Post by Nevadanut on Aug 21, 2016 11:16:22 GMT -8
Welcome to SCtoC's kickoff of the 2016 college football season.
The debut is a special one, as it matches the Golden Bears of California and the Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii. What makes this special is that it is the first ever FBS game to be held in Australia -- Sydney to be exact.
Date: August 26, 2016*
Time: 7:00 p.m. (PT)*
Place: ANZ Stadium; Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Media: ESPN.
Hawaii: Finished last season at 3-10 overall and 0-8 in the Mountain West Conference. They did not make it to a bowl game.
California: Finished last season at 8-5 overall and 4-5 in the Pac-12. They defeated Air Force, 55-36, in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.
Notes: This very well could be the first annual college football game to be played Down Under. To that end, much could be determined by the success of the game. ANZ Sadium has a capacity of 83,500.
* The game actually takes place at 12 p.m., August 27 local Sydney time.
HAWAII RAINBOW WARRIORS
Hawaii RB Paul Harris (photo courtesy scout.com)
Ikaika Woolsey will get the start at QB for Hawaii. He started 5 games last season, completing 49 percent of his passes for 908 yards, 5 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Redshirt senior Paul Harris ran for 1,166 yards and 6 touchdowns last season. The Rainbow Warriors also return their top receiver from 2015 in Marcus Kemp, who tallied 563 yards on 36 catches and 2 touchdowns. Hawaii was outscored by 18 points per game last season and lost the turnover battle 44-11 over the course of the year. Hawaii won two of its first three games before dropping nine straight. It beat University of Louisiana-Monroe, 28-26 to close out its season; a game in which Harris ran for 172 yards and a touchdown. -HMB
CampusInsiders.com Hawaii 2016 preview:
What You Need To Know About Hawaii's Offense
Remember when Hawaii had an offense? Four starters are back on the line and 10 starters return overall – experience won’t be an issue for an offense that’ll try to get back to its high-flying ways. The new coaching staff is going to try getting the passing game going again after a woefully inefficient season. Almost all of the top receivers return, but they need to be far more explosive – Hawaii came up with just 12 touchdown passes last season. The quarterback situation has to be settled in a hurry, but having 1,000-yard runner Paul Harris to hand off to will help.
Key To The Hawaii Offense
Eastern Washington’s offense could open it up, and now its offensive coordinator – Zak Hill – Nick Rolovich’s guy. Does that mean the passing game is finally going to work again? The offense that used to pop 5,000-yard passing seasons like M&M’s has been a shadow of its former self, throwing just 12 touchdown passes in 2015 and hitting fewer than half of its passes. This year the attack is going to start speeding up the pace and spreading things out – the passing game is going to be back. Now it needs to figure out the right pieces.
What You Need To Know About Hawaii's Defense
Defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa spent the last few seasons working with the Boston College secondary, and now the longtime assistant will try to get bring the swagger back be generating more of an attacking style. The secondary wasn’t bad last season, but the run defense didn’t work. The entire front three is back, but now it has to hold firm against the power teams to help out a revamped linebacking corps that loses three starters. The secondary should be a plus with three starters back, but it would be nice to come up with a big play here and there – the Rainbow Warriors picked off just three passes.
Key To The Hawaii Defense
The defense has to find a few difference-makers, especially up front. The pass rush wasn’t bad, and there were plenty of tackles behind the line, but it didn’t seem to matter for a defense that couldn’t ever seem to generate the one big play needed on third down, or the momentum-changing takeaway to turn around a game. The idea behind bringing in defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa from Boston College was to generate more pressure and key plays, but he needs the talent to do what he wants.
Hawaii Football Will Be Far Better If …
It doesn’t get destroyed in turnover margin. It’s one thing to be mistake-prone, but it’s another to be dead last in the nation in turnover margin, giving away 34 on the year and giving up just 11. Hawaii on the battle just once, going a +1 against Colorado in the stunning win in the opener. After that, it was -2 or worse seven times, and -4 four times. The Rainbow Warriors just weren’t good enough to be -23 on the season.
Best Offensive Player
RB Paul Harris – This might be a passing team by nature, but the most dangerous weapon is in the backfield. The 5-11, 190-pounder from Columbus, Ohio, is a quick, tough back who did whatever he could to try carrying the offense. While he’s not a true workhorse, he has excellent speed and burst when he gets into the open field. The JUCO transfer ran for 1,132 yards and six touchdowns, and caught 14 passes for 151 yards. Combining with Steven Lakalaka, who’s coming off an injury, Harris will be the right back for what the new coaching staff wants to do. The run defense has to be better and the line has to be far stronger, starting by working around Tulimaseali on the end. The 6-1, 285-pounder isn’t the normal defensive end, built more like a 3-4 defensive end, but he’s a fixture in the backfield making 18.5 tackles for loss last season. He’s not a pass rusher, but he’s disruptive.
Key Player To A Successful Season
QB Ikaika Woolsey – Or sophomore Beau Reilly, or redshirt freshman Aaron Zwahlen. Who’s going to be the one who opens up the offense and makes the passing game roll? Woolsey is the one with the experience, but he’s not a big bomber and he’s not all that accurate. No matter who the main man for the attack is, he’ll be responsible to throw and throw some more. Sticking with one guy – and not going through a carousel like there’s been in the past few years – is vital.
The Hawaii Season Will Be A Success If …
The Rainbow Warriors come up with five wins and start to look more explosive. This is a reloading year with the new staff, and while the schedule is too daunting to do anything big – Cal, Michigan, Arizona, San Diego State and Boise State, as a base of nasty games – five wins would be a great start. More importantly, Hawaii has to start scaring defenses again with a high-octane attack. It has to go back to being Hawaii on offense.
CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS
California RB Vic Enwere (Photo courtesy Eugene Tanner/AP)
For the first time in five seasons, Jared Goff will not be at the helm of the Cal offense. Davis Webb, a graduate transfer from Texas Tech, will take over the signal calling duties for the Bears. Webb started 14 of the 23 games in which he appeared for the Red Raiders, throwing for 5,557 yards and 46 touchdowns. He spent last season on the bench. Khalfani Muhammad, Vic Enwere and Tre Watson each return from 500-plus yard rushing seasons in 2015. The trio combined for 15 rushing touchdowns last season with Enwere leading the way with 8. There seems to be no clear front runner at RB for the Bears this season. Cal will feature several options at WR/TE, as all six of its leading receivers from a year ago have moved on. -HMB
CollegeFootball.com California season preview:
What You Need to Know About the Cal Offense
The Bear Raid was prolific for much of 2015, finishing No. 2 in Pac-12 scoring and total offense. But what happens to Sonny Dykes’ brainchild now that his orchestrator, Jared Goff, is a very wealthy Los Angeles Ram? Dykes and his assistants have a busy summer ahead now that the franchise—and his top six pass-catchers—are gone. Cal did lessen the blow by signing graduate Texas Tech transfer Davis Webb, who should be able to hit the ground running in a system he knows intimately well. Plus, the backfield is deep and the O-line is experienced, aided by another Lone Star State transfer, one-time Texas A&M C Jeremiah Stuckey. But who catches passes from Webb, assuming he holds off contenders Chase Forrest and Ross Bowers? Youth is about to be served, led by true freshmen Melquise Stovall at “Y” and Demetris Robertson at “X”. Both young weapons have the talent and the opportunity to be 40-catch guys in their debuts on campus.
Biggest Key To The California Offense
Next gen receivers. Last year’s top six pass-catchers are gone, so whoever gets the start behind center will be throwing to an entirely new corps of receivers. Fortunately, Cal has landed a pair of gems, Melquise Stovall and Demetris Robertson, who are stepping into a situation brimming with possibilities. Stovall was electrifying out of the slot in the spring, bringing a different dimension to the offense. Robertson is a five-star mega-recruit, who announced his decision three months after Signing Day. Both rookies will factor prominently in the retooled 2016 passing game. What You Need to Know About the Cal Defense. Who steps up for coordinator Art Kaufman now that a large chunk of last year’s regulars either graduated, transferred or were forced to retire? While a leaky Bear D made small strides in 2015, a regression back to the old charitable days may be in store now that so many fresh faces occupy the two-deep.
Biggest Key To The California Defense
Prowling for leaders. The Bears lost a chunk of senior leadership to graduation, which is a part of the game at this level. But the program endured a body blow when veteran LB Hardy Nickerson announced following spring that he’d be joining his dad at Illinois. Nickerson was being counted on to be one of the team’s vocal tone-setters in 2016. Without him, Cal will put out APBs for veteran leaders, particularly if the spring knee injury suffered by senior S Damariay Drew prevents him from getting on the field.
Cal Will Be Far Better If …
the backs play a bigger role in the offense. The passing game is getting a complete overhaul. And the running backs are deep, so there’s good reason to leverage the diverse skill sets of speedy Khalfani Muhammad, powerful Vic Enwere and Tre Watson, arguably the most complete member of the trio. True, Cal will remain a pass-first operation under Sonny Dykes, but topping last season’s 153 rushing yards per game ought to be a priority now that the personnel has undergone a facelift.
Best Offensive Player
Senior QB Davis Webb. The Bears needed a franchise quarterback after Jared Goff elected to turn pro with a year of eligibility remaining. So, they went out and signed one of the best free agents on the market. Webb not only has Sunday arm talent, but he’s also familiar with the Bear Raid attack being run in Strawberry Canyon. In that regard, he appears to be an ideal piece of the puzzle for a program looking for a one-year solution as the younger hurlers continue to develop in the bullpen.
Best Defensive Player
Senior NB Cameron Walker. The Bears are painfully light on proven defenders now that last year’s three honorable mention All-Pac-12 performers are gone. Walker is the program’s closest thing to an all-star contender this offseason, thanks in large part to his know-how and experience playing multiple positions. Walker quietly delivered a solid season in 2015, and his feel for the secondary is going to help a defensive backfield replacing two key contributors, CB Darius White and S Stefan McClure.
Key Player to a Successful Season
Senior QB Davis Webb. Sonny Dykes without a proven quarterback is like a car with a steering wheel. It’ll still move, but in what direction is anyone’s guess. Cal needs Webb, who was pried away from a Colorado commitment for his experience running a system not unlike the one that’s catapulted Dykes’ career. No one expects Webb to be the second-coming of Jared Goff. But he will need to be catalyst for the offense if the Bears have any hope consecutive bowl games for the first time in six years.
The Season Will Be a Success If …
the Bears can find six wins on the schedule. It will not be easy, but it is absolutely essential for a program that can accept a regression but not an implosion. Cal went to great lengths and plenty of heavy lifting to return to the postseason in 2015. So, even in the face of a rugged slate that includes trips to USC and Wazzu and visits from Texas, Utah, Oregon, U-Dub, Stanford and UCLA, the Bears must qualify for a 13th game to keep the momentum rolling under Sonny Dykes.
FEATURED TWEETS
ANZ STADIUM
ANZ Sadium in Sydney (Photo courtesy Ronan Palliser)
Stadium Australia, also known by its corporate name of ANZ Stadium, was built in the late 1990s as the host stadium of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. It hosted the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as track and field, and other events during the Games. Since then, it has been the site of several sporting events and concerts, including for rugby, Austrailian Rules Football and soccer. In 1999, the NFL's Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers played a pre-season game in the stadium, with the Broncos winning, 20-17. On November 28, 2015, Taylor Swift played to 75,980 fans as part of her 1989 World Tour.
LINKS
University of Hawaii offical football team page
ESPN Hawaii football team page
University of California official football team page
ESPN California football team page
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Graphic courtesy of David.