Warriors want the edge

One thing about the Hawaii-San Jose State series, it's rarely boring.

Just once since 1988 has the winning team scored fewer than 34 points, and even the lone departure from the annual shootouts - a 13-10 Hawaii win in 2003 - provided a dramatic and controversial conclusion.

Since the Spartans held on for a 57-48 win at Aloha Stadium in 2000, Hawaii has claimed seven straight meetings, the latest a 42-35 overtime victory in which the Warriors scored twice in the final 4 minutes to force the extra period.

This time, though, the showdown could be defined by defense.

San Jose State comes to town with the top-rated defense in the Western Athletic Conference with the Warriors third after facing Florida and Oregon State in the season's first three weeks. Both offenses, meanwhile, have struggled to find the end zone, scraping bottom in the national rankings in scoring.

With the schools splitting the 31 games in the series 15-15-1, the following is a look at today's tie-breaking matchup:

When Hawaii has the ball: The Warriors will need to keep it longer than they have in their first three games.

Hawaii is last in the country in third-down conversion percentage and turnover ratio, contributing to the Warriors ranking 103rd nationally in scoring and total offense. The Warriors devoted their offense vs. defense periods during the bye week to third-down situations and will need to iron out the timing between the quarterbacks and receivers.

"They just need to play together," offensive coordinator Ron Lee said. "Now we're starting to get some continuity and I see us getting better. The last two weeks were really good for us."

Quarterback play has been a week-to-week issue, and the uncertainty continued as Tyler Graunke made his return from thumb and wrist injuries and shared repetitions with Inoke Funaki. Both are expected to see playing time tonight.

Led by an active front seven, the Spartans average 269.5 yards surrendered - best in the WAC so far. But SJSU coach Dick Tomey lamented a slew of missed tackles that contributed to last week's loss at Stanford.

When San Jose State has the ball: Suddenly, giving up 110 yards to Jacquizz Rodgers doesn't look so bad.

Two weeks after facing the 5-foot-7 Oregon State running back, who torched top-ranked USC for 186 on Thursday, the Warriors defense will try to contain another diminutive yet productive ballcarrier in 5-foot-8 Yonus Davis. The senior covers 6.8 yards per carry in SJSU's one-back spread offense.

"He hits holes with power, and if he gets a crease on you he can take it to the house," UH head coach Greg McMackin said. "He's a real offensive weapon."

But the story of the Spartans' offense so far has been the emergence of quarterback Kyle Reed. The Cal transfer was third on the depth chart in fall camp, but now leads the nation in completion percentage after going 23-for-26 against Stanford and is a threat as a runner as well.

Protecting Reed has been a concern for the Spartans, who gave up eight sacks last week, and SJSU will again be without its top receiver in Kevin Jurovich due to mononucleosis. The Spartans start a tall trio of receivers led by 6-foot-4 David Richmond (23 catches, 235 yards).

Special teams: Hawaii's struggles in kickoff and punt coverage have often led to the defense having to protect a short field.

"We weren't doing well at all, so we moved some personnel around, changed schemes to make it a little simpler and we put a lot of time into it," special teams coach Ikaika Malloe said.

Several starters now have roles in the kicking game, including linebackers Adam Leonard and Brashton Satele and safety Erik Robinson. Satele is among Malloe's "crazy guys" who make up the wedge-buster group on the kickoff team.

Kicker Dan Kelly is coming off a 1-for-4 start and kicked well in practice this week.

Solid special teams play is among Tomey's trademarks throughout his tenures at Hawaii, Arizona and SJSU and nearly half of the Spartans' punts have pinned opponents inside their 20-yard line.

KEY MATCHUP

Hawaii tackles vs. San Jose State defensive ends

Holding the edge at the line of scrimmage could be the key to the Warriors maintaining their streak against the Spartans.

Hawaii's top three tackles have worked through various injuries lately and will be tested by SJSU ends Carl Ihenacho and Jeff Schweiger.

"They're fast, they're athletic, they've been playing with this group for the last two years and they added a transfer from USC (Schweiger), so they're better up front than they were last year," UH offensive line coach Brian Smith said.

At 245 pounds, Ihenacho is the smallest of the Spartans linemen, but he leads the WAC with seven tackles for loss, including five sacks. Ihenacho and Schweiger will switch sides depending on which hash mark the ball rests on.

UH right tackle Keoni Steinhoff is playing with his broken finger taped up, while left tackle will be split between Aaron Kia and Laupepa Letuli, who will see his first action since suffering a shoulder injury against Florida in the season opener.

The return of running back David Farmer, known as a solid blocker, figures to boost the protection scheme as well.

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HOW THEY COMPARE

Other Key Statistics
Hawaii	Category	San Jose state
4.7	Rushing first downs/game	7.8
9.7	Passing first downs/game	8.5
2.7	First downs by penalty/game	1.8
2-11	Interceptions-return yards	4-42
42.4	Punting avg.	33.6
24-211	Penalties-yards	22-134
6-4	Fumbles-lost	4-3
15%	Third-down conversion rate	32%
50%	Fourth-down conversion rate	86%
39.3	Pts. allowed/game	19.5
150.7	Rush. yds. allowed/game	92.5
217.3	Pass. yds. allowed/game	177.0
368.0	Total yards allowed/game	269.5

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Rushing	A	Yds	Avg	TD
Yonus Davis, SJSU	43	293	6.8	1
Brandon Rutley, SJSU	21	138	6.6	1
Jayson Rego, UH	13	71	5.5	0
Leon Wright-Jackson, UH	13	67	5.2	1

Passing	A	C	I	Yds	TD
Kyle Reed, SJSU	97	77	2	662	2
Myles Eden, SJSU	21	12	2	146	0
Tyler Graunke, UH	47	25	2	336	3
Inoke Funaki, UH	33	19	2	233	1

Receiving	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD
David Richmond, SJSU	23	235	10.2	0
Kevin Jurovich, SJSU	15	183	12.2	1
Mike Washington, UH	16	198	12.4	0
Greg Salas, UH	10	143	14.3	1

Tackles	S	A	Tot	FL/S
Carl Ihenacho, SJSU	19	8	27	7/5
Christopher Owens, SJSU	13	13	26	0/0
Travis Jones, SJSU	10	14	24	1.5/0
Devin Newsome, SJSU	8	12	20	0/0
David Veikune, UH	12	8	20	2/0
Solomon Elimimian, UH	6	13	19	1.5/0
Brashton Satele, UH	9	9	18	1.5/1
Erik Robinson, UH	8	9	17	2.5/1

San Jose State
2-2 (0-0 WAC)
PROBABLE STARTERS

Offense
WR	8	David Richmond	6-4	200	Sr.
LT	66	John Konye	6-4	270	So.
LG	72	Isaac Leatiota	6-4	295	So.
C	70	Robbie Reed	6-3	290	So.
RG	73	Ailao Eliapo	6-3	320	So.
RT	59	Jon Moreno	6-4	280	Jr.
TE	9	Jeff Clark	6-6	250	Sr.
QB	7	Kyle Reed	6-3	215	Jr.
RB	34	Yonus Davis	5-8	190	Sr.
WR	3	Terrance Williams	6-5	225	Jr.
WR	88	Jalal Beauchman	6-4	220	Jr.
Defense
DE	17	Jeff Schweiger	6-5	280	Sr.
DT	90	Jarron Gilbert	6-6	280	Sr.
DT	96	Adonis Davis	6-2	295	Jr.
DE	95	Carl Ihenacho	6-3	245	Jr.
LB	2	Duke Ihenacho	6-1	200	So.
LB	14	Travis Jones	6-1	220	Jr.
LB	93	Justin Cole	6-3	240	Jr.
CB	21	Coye Francies	6-1	185	Sr.
S	8	Kyle Flynn	6-2	205	Sr.
S	24	Devin Newsome	5-10	165	So.
CB	29	Christopher Owens	5-10	170	Sr.
Specialists
K	10	Jared Strubeck	5-8	182	Sr.
P	35	Philip Zavala	6-1	200	Jr.
KR	15	Brandon Rutley	5-10	190	Fr.
PR	15	Brandon Rutley	5-10	190	Fr.
H	35	Philip Zavala	6-1	200	Jr.
LS	51	Matt Wigley	6-2	230	Jr.

Schedule

DATE	OPP.	RESULT
Aug. 30	UC Davis	W, 13-10
Sept. 6	at Nebraska	L, 35-12
Sept. 13	San Diego State	W, 35-10
Sept. 20	at Stanford	L, 23-10
Today	at Hawaii
Oct. 11	Utah State
Oct. 18	at New Mexico State
Oct. 24	Boise State
Nov. 1	at Idaho
Nov. 8	Louisiana Tech
Nov. 15	at Nevada
Nov. 21	Fresno State

Hawaii
1-2 (0-0 WAC)
PROBABLE STARTERS

Offense
Z	89	Malcolm Lane	6-1	180	Jr.
H	5	Mike Washington	5-9	170	Sr.
LT	77	Aaron Kia	6-5	290	Jr.
LG	63	Brysen Ginlack	6-2	310	So.
C	55	John Estes	6-2	295	Jr.
RG	51	Lafu Tuioti-Mariner	6-0	300	Sr.
RT	78	Keoni Steinhoff	6-3	295	Sr.
Y	85	Aaron Bain	5-8	190	Sr.
X	1	Greg Salas	6-2	200	So.
QB	6	Tyler Graunke	6-0	185	Sr.
or	11	Inoke Funaki	5-11	190	Jr.
RB	21	Kealoha Pilares	5-11	190	So.
Defense
DE	94	David Veikune	6-3	265	Sr.
DT	93	Keala Watson	6-3	320	Sr.
DT	99	Josh Leonard	6-3	305	Sr.
DE	58	John Fonoti	6-2	255	Jr.
STUB	44	Adam Leonard	6-0	235	Sr.
MLB	13	Brashton Satele	6-1	255	Jr.
BUCK	17	Solomon Elimimian	6-0	225	Sr.
CB	2	Ryan Mouton	5-10	175	Sr.
FS	35	Keao Monteilh	5-11	200	Sr.
SS	7	Erik Robinson	5-10	200	Sr.
CB	23	Calvin Roberts	5-11	175	Sr.
Specialists
K	86	Dan Kelly	6-3	225	Sr.
P	49	Tim Grasso	5-11	210	Sr.
KR	2	Ryan Mouton	5-10	175	Sr.
	89	Malcolm Lane	6-1	180	Jr.
PR	5	Mike Washington	5-9	170	Sr.
LS	57	Jake Ingram	6-4	235	Sr.
H	49	Tim Grasso	5-11	210	Sr.

SCHEDULE
DATE	OPP.	RESULT
Aug. 30	at Florida	L, 56-10
Sept. 6	Weber State	W, 36-17
Sept. 13	at Oregon State	L, 45-7
Today	San Jose State
Oct. 4	at Fresno State
Oct. 11	Louisiana Tech
Oct. 17	at Boise State
Oct. 25	Nevada
Nov. 1	at Utah State
Nov. 8	at New Mexico State
Nov. 22	Idaho
Nov. 29	Washington State
Dec. 6	Cincinnati