2018 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team
American college football season
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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.
ConferenceMountain West Conference
West Division
Record8–6 (5–3 MW)
Headcoach
- Nick Rolovich (3rd season)
| 2018 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football | |
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Hawaii Bowl, L 14–31 vs. Louisiana Tech | |
| Conference | Mountain West Conference |
| West Division | |
| Record | 8–6 (5–3 MW) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Brian Smith (3rd season) |
| Offensive scheme | Run and shoot |
| Defensive coordinator | Corey Batoon (1st season) |
| Base defense | 4–2–5 |
| Home stadium | Aloha Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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]
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Defense Jahlani Tavai – LB |
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 25 | 2:30 p.m. | at Colorado State | CBSSN | W 43–34 | 31,007 | |
| September 1 | 5:00 p.m. | Navy* | CBSSN | W 59–41 | 29,702 | |
| September 8 | 6:00 p.m. | Rice* |
| SPEC HI | W 43–29 | 23,112 |
| September 15 | 6:00 a.m. | at Army* | CBSSN | L 21–28 | 31,133 | |
| September 22 | 6:00 p.m. | Duquesne* |
| SPEC HI | W 42–21 | 26,175 |
| September 29 | 1:00 p.m. | at San Jose State | SPEC HI | W 44–41 5OT | 16,363 | |
| October 6 | 6:00 p.m. | Wyoming |
| SPEC HI | W 17–13 | 23,907 |
| October 13 | 4:15 p.m. | at BYU* | ESPN2 | L 23–49 | 52,354 | |
| October 20 | 6:00 p.m. | Nevada |
| SPEC HI | L 22–40 | 24,475 |
| October 27 | 4:30 p.m. | at Fresno State | ESPN2 | L 20–50 | 33,659 | |
| November 3 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 18 Utah State |
| SPEC HI | L 17–56 | 21,476 |
| November 17 | 6:00 p.m. | UNLV |
| SPEC HI | W 35–28 | 25,697 |
| November 24 | 4:30 p.m. | at San Diego State | ESPNU | W 31–30 OT | 28,014 | |
| December 22 | 5:30 p.m. | Louisiana Tech* |
| ESPN | L 14–31 | 30,911 |
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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 | |
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| Rainbow Warriors | 10 | 13 | 14 | 6 | 43 |
| Rams | 7 | 0 | 13 | 14 | 34 |
| Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Navy
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midshipmen | 0 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 41 |
| Rainbow Warriors | 14 | 24 | 0 | 21 | 59 |
| Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 |
At Army
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Warriors | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Black Knights | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
Duquesne
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dukes | 14 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Rainbow Warriors | 7 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 42 |
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 |
Wyoming
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 3 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 13 |
| Rainbow Warriors | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
At BYU
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Warriors | 0 | 3 | 14 | 6 | 23 |
| Cougars | 14 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 49 |
Nevada
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolf Pack | 10 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 40 |
| Rainbow Warriors | 14 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 22 |
At Fresno State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Warriors | 3 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| Bulldogs | 14 | 23 | 10 | 3 | 50 |
Utah State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 18 Aggies | 28 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 56 |
| Rainbow Warriors | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 17 |
UNLV
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rebels | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
| Rainbow Warriors | 3 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 35 |
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 |
Louisiana Tech–Hawaii Bowl
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulldogs | 3 | 0 | 21 | 7 | 31 |
| Rainbow Warriors | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Players drafted into the NFL
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 43 | Jahlani Tavai | LB | Detroit Lions |
| 7 | 236 | John Ursua | WR | Seattle Seahawks |