2018 Season recap:
Last season was Hawaii’s first winning season since 2010. They finished the season with a record of 8-6 after a bowl game loss to Louisiana Tech. They switched back to the Run and shoot offense in 2018 and Qb Cole McDonald had a very successful season. He was top 10 in the country in passing yards and touchdowns. John Ursua led the nation in touchdown receptions with 16 before he decided to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft. Returning wide receivers Cedric Byrd and Jojo Ward both had good seasons with 800+ yards and 8+ TDs each.
2018 Offense: 30.8 Points Per Game, 4344 passing yards, 1534 rushing yards, 43 passing TDs, 11 rushing TDs
2018 Defense: 35.1 Points per Game, 3291 passing yards allowed, 2865 rushing yards allowed, 28 passing TDs allowed, 35 rushing TDs allowed
2019 University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors:
Head Coach: Nick Rolovich (18-22)
Offense: Hawaii runs a pass first run and shoot offense. They are returning 9 starters on offense but they did lose a lot of production from WR John Ursua entering the NFL draft. Quarterback Cole McDonald returns for his second season as starting QB after a great sophomore season in 2018. He will look to stretch the field to his three senior wide receivers. They don’t have a ton of size at the wide receiver position with only one guy above 6 ft. They will run the ball at times averaging about 100 yards a game rushing the first two weeks. But mostly expect 4 WRs and Cole McDonald throwing the ball all over the field. They have scored 45 and 31 points in the first two weeks against Pac 12 defenses but not to the caliber of UW.
Defense: If Hawaii expects to be in the game it will be in a shootout because their defense has struggled to get off the field. They have allowed 45 and 28 points in the first two weeks against Arizona and Oregon State. In week 1 they struggled to stop Khalil Tate who had 300 yards passing and 100 yards rushing. Last week it was the rushing attack of Oregon State that gave them trouble going over 250 yards rushing and 3 TDs on the ground. But the Hawaii defense has been able to make enough plays the first two weeks to start 2-0 against the Pac 12.
Last week: Hawaii was chasing Oregon State from behind for most of the game trailing by 14 points two different times. Cole McDonald and Jojo Ward were both hot last week connecting for 4 touchdowns including two long throws over the defense. Mcdonald finished the game 30 of 52 for 421 yards and 4Td. The Hawaii kicker was 1-4 on field goals missing one from less than 30 yards but he made the win that counts giving Hawaii their second win in a row over a Pac 12 school.
