Oregon State comes to Aloha Stadium this Saturday feeling like there are a lot of things to fix after last weeks drubbing at the hands of Oklahoma State. The Beavers main problems are on defense; they gave up 587 yards, 384 of those on the ground. They had similar problems last year, and the early indications are that there is a long way to go still.

Cowboy RB Chuba Hubbard looked like Zeke Elliott and Saquon Barkley rolled into one on his way to 221 yards and 3 TD’s. Freshman QB Spencer Sanders ran for 108 as well. When the Cowboys got bored running the ball, they threw it for 203 yards.

The good news was that the Beavers looked effective at times behind QB Jake Luton, and particularly when throwing to Isaiah Hudgins and Tylan Lindsey who combined for 3 TD’s and 205 yards, 170 of them by Hudgins. RB Jermar Jefferson had 16 carries for 87 yards, but never really got untracked against the Cowboy front. Artavis Pierce had 8 rushes for 53 yards, but as the Beavers fell further behind the run game became less relevant.

The Rainbow Warriors’ biggest issue against Arizona was their own mistakes, with 4 picks and 2 fumbles. The fumbles can, at least for now, be viewed as one offs, as neither Dayton Furuta nor Freddie Holly has a history of coughing up the ball. And Cole McDonald just needs to stay within the offense to conquer the interception problem.

Hawaii is thin on defense wither the loss of Penei Pavihi for the season and Jeremiah Pritchard for an indefinite  length of time. Expect to see both Tauivi Ho Ching and true freshman Darius Muasai at LB. If the offensive line continues to play well, the passing game could be out of this world, because these receivers are fast and very smart.

Come out on Saturday and bring a friend. This is going to be fun to watch!

– Bobby Curran | The Voice of Rainbow Warrior Football