HONOLULU — Perhaps subconsciously sensing that a return to his home state was imminent, Hawaii quarterback Brayden Schager concluded Tuesday’s group media availability with some Southern diction.
“Thank y’all,” the Dallas native said.
That morning Schager resumed practice activities after being given the entirety of UH’s bye week to recover from bumps and bruises from the 16-13 home loss to UCLA on Aug. 31.
The Rainbow Warriors will get in one more home practice Wednesday before embarking for Texas via charter early Thursday morning. They face first-time opponent Sam Houston of Conference USA in Huntsville, an hour’s drive north of Houston, at 1 p.m. Hawaii time Saturday.
“I want to go out there and go show everybody what I can do again,” said Schager, who was 25-for-42 with a touchdown and two second-half interceptions against the Bruins. “It’s not fun to have a game where you don’t play as well as you want and don’t win.”
He is one of eight Rainbow Warriors to hail from the Lone Star State. Schager expects to have a healthy family presence in attendance for his first collegiate game in-state; his parents will likewise drive to see the senior play for the first time in college.
Coach Timmy Chang said he thought Schager “threw the ball pretty well today” and that the first of three byes on the season came at a good time for UH (1-1).
The SHU game will not be televised but will be streamed live on ESPN+. The last UH game to be livestreamed only was at New Mexico State in 2022.
It is UH’s first road game of 2024. In a switch arranged by UH Athletic Director Craig Angelos, UH will fly charter instead of commercial this season, and stay on the road one fewer day to make up for the increased cost of travel.
“That’s going to always help (chartering), the space of these guys, being as big as they are,” Chang said. “You can’t really get around the times and how long a distance it is. But all the little things like that help, especially taking your own flight out there, we’re really blessed. Our administration and Craig have really helped us with that.”
The extra day at home also allows UH to employ its full roster for game preparation for one more day, Chang noted.
The coach said he allowed himself 24 hours to get over the what-ifs of the UCLA loss, in which the Bruins rallied from a 10-0 halftime deficit to win on three late field goals.
Sam Houston (1-1) was a 4.5-point favorite as of Tuesday night.
The Bearkats are coming off a 45-14 loss at UCF. Tenth-year coach K.C. Keeler opened the season with a 34-14 win at Rice.
Sam Houston won the 2020-21 FCS national championship with a 10-0 record and followed it up with an 11-1 campaign in fall 2021. SHU moved up to the FBS ranks in 2023 and went 3-9.
Like the ‘Bows, the Bearkats closed last season with wins in three of their last four games. SHU beat Kennesaw State, Louisiana Tech and Middle Tennessee.
Chang, who worked as an offensive assistant under June Jones at SMU to begin his coaching career, knows that football is king in Texas – including for a program that is only in its second year in the FBS. Schager, a Highland Park High alumnus, knows several players on the Bearkats’ roster, described the state’s mentality as “different” when it comes to the sport.
Chang said the 10-year coach Keeler has sustained the team’s identity from its FCS playoff success. SHU is one of the very few FBS programs to have a smaller home venue than UH in terms of maximum capacity; Bowers Stadium seats 14,000.
“I think their defense flies around,” Chang said. “They’re good tacklers. … The offense, from the running game, to the quarterback running game, to getting the ball down to the receivers, to good special teams, they’re going to have success. … They’re a good team. Sam Houston’s going to present some problems.”
Junior college transfer Hunter Watson leads the Bearkats in passing (155.5 yards/game) and rushing (36.0) while completing 62.5% of his passes. He’s thrown two touchdowns against two interceptions.
Chang, who takes a direct hand in UH’s offense during games by calling plays, said that third of the game is the area the Rainbow Warriors need to shore up, while praising defense and special teams.
UH has converted on nine of 27 third downs (33.3%). Its passing game, the primary component of the run-and-shoot offense, has been roughly a wash with opponents at 215 yards per contest.
Defensive lineman Wynden Ho‘ohuli said the Rainbow Warriors want to use this game to establish a new road mentality. UH is 0-4 in nonconference road games under Chang, and 1-11 on the road overall.
“I feel like this team on the road is scary, because we got a lot of hitters, a lot of hammahs out there, guys who just want to play ball,” said Ho‘ohuli, who has 2.0 tackles for loss this season.
“With this team, I feel like we’re going to take it is a business trip, not really going to gallivant,” he added. “Take care of business and come right back home.”
UH’s last game in Texas was the 2020 New Mexico Bowl in Frisco, where the Rainbow Warriors defeated the Houston Cougars 28-14.
The last time UH won a true road game in the state was its only triumph at Rice, 33-28, in the old Western Athletic Conference on Nov. 16, 2002. It also won two games at Southern Methodist (1999, 2001) and six at Texas-El Paso (1979, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1992, 2002) in WAC play.
Schager, who has completed 55.3% of his passes in 2024, is 65 passing yards shy of 7,000 for his career, a mark reached by four other UH quarterbacks.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.