Tag: Mountain West Fooball

Hawai’i vs. UNLV: Keys to a ‘Bows victory

Hawaii is looking to get bowl eligible by hosting UNLV this weekend.

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Hawai’i vs. UNLV: Keys to a ‘Bows victory

How the Warriors can defeat the Rebels

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

The battle for the golden pinapple

Week 12: Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors(6-4,3-3MW) vs. UNLV Rebels(2-7,0-5MW)

When: Saturday, November 16th, 2019

@ 1:00PM PT 11:00AM HST

Where: Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, NV

TV: Spectrum Sports PPV

Radio: ESPN Honolulu AM1420, 92.7FM

Stream: Facebook(Only on Mainland)

Series Record: UH leads overall 16-12 in Las Vegas UNLV leads 9-5

Last win at UNLV: September 15th 2007UH 49 UNLV 14

Odds: Hawai’i by -7

Will Hawai’i finally win it big in Vegas losing five straight at UNLV?

This will be the third edition of “The Ninth Island Showdown” and so far the home team has been able to keep it every time. There is no doubt Las Vegas has many distractions for players to lose some focus on the game. But Hawai’i has to put on their blinders and make sure they are on the same page entering Saturday afternoon’s contest. One of the main questions coming into this week is does Hawai’i head coach Nick Rolovich let redshirt freshmen Chevan Coideiro start two weeks in a row or start Cole McDonald who seems to have a good record on the road.

Keys to Hawaii’s victory

Keep UNLV guessing

Whether it is who’s starting at QB or the play calling on offense, the Rainbow Warriors need to keep the UNLV defense on their heels and score a bunch of touchdowns not field goals in the first half. That will give the defense a little cushion to be more aggressive in their zone blitzes and get some sacks that the defense is lacking all year long.

Reed-ing what the defense gives you

Miles Reed has been the missing element in the early part of the season. But now that the opposing defenses sends eight defenders back to cover the speedsters Cedric Byrd, JoJo Ward and company they leave gaps open for Reed to explode downfield and get huge chunks of yards. With the RPO in this run and shoot offense the defense also has to account for the elusive QB McDonald or Coideiro so Reed can get to the second level if given the ball.

Picking on the D

UNLV likes to do some jet sweeps and give their playmaker Charles Williams the ball and gain big chunks of yards pressing the defense. They know the ‘Bows D are 113th in the nation in rush defense and it will be Hawaii’s linemen and linebackers that will have to contain Williams or we may see another shootout like last week against SJSU. Also so far this year DB’s Ikem Okeke and Kai Kaneshiro have three interceptions and two respectively. Look for them closing in on receivers and maybe deflecting balls for more picks from the UNLV freshmen QB Kenyon Oblad.

Prediction

This will be the fourth MW team that has designated their Homecoming game with Hawai’i. The ‘Bows will love for the third time to ruin the home team’s night and sending the Rebel crowd home early and the large sea of green and black happy heading back to the hotels and casinos.

Hawai’i 38 UNLV 28

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Air Force Football: Veterans Day Edition

Falcons Fly on and Off the Field Integrity First. Service Before Self. Excellence in All We Do. Contact/Follow @Sean or @MWCWire The Air Force football team has began to garner a lot of attention as a contender in the Mountain West Conference. You …

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Falcons Fly on and Off the Field

Integrity First. Service Before Self. Excellence in All We Do. 

Contact/Follow @Sean or @MWCWire

The Air Force football team has began to garner a lot of attention as a contender in the Mountain West Conference. You would be hard pressed to anoint a hotter team in either division of the Conference, and that includes Boise State.

In spite of an early season loss to the aforementioned Broncos, and a heart-wrenching defeat at the hands of bitter rival, Midshipmen, the Falcons have rallied. Last week they gutted out a hard fought win against their Service Academy rivals from West Point. And prior to that, they took their previous four conference opponents to task, routing virtually all of them.

The Falcons now sit at 7-2, remain undefeated at home and are bowl eligible with three games remaining. They also own the second most efficient offense in the country and to no-ones surprise, have committed the fewest penalties per game in all of college football. So you can see why there is a lot of excitement earning attention for the Air Force football program.

More than Just a (REALLY GOOD) Football Program

The Air Force Academy’s Mission is “to educate, train and inspire men and women to become officers of character motivated to lead the United States Air Force in service to our Nation.”. Their Vision is “The Air Force’s premier institution for developing Leaders of Character”. These are so much more than football players, students or educators.

During the Mountain West Conference’s Media Day’s in the pre-season, Coach Troy Calhoun said one single goal stands above all others at his program, and that is to graduate as many seniors to serve as officers as possible. Well done coach, well done. At the conclusion of the academic year, Calhoun will have overseen another 30+ seniors to graduation. There are some terrific athletes at the Air Force (Army and Naval) Academies, but these are even better women and men.

For perspective, the three Military Academies are a combined 16-7 this season against non-military schools. These are officers in training, who happen to play football on top of a schedule that includes full-time military training while completing one of the most demanding academic curriculum in the country. Football is the “easiest” part of their day.

I don’t bring this up to diminish the many outstanding scholar-athletes that make up the NCAA landscape at non-military schools. I don’t think it can be overstated though, how impressive it is that these young men and women- specific to this article, the Falcon Football team; are not just able to participate or compete, but to excel and succeed on the gridiron.

Let me be clear; I am not a military Veteran myself. But I do have this privilege of covering the Air Force Falcons football team, which I love. And I am so incredibly Blessed to have this platform to thank all of those who are serving and have served this Great Nation. Because of your commitment and sacrifices, I enjoy leisure such as this, freedom to pursue more, and most importantly the Freedom to Glorify my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, whom I pray to with gratitude for your Blessing and Protection. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all you Veterans.

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