2014-15 Football Previews – (Mountain West) – Warriors
The Hawaii Warriors have not been a good football team under head coach Norm Chow. That said, he’s only completed two years with the institution up to this point, and we should see some improvements in Year 3 even if they’re minimal.
- Mountain West Conference 2014-15 College Football Previews:
- Head Coach: Norm Chow
- 2013 Record: 1-11
- Hawaii Gambling Odds to win BCS Championship: OFF
- Hawaii Gambling Odds to win Mountain West Mountain Division: OFF
- Hawaii Gambling Odds to win Mountain West Conference: 30/1
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The 4-20 start to Chow’s career at Hawaii is the worst two-year beginning to any coach in team history. Year 3 will be an important one if he hopes to remain in his position much longer.
Team Strengths:
Considering this team went 1-11 this past season, the “strengths” category is going to look awfully thin entering the 2014 season. We start, however, with a passing game that was 20th in the nation in yards per game last season.
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With the year quickly approaching, it appears that Ikalka Woosley is going to be the starting quarterback on Day 1 for the Warriors. There will certainly be competition at the position, as the air attack won’t go away this next season and there’s talented players on the roster ready to show what they can do, but Woosley provides a threat on the ground as well, which is something this team could use after ranking 115th in the country in rushing yards last season.
In the rushing game, this group needs Joey Losefa to be healthy. He’s the clear-cut No. 1 back when health is on his side, and if he stays injury free in 2014, it will play a huge role in the team’s offensive attack.
Team Weaknesses:
Sticking with offense, the line was a major problem last season. The men up front allowed 43 sacks on the year, which is hardly conducive to a winning culture.
Switching to defense, there are so many statistics that prove it’s a weakness, but we’ll stick with the big one: points allowed. This category should sum things up nicely. The Warriors allowed their opponents to score 38.8 points per game in 2013, which was only good enough for 116th in the country.
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There’s one bright side to defense in 2014, and that’s newly added defensive coordinator Kevin Clune. The D.C. comes over from Utah State, and he plans on switching the approach from a 4-3 to a 3-4. This will allow the group to put more of an emphasis on its linebackers, which should prove to be one of the only “strengths” on the defensive side of the ball.
Regardless of the scheme, depth is going to be an issue, as it has been the past few years. The Mountain West competition will air it out week after week against any group it comes up against, but for Hawaii, that’s going to be especially problematic.
2014-15 Hawaii Football Gambling Prediction: 4-8
Along with everything else Hawaii has to deal with throughout the 2014 college football season, the schedule won’t be the friendliest this team has ever seen. This group plays three Pac-12 opponents in the first four games, and while no game will be easy for this struggling roster, that sentiment is only made more true by the level of competition.
Expecting more than one more win than last year could prove to be ambitious barring a true turnaround. A 2-11 record sounds about right for this group, which as mentioned above, could make things interesting for Chow moving forward.
2014 Hawaii Schedule
- Sat, Aug 30 vs Washington
- Sat, Sept 6 vs Oregon State
- Sun, Sept 14 vs Northern Iowa
- Sat, Sept 20 @ Colorado
- Sat, Oct 4 @ Rice
- Sun, Oct 12 vs Wyoming
- Sat, Oct 18 @ San Diego State
- Sun, Oct 26 vs Nevada
- Sat, Nov 1 vs Utah State
- Sat, Nov 8 @ Colorado State
- Sat, Nov 15 @ San Jose State
- Sun, Nov 23 vs UNLV
- Sat, Nov 29 @ Fresno State
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