This week, the University of Hawaii football team has calibrated its setting to “playoff mode.”
At 1-2 against Mountain West opponents and fifth in the six-team West Division, the Rainbow Warriors are entering the final five-game stretch of the regular season.
“You have to win out,” coach Todd Graham said after Tuesday’s two-hour practice. “You have to win. We’ve got five conference games (remaining). You have to win every one of them to have any chance — or hope — to play for the conference championship. That’s our No. 1 goal. All we can do is win the day and win this week.”
Three of the five games are on the road, starting with Saturday’s cross-over matinee against Utah State in Logan, Utah. The Aggies are atop the Mountain Division at 3-1.
“It’s like we’re getting ready for the playoffs,” safety Eugene Ford said. “It’s like win or go home. The mentality is to go 1-0 every week, so right now our opponent is Utah State. So our main focus is Utah State. Nothing more than that. Right now, we’re just focused on Saturday.”
For the previous road game in the Mountain time zone, the Warriors traveled on a chartered flight. This time, they are taking a nonstop commercial flight to Salt Lake City. The Warriors will depart on the red-eye flight tonight — a day earlier than their usual Thursday afternoon departure — to help with acclimation.
The Warriors hope to add to their active roster. Running back Dae Dae Hunter, who did not play last weekend because of a shoulder issue, practiced on Tuesday. “I think him not being in the lineup hurts us,” Graham said. “We get really thin (at running back), and we lose one of our most dynamic players.”
Quarterback Chevan Cordeiro has missed three consecutive starts, and there is optimism — again — that he will be available against Utah State. He was a warmup-time scratch last Saturday as he continues to recover from an upper-body ailment.
Against New Mexico State last week, UH crafted roles for both Cordeiro and freshman Brayden Schager — a strategy that probably will be duplicated this week. Schager, who is 2-1 as a starter, was given a specific plan of quick tosses on screens and to the flats, seeking the emergency-button target or check-down receiver, or tossing away the football when all options appeared to be doomed.
“Just don’t operate outside the system,” Graham instructed Schager. “Disperse the ball. If you’re working front side, work front side. Don’t be working on back side.”
The Warriors devoted significant time to ball security and special teams during Tuesday’s practice.
“Everyone is making sure they stay on each other,” wideout Nick Mardner said of the peer-pressure unity in holding onto the football. “It’s bigger than just holding the ball up here” — he made the high-and-tight grip — “it’s a game changer.”
Graham also worked on conquering special-teams mistakes. UH has fixed the protection that has relinquished three blocked punts this year. The next goal is get better at punt reception. Last week, a punt that was not fair caught bounced from the UH 22 to the 8. UH also lost a fumble when a punt short-hopped the returner.
Graham said it begins with a returner watching the football’s contact with a punter’s foot.
“We just have to get underneath the football and get a jump on the ball off the punter’s foot,” Graham said. “And when things aren’t right, you can’t make bad decisions. You can’t let the ball hit the ground. Use the fair catch. They can’t hit you if you fair catch it. That’s something we’ve worked really hard on. That’s really hurt us. The ball hitting the ground and rolling has hurt us worse than anything field-position-wise.”
Calvin Turner and Koali Nishigaya will remain as the primary punt returners. Dior Scott, who had seven punt returns in 2020, is redshirting this season.
