeful that he will get to start Friday night's nationally-televised contest on ESPN-2 (11:00 p.m. ET).
Denis Brown is an independent contributor to College Football Poll.com.
