As soon as we found out that ND was going to be playing in the Hawaii Bowl against Hawaii, we went seeking a good Hawaii Football blog to have a little Q&A session. It didn’t take much seeking. UHFootball is not just a great Hawaii Football blog. It’s an excellent football blog period. Heck, I’ve spent much of this month checking out Tom’s site to get the latest information about Notre Dame, let alone all the Hawaii info he supplies at an exhaustive rate.

Below, we’ve got a few questions we sent to Tom and he was kind enough to answer. We’ll post a link to our answers to his questions in a little bit.

1. Any college football fan that pays attention knows about Hawaii’s phenomenal season last year. In 2008, the Hawaii football program has had to adjust to the loss not only of some really talented offensive weapons, but also the loss of head coach June Jones. How would you say that adjustment has gone in 2008?

   Even with June, Colt, and the receivers gone, I expected the transition to be fairly seamless. It definitely wasn’t. Coach Ron Lee, who learned the run and shoot offense from Mouse Davis and coached the receivers under June Jones, was taking over as offensive coordinator. Tyler Graunke, brilliant as Colt’s backup last year, helping to win some games when Colt got injured, was set to be the “heir apparent” in his senior year. But then he had academic issues and missed most of fall practice. Through that, injuries, and bad luck, UH ended up starting three different quarterbacks in the first three games of the year, and the team began the season at 1-3. Inoke Funaki eventually took the reins, and UH tweaked the offense to take advantage of his running skills. However, he had a few bad games coupled with injuries, so he was replaced with Greg Alexander mid-way through the season. Since then, with Alexander’s steady improvement, it’s looked more and more like the offense we’re used to, though it’s not as prolific as it once was. At least not yet!

2. Various parts of the country are practically defined by their obsession with particular sports. Having grown up in South Carolina, I can attest to the notion that football is a religion in the south east. Going to Notre Dame, while football is king on campus, the state of Indiana hold basketball most dear. When I lived in Boston, baseball stood tallest. Where does the game of football stand in the hierarchy of the sporting world of Hawaii? How closely does the state follow the UH program? And given the fact that a lot of ND fans are obsessed with all-everything recruit Manti T’eo, what’s the high school football scene like out there?

   Though the per capita rate of rabid die-hard football fans might not match up with the rates in the South, football is definitely huge in Hawaii. Aloha Stadium holds 50,000 people, and while it rarely gets sold out*, there are thousands of people who watch the games on live pay-per-view, the internet, or listen to the games on the radio. The fans that do make it out to the stadium keep the place loud and rocking (literally rocking - it’s kinda scary). When the team is successful, like it was last year, Warrior-mania takes over the state and many t-shirts get sold. When the team isn’t so successful, like it was earlier this year, UH football is still very popular, though “Warrior-mania” takes on a different meaning as people go nuts and think they can coach the team. Football is also huge on the high school level, with great rivalries, great teams, and lots of great players produced every year, as Notre Dame and other schools have discovered.

3. One “tradition” ND seems to have made for itself in the last decade or so is that of creating the “next big thing.” Unfortunately, “the next big thing” is wearing the wrong colors. Who on the UH squad has the potential to make a first round draft pick out of himself against the Irish on Christmas Eve while the world watches? And what’s that guy done this season to sort of foreshadow such a performance?

   He might not be a first-round pick, but defensive end David Veikune has been a beast, especially in the last half of the season. He’s racked up nine sacks in the past six games, and leads the team with 16 tackles-for-loss. I’ve seen his name mentioned on NFL draft sites, and it’s expected that he’ll get an invite to the Senior Bowl. I would definitely like to see him have a big game, especially against Notre Dame’s improved offensive line.

4. With the annual coaching carousel spinning right ’round, baby, right ’round… uh, ahem… who on the current UH assistant coaching staff stands out as a real superstar and for which unit is he responsible? Who has the potential to be Hawaii’s Will Muschamp?

   Coach Greg McMackin has said that associate head coach Rich Miano is head coaching material. And Miano’s definitely been a great asset to the program, coaching the secondary under June Jones, coordinating the walk-on program — which has brought in a lot of great players over the years — and being UH’s pro football liaison.

5. In 50 words or fewer but more than 20, what’s your prediction for this game?

   I think UH will come out fired up and try to score early and often. They’re still smarting over the tough loss to Big East champs Cincinnati and I think they want to make a big impression against a great program like Notre Dame on national TV. Prediction: UH 32, Notre Dame 24

Thanks to Tom for his thoughts!

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