HONOLULU — The Ninth Island Showdown is about more than a pineapple trophy this year.
The 4 p.m. Saturday matchup between Hawaii and UNLV at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex carries heavy ramifications for both the Rebels and the Rainbow Warriors.
UH (4-5, 2-2 Mountain West) has just its second single-season winning streak under Timmy Chang; the Rainbow Warriors are coming off a rousing 21-20 road win at rival Fresno State, the second time in 16 games that the team has flown back home victorious in the three-year Chang era.
Championship-contending football has been just as rare in the program annals of UNLV (6-2, 2-1), but its stock his risen rapidly in this ever-shifting era of college football. The Rebels need a win this weekend to have a chance at a second straight conference title game appearance.
For Hawaii, a third straight victory would go a long way toward bowl game qualification; a loss would mean UH would be forced to win its last two games just to have a chance at the postseason game, given that it has two wins over FCS teams and only one may be used toward bowl qualification.
“It’s a big game for us,” Chang said to local media on Tuesday. “They’re all big games. We are where we are. We’ve got to keep getting better. But it’s a good opponent. We look forward to the challenge at home.”
The Rebels are coming off a bye week from a 29-24 home loss to Boise State, which is tied with Colorado State atop the MWC standings at 4-0. UNLV’s only other loss came against Syracuse, 44-41, in overtime on Oct. 4.
Barry Odom’s Rebels won at Kansas, 23-20, then routed Fresno State, 59-14, as part of the program’s first 4-0 start in 40 years, earning the program its first Associated Press ranking ever at No. 23. The Rebels have scored 50 or more three times this year.
Now UH’s Mountain West-leading defense will have to contend with the potent “Go-Go Offense” of former UH wide receivers coach Brennan Marion, in which the quarterback is often the Rebels’ leading rusher.
Under first-year coordinator Dennis Thurman, UH has allowed a league-best 22 points per game and 333 yards per game, No. 2 in the MWC. But UNLV is fifth nationally in scoring offense at 41.1 ppg, and generates 243.5 rushing yards per game.
UNLV was a 13-point favorite as of Friday afternoon.
“We understand Hawaii is playing their best ball right now in all three phases,” Rebels coach Barry Odom said during his weekly media availability. “For us to continue the quest to win a championship, it all starts with how we play this week.”
Odom, a former head coach at Missouri, is the reigning Mountain West Coach of the Year in his second season in Las Vegas.
He has never been to Hawaii in any capacity. He downplayed the travel difficulties that are infamous for visitors to the islands.
UNLV has a 4-0 road record for the first time in program history and has won six straight away games dating to last season.
“I look at the way that we’ve performed on the road this season … I think we have a really good formula for what works for us,” Odom said. “It’s an away game. The only thing that’s different is it’s a little bit of a longer flight. If we want to make it any bigger deal than that, then we’re the fool.”
Chang was impressed by the Rebels’ rapid progress in the Odom era; UNLV shellacked UH 44-20 at Allegiant Stadium last year.
He said the home crowd at the Ching Complex could be vital. But, perhaps due to week-long foul weather, UH was short of attaining its third sellout of the year in the 15,000-seat venue (UCLA, Boise State).
“We’re going to need their vibe, we’re going to need their mana, gonna need that Manoa magic to push through this game,” Chang said.
Besides its prolific offense run by the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Marion, who was at UH for one year, 2020, under Todd Graham, UH must contend with a Rebels defense that is plus-11 on turnovers this season. Another former UH assistant, Ricky Logo from the Nick Rolovich era, is UNLV’s defensive line coach.
UNLV plowed through national headlines in September when starting quarterback Matthew Sluka abruptly left the team for an alleged lack of payment on a $100,000 Name, Image, and Likeness rights deal.
Hajj-Malik Williams, a senior from Atlanta, stepped in seamlessly and threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in the rout of Fresno State on Sept. 28. In five games in which he has thrown a pass, he has 12 TDs against three interceptions to go with five rushing TDs and two 100-yard games on the ground.
Following its rousing win in Fresno, Calif., Chang named quarterback Brayden Schager a team co-captain, filling a hole left when receiver Koali Nishigaya left the team at midseason.
Receiver Nick Cenacle, who had his signature game as a Rainbow Warrior by snagging two fourth-quarter touchdowns at FSU, said it was a welcome move by the players. With a start Saturday, Schager will surpass program legend Colt Brennan for second in career starts for a UH quarterback at 36. Chang holds that record at 50 games.
“Quarterback, the leader of the whole offense. He’s the one that leads us, and no better person to lead us than Brayden,” Cenacle said. “He’s an amazing leader. He’ll talk to us in the plays, especially in moments like that, ‘hey guys, c’mon let’s score man, let’s get this ball.’ Glad that he was named captain, for sure.”
Top receiver Pofele Ashlock, who had steadily worked his way back from a hit to the head against Boise State last month, was knocked out of the Fresno game on a targeting hit by former UH defensive back Cam Lockridge in the fourth quarter. Chang said Ashlock is “going through protocol. We’re looking to get him back.”
UH has two former UNLV players in defensive back Kilinahe Mendiola-Jensen, a Punahou alum, and defensive lineman Anthony Sagapolutele, a Saint Louis graduate. Both left before Odom’s arrival.
Mendiola-Jensen called it “kind of like a homecoming game, I guess.”
“Get to play the team I started off with,” the Punahou alumnus said. “Still get a good amount of guys on the team (that he knows). But we want to bring that trophy back home to the island.”
For UNLV’s part, there are four Hawaii high school graduates on the roster: quarterback Cameron Friel (Kailua High), linebacker Blesyng Alualu-Tuiolemotu (Campbell), and defensive backs Rashod Tanner (Moanalua) and Kela Moore (Campbell).
In the seven years since the creation of the Ninth Island Showdown trophy, UH owns a 4-3 record against UNLV.
UH and UNLV have played every year since 2009, making it the second-longest uninterrupted annual series for the Rainbow Warriors after Nevada (25 years, 2000-present).
The home teams have won 13 of the last 15 meetings in the series, including three in a row for UH in Honolulu.
The game is being televised on CBS Sports Network. UH has lost its last 14 games on national TV dating to the start of the 2021 season.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.