2018 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team

The 2018 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team represented the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rainbow Warriors played their home games at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. They competed in the West Division of the Mountain West Conference and were led by third-year head coach Nick Rolovich. They finished the season 8–6, 5–3 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for second place in the West Division. They were invited to the Hawaii Bowl where they lost to Louisiana Tech. The Rainbow Warriors clinched their first winning season since 2010 with a 31-30 overtime win at San Diego State, while also clinching a winning conference record in the process.

2018 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football
Hawaii Bowl, L 14–31 vs. Louisiana Tech
Conference	Mountain West Conference
Division	West Division
2018 record	8–6 (5–3 MW)
Head coach	Nick Rolovich (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Brian Smith (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Run and shoot
Defensive coordinator	Corey Batoon (1st season)
Home stadium	Aloha Stadium (Capacity: 50,000)

2018 Mountain West Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Mountain Division
No. 23 Boise State x		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 22 Utah State		7	–	1					11	–	2
Wyoming		4	–	4					6	–	6
Air Force		3	–	5					5	–	7
Colorado State		2	–	6					3	–	9
New Mexico		1	–	7					3	–	9
West Division
No. 18 Fresno State x$		7	–	1					12	–	2
Nevada		5	–	3					8	–	5
Hawaii		5	–	3					8	–	6
San Diego State		4	–	4					7	–	6
UNLV		2	–	6					4	–	8
San Jose State		1	–	7					1	–	11
Championship: Fresno State 19, Boise State 16 (OT)
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Rainbow Warriors finished the 2017 season 3–9, 1–7 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for fifth place in the West Division.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
Fred Biletnikoff Award[1]	John Ursua	WR	JR
Butkus Award[2]	Jahlani Tavai	LB	SR
Bronko Nagurski Trophy[3]	Jahlani Tavai	LB	SR
Wuerffel Trophy[4]	Noah Borden	LS	SR

Mountain West media days

During the Mountain West media days held July 24–25 at the Cosmopolitan on the Las Vegas Strip, the Rainbow Warriors were predicted to finish in fifth place in the West Division.[5]

Media poll

West Division
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Fresno State	126 (16)
2	San Diego State	116 (6)
3	UNLV	78
4	Nevada	72
5	Hawaii	45
6	San Jose State	25

Preseason All-Mountain West Team

The Rainbow Warriors had one player selected to the preseason all-Mountain West team.[6]

Defense Jahlani Tavai – LB

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 25	2:30 p.m.	at Colorado State	Canvas Stadium Fort Collins, CO	CBSSN	W 43–34	31,007
September 1	5:00 p.m.	Navy*	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI	CBSSN	W 59–41	29,702
September 8	6:00 p.m.	Rice*	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI	SPEC HI	W 43–29	23,112
September 15	6:00 a.m.	at Army*	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	CBSSN	L 21–28	31,133
September 22	6:00 p.m.	Duquesne*	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI	SPEC HI	W 42–21	26,175
September 29	1:00 p.m.	at San Jose State	CEFCU Stadium San Jose, CA	SPEC HI	W 44–41 ^5OT	16,363
October 6	6:00 p.m.	Wyoming	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI (Paniolo Trophy)	SPEC HI	W 17–13	23,907
October 13	4:15 p.m.	at BYU*	LaVell Edwards Stadium Provo, UT	ESPN2	L 23–49	52,354
October 20	6:00 p.m.	Nevada	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI	SPEC HI	L 22–40	24,475
October 27	4:30 p.m.	at Fresno State	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 20–50	33,659
November 3	6:00 p.m.	No. 18 Utah State	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI	SPEC HI	L 17–56	21,476
November 17	6:00 p.m.	UNLV	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI	SPEC HI	W 35–28	25,697
November 24	4:30 p.m.	at San Diego State	SDCCU Stadium San Diego, CA	ESPNU	W 31–30 ^OT	28,014
December 22	5:30 p.m.	Louisiana Tech*	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI (Hawaii Bowl)	ESPN	L 14–31	30,911
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Hawaii time

Schedule Source:[7]

Staff

Name	Position	Alma Mater	Joined Staff
Nick Rolovich[8]	Head Coach	Hawaii (2004)	2016
Brian Smith[9]	Associate Head Coach / Offensive Coordinator / Running Backs	Hawaii (2005)	2016
Mark Banker[10]	Assistant Head Coach / Inside Linebackers	Springfield (MA) (1978)	2018
Corey Batoon[11]	Defensive Coordinator / Safeties	Long Beach State (1991)	2018
Michael Ghobrial	Special Teams Coordinator	UCLA (2011)	2018
Craig Stutzmann	Passing Game Coordinator / Quarterbacks	Hawaii (2002)	2016
Mark Weber	Offensive Line	Cal Lutheran (1980)	2018
Andre Allen	Wide Receivers	Ashford (2014)	2018
Ricky Logo	Defensive Line	North Carolina State (1992)	2018
Abe Elimimian[12]	Cornerbacks	Hawaii (2004)	2015
Jacob Yoro[13]	Outside Linebackers / Nickelbacks	Hawaii (2008)	2017

Coaching Source

Game summaries

at Colorado State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rainbow Warriors	10	13	14	6	43
Rams	7	0	13	14	34

See also: 2018 Colorado State Rams football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
9–15	2017	CSU, 51–21

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP HAW CSU 1 10:02 10 75 4:58 HAW John Ursua 4-yard touchdown reception from Cole McDonald, Ryan Meskell kick good 7 0 1 5:26 14 85 4:26 CSU Bisi Johnson 10-yard touchdown reception from K.J. Carta-Samuels, Wyatt Bryan kick good 7 7 1 1:18 9 72 4:08 HAW 21-yard field goal by Ryan Meskell 10 7 2 11:32 9 67 3:53 HAW Cole McDonald 12-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed 16 7 2 0:28 6 46 1:43 HAW Cole McDonald 6-yard touchdown run, Ryan Meskell kick good 23 7 3 8:48 7 75 3:34 HAW John Ursua 19-yard touchdown reception from Cole McDonald, Ryan Meskell kick good 30 7 3 3:35 3 70 1:24 HAW Cedric Byrd 55-yard touchdown reception from Cole McDonald, Ryan Meskell kick good 37 7 3 2:20 3 75 1:15 CSU Preston Williams 7-yard touchdown reception from K.J. Carta-Samuels, Wyatt Bryan kick good 37 14 3 0:08 2 72 0:24 CSU Bisi Johnson 58-yard touchdown reception from K.J. Carta-Samuels, 2-point pass failed 37 20 4 8:15 4 99 1:06 CSU Preston Williams 26-yard touchdown reception from K.J. Carta-Samuels, Wyatt Bryan kick good 37 27 4 6:42 5 63 1:33 HAW 30-yard field goal by Ryan Meskell 40 27 4 4:42 8 75 2:00 CSU Izzy Matthews 9-yard touchdown reception from K.J. Carta-Samuels, Wyatt Bryan kick good 40 34 4 0:44 9 58 3:58 HAW 35-yard field goal by Ryan Meskell 43 34 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 43 34

Navy

	1	2	3	4	Total
Midshipmen	0	14	14	13	41
Rainbow Warriors	14	24	0	21	59

See also: 2018 Navy Midshipmen football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–1	2013	NAVY, 42–28

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NAVY HAW 1 9:12 12 75 5:48 HAW Cedric Byrd 7-yard touchdown reception from Cole McDonald, Ryan Meskell kick good 0 7 1 3:13 10 71 4:00 HAW Fred Holly III 1-yard touchdown run, Ryan Meskell kick good 0 14 2 13:18 4 40 1:37 HAW JoJo Ward 34-yard touchdown reception from Cole McDonald, Ryan Meskell kick good 0 21 2 11:08 HAW Maxwell Hendrie blocked punt returned 19-yard touchdown, Ryan Meskell kick good 0 28 2 6:52 8 75 4:16 NAVY Zach Abey 3-yard touchdown run, Bennett Moehring kick good 7 28 2 4:17 6 75 2:35 HAW John Ursua 50-yard touchdown reception from Cole McDonald, Ryan Meskell kick good 7 35 2 4:02 1 75 0:15 NAVY Zach Abey 75-yard touchdown run, Malcolm Perry kick good 14 35 2 0:00 12 71 4:02 HAW 23-yard field goal by Ryan Meskell 14 38 3 8:08 12 75 6:52 NAVY Zach Abey 1-yard touchdown run, Bennett Moehring kick good 21 38 3 6:35 3 9 0:58 NAVY Zach Abey 7-yard touchdown run, Bennett Moehring kick good 28 38 4 14:07 7 71 2:11 HAW Cedric Byrd 31-yard touchdown reception from Cole McDonald, Ryan Meskell kick good 28 45 4 12:06 6 75 2:01 NAVY Tre Walker 19-yard touchdown reception from Malcolm Perry, Bennett Moehring kick good 35 45 4 14:07 2 78 0:54 HAW JoJo Ward 75-yard touchdown reception from Cole McDonald, Ryan Meskell kick good 35 52 4 4:45 9 60 4:26 HAW JoJo Ward 9-yard touchdown reception from Cole McDonald, John Ursua kick good 35 59 4 2:46 11 75 2:46 NAVY Zach Abey 2-yard touchdown run, 2-point run failed 41 59 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 41 59

Sophomore quarterback Cole McDonald was named Mountain West Offensive player of the week.[14] He finished 30–41 for 428 yards and six touchdowns.

Rice

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	7	3	3	16	29
Rainbow Warriors	14	7	7	15	43

See also: 2018 Rice Owls football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–5	2014	RICE, 28–14

at Army

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rainbow Warriors	7	7	0	7	21
Black Knights	7	14	0	7	28

See also: 2018 Army Black Knights football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–0	2013	HAW, 49–42

Duquesne

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dukes	14	0	0	7	21
Rainbow Warriors	7	14	7	14	42

See also: 2018 Duquesne Dukes football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

at San Jose State

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	3OT	4OT	5OT	Total
Rainbow Warriors	3	7	6	15	7	0	0	3	3	44
Spartans	0	17	7	7	7	0	0	3	0	41

See also: 2018 San Jose State Spartans football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
20–19–1	2017	HAW, 37–26

Wyoming

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	3	0	7	3	13
Rainbow Warriors	0	3	7	7	17

See also: 2018 Wyoming Cowboys football team and Hawaii–Wyoming football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
9–14	2017	WYO, 28–21

at BYU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rainbow Warriors	0	3	14	6	23
Cougars	14	14	7	14	49

See also: 2018 BYU Cougars football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
8–22	2017	BYU, 30–20

Nevada

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wolf Pack	10	10	6	14	40
Rainbow Warriors	14	0	0	8	22

See also: 2018 Nevada Wolf Pack football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
9–13	2017	NEV, 35–20

at Fresno State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rainbow Warriors	3	10	0	7	20
Bulldogs	14	23	10	3	50

See also: 2018 Fresno State Bulldogs football team and Fresno State–Hawaii football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
22–27–1	2017	FRES, 31–21

Utah State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Aggies	28	0	28	0	56
Rainbow Warriors	3	0	14	0	17

See also: 2018 Utah State Aggies football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
6–9	2017	USU, 38–0

UNLV

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rebels	7	14	0	7	28
Rainbow Warriors	3	3	7	22	35

See also: 2018 UNLV Rebels football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
14–12	2017	UNLV, 31–23

at San Diego State

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Rainbow Warriors	3	21	0	0	7	31
Aztecs	14	0	3	7	6	30

See also: 2018 San Diego State Aztecs football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
9–21–2	2017	SDSU, 28–7

Louisiana Tech–Hawaii Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	3	0	21	7	31
Rainbow Warriors	0	7	0	7	14

See also: 2018 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team and 2018 Hawaii Bowl

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
8–2	2011	HAW, 44–26

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2019 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
2	43	Jahlani Tavai	LB	Detroit Lions
7	236	John Ursua	WR	Seattle Seahawks

References

1. "2018 Biletnikoff Award Watch List". July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
2. "Butkus Award - 2018 Collegiate Watchlist". The Butkus Award. July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
3. "2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
4. "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
5. https://themw.com/news/2018/7/24/boise-state-fresno-state-picked-to-win-2018-mountain-west-football-divisional-titles.aspx
6. https://themw.com/news/2018/7/24/2018-mountain-west-football-preseason-all-conference-team.aspx
7. "2018 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
8. "Nick Rolovich - Football Coach". University of Hawai'i at Manoa Athletics. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
9. "Brian Smith - Football Coach". University of Hawai'i at Manoa Athletics. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
10. "Mark Banker - Football Coach". University of Hawai'i at Manoa Athletics. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
11. "Corey Batoon - Football Coach". University of Hawai'i at Manoa Athletics. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
12. "Abe Elimimian - Football Coach". University of Hawai'i at Manoa Athletics. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
13. "Jacob Yoro - Football Coach". University of Hawai'i at Manoa Athletics. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
14. https://themw.com/news/2018/9/2/2018-mountain-west-football-players-of-the-week-sept-3.aspx?path=fball