Todd Graham’s demeanor was ablaze with positivity Saturday afternoon.
And why not? His Rainbow Warriors football team had just dismantled Fresno State 34-19 in the season opener at Bulldog Stadium. Yes, any victory will prop you up. But you could almost read something deeper into Graham’s outward expression of satisfaction in his postgame Zoom press conference. It’s as if he was thinking to himself, “Wait until you see what we can really do.”
If that sentiment is real, watch out folks. This could be a very special team. But nobody wants to go too far with that thought and maybe watching a winning coach with a VERY relieved and satisfied look on his face via Zoom from 3,000 miles away just doesn’t mean very much. One win is just the beginning and anything can happen in a long season.
(Photo courtesy of Hawaii athletics).
Throughout the week during some Zoom meetings with media, you could sense the players were fully prepared for the opener. But being fully set for a COVID-19 abbreviated campaign after all the difficulties of social distancing at practice and the long delay when the whole season was in jeopardy is a lot different than being completely ready in a normal atmosphere.
And that was one of Graham’s biggest worries. Compared to squads he’s coached in the past, this team was way behind in its preparation because of the COVID-19 factors. That’s why all he was really looking for on Saturday — aside from a victory — was hard-nosed physical play and discipline.
“It was like cramming for an exam that you haven’t been studying for,” he said about getting ready for football in these strange times.
No doubt, though, Graham got the toughness out of the players that he was looking for — from beginning to end. The second part on his wish list — the smart “don’t beat yourself” and “don’t try to do too much” stuff — took a while to come around.
“I thought we dominated physically,” Graham said. “And defensively I was proud of them flying around. We had that turnover on the opening kickoff and were down 7-0 before we could unpack our bags … but they responded to that adversity.”
Another part of the game that did not go well early was some pressure that led to sacks on quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, but that was, as Graham said afterward, when the Rainbow Warriors were not yet taking what the Bulldogs’ defense was giving them.
“They (the Bulldogs) were beating us around the end 1-on-1 and that gave us (early) problems with our dropback passing,” Graham said. “But if they (the Bulldogs) were going to leave the box with five guys in it, we (figured out) we gotta run the ball and pound it. That (development of the running game) will make us better in the long run. We can throw the ball. We know we can do that. It makes it a lot harder when you’re balanced and you’re running the ball with physicality.
“They gave me what I asked for in all three phases of the game. We were physical in all three. I love these kids. They’re blue collar and hard-edged kids. They’re making mistakes, but they’re relentless in their effort and passion.”
Graham used the word “physicality” at least five times during his postgame talk.
Ahhh, and all of the stuff that went wrong didn’t come at all close to outweighing all the great things that were happening on the field. To wit:
>> 323 rushing yards, including 116 and two TDs by Cordeiro and 109 by Miles Reed
>> 84 offensive plays to Fresno State’s 68
>> a 4-1 edge in takeaways, including two interceptions by Eugene Ford
>> 229 passing yards by Cordeiro, who went 20-for-30
>> An outstanding defensive front, with top-notch performances from defensive end Darius Muasau (11 tackles) and linebacker Khoury Bethley (seven tackles, three pass breakups)
You can take those rushing and turnover stats all by themselves and that will nearly always translate into victory at any level of football.
“We gave up a couple balls over the top that we gotta get corrected,” Graham said. “But getting takeaways is what it’s all about. When you finish plus-three, you’re going to win the game. I don’t think I’ve ever lost a game where we came out ahead plus-three.”
With the positive result, Graham became the first UH head coach since Bob Wagner in 1987 to win his debut.
According to Graham, Cordeiro and Ford, the celebration afterward was raucous, with music and players dancing around.
“Great vibes,” Cordeiro said. “We had 300 (-plus) rushing yards. I don’t remember when we’ve had that before. We had beginning jitters that we got out of. The O-line controlled the line of scrimmage. The receivers and running backs and especially the defense (played great). With four turnovers, they got the ball on the right side of the field.”
Added Ford about the positive feelings in the locker room: “It was amazing.”
Ford spread the credit around to the whole defensive unit and gave a shoutout to UH fans: “The credit (for his two interceptions) most definitely goes to the defensive line. The chemistry (on defense) is great. Coach Graham has that strategy of putting people in positions that fit them best. He’s a fanatic at watching film. He watched film on every single player and put them in a position to make plays. Today, it turned out the way we wanted.
“Our fans are watching, so we’re going to put on a show for them no matter what.”
One of UH’s faux pas was safety Kai Kaneshiro’s penalty for targeting, which Graham said afterward was a “mistake that can’t happen.”
“We want to keep things safe and eliminate plays like that,” the coach said. “We’re not going to be doing that. I’ve had one targeting foul in my last six years as a head coach (most recently at Arizona State) and this was the second. You’ve got to put your head to the side and keep your helmet out of it. He tried to turn his face to the side. Everyone’s gotta learn from it.”
Graham expects UH’s offense to become more explosive and up-tempo as the weeks go by.
“We’ll still be installing things for the next three weeks,” he said. “The tempo was obviously not very fast because we’re not capable of going too much faster right now. We did a good job of not trying to do too much and being able to execute and take care of the football. It was a great win, a big win, especially since it was over a team we’ve had a tough time beating (Fresno State had defeated UH in eight of of the last nine meetings).”
Running back Calvin Turner, a senior transfer from Jacksonville State and a former quarterback, shined brightly in his UH debut, with 60 yards rushing and two TDs and 23 more yards on two catches.
Senior linebacker Quentin Frazier, who was also making his Rainbow Warriors debut after transferring from Azusa Pacific, was among the defensive stalwarts, with three tackles for loss, including a sack, forced fumble and recovery — all on one play.
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RELATED STORY at Bedrock Sports Hawaii: Expect the 2020 University of Hawaii Football Team To Be Hard-Nosed and Disciplined
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