SundayJam wrote: ↑Sun Sep 12, 2021 11:39 pm
daddy wrote: get that it sucks to get beat by basically 3 TD’s in a game that was never close after the first few minutes but ultimately, a loss is a loss. Hawaii has lost 2 road games to PAC 12 teams that they were “supposed” to lose. Did anyone realistically have @UCLA or @Oregon State circled as W’s?
This.
We were underdogs in both fights. Heck, we haven't won a road game in the Pac10/12 for some years now...I suspect since before many forum members were born. UCLA was an awesome opponent with NFL ready performers. The Beavers defended their house. Would you consider scoring 28 points at a PAC12 school a blow-out? I wouldn't. We simply lost to better teams on the road. What's new for Hawaii in this scenario? Nothing, I'd say.
Now, the real season begins.
We won at Wazzu 38-20 in 2009. Technically, it was a "neutral field" because it was played in Seattle, but it counts. I have no idea how the game went because I had to listen to it on the radio, however. Still, I see your point. You may be right about people overreacting, but I think it is fair to expect this team to be a little better prepared than they have been, as the team is full of returning players and because of how they ended last season, particularly on defense. I hope the coaching staff takes the lessons from this game and applies it to the rest of the season in regards to how to approach road games. I think at the beginning of games they need to be less aggressive on defense (more base defense, less one-on-one situations) and more aggressive on offense (trying to establish the run early against better teams plays to their favor) to not allow for such a large momentum gap and such a large hole to dig out of. If the final score of the OSU game was the same, but the game stays close until OSU pulls away late, no one feels like this.
for anyone interested, the 1992 UH win @ Oregon is on YouTube. We also won at Cal in 1994, right before starting an epic losing streak that made no sense at the time. I knew some guys on the team from back then and they would recount how toxic the environment was on the team, which likely led to the losing that would cost Bob Wagner his job.