Appetizer Saturday, also known as Week 0, has come and gone and left Hawaii fans with a mixed bag of emotions. A dreadful start, followed by a furious comeback, but ultimately an unfortunate conclusion leaves the Warriors at 0-1 entering an early pivotal conference game.
Here are a few things to watch for as Hawaii takes on the UNLV Rebels tomorrow, Saturday September 5th at 4 p.m HT on The CW.
3 Key Storylines
A key matchup in the conference title race
Hope is the theme of August in college football. Why not us? The
mantra of many until the opening kickoff. Both the Hawaii Warriors and UNLV Rebels have plenty to look forward to, both genuine conference title contenders, but the preseason aspirations were more than that. Both teams, especially UNLV, had their eye on the College Football Playoff. After opening weekend losses, UNLV dropping the home opener to Memphis of the AAC and Hawaii to Stanford, those playoff hopes are dwindling.
Never ask if things can get any worse. For one of those teams, it will. An unthinkable 0-2 start and an early conference loss in what’s expected to be a tight Mountain West race. Saturday’s clash at Clarence T.C. Ching Complex has conference championship implications.
The Hawaii wide receiver corps
This is college football, not the NFL. There are no preseason games, joint scrimmages, none of that. Opening day serves as a moment of realization. Perceived strengths, weaknesses are sometimes confirmed, or maybe a surprise happens. With Jackson Harris off to LSU and Pofele Ashlock out for the foreseeable future, Hawaii’s receiving corps was a question mark. How much of a question mark? Unfortunately, a large one. Hawaii’s receivers struggled mightily to separate against Stanford. In the second half, Hawaii started to rotate heavily to find production at the position. In Week 0, it was Tama Uiliata, Blaze Kamoku, and Kainoa Carvalho that emerged as reliable. Carson Brown, Audric Harris and Devin Alves need more time to acclimate. Can Hawaii’s receivers’ gel in time to keep Hawaii’s goals intact?
UNLV’s offensive line
Speaking of unexpected developments on opening day. Entering the 2026 season, UNLV’s offensive line was expected to be one of the strengths on a really good Rebels team. Look, maybe Memphis’ defensive line is just that great. They certainly looked the part. That said, the Rebels offensive line, which experienced some injuries in-game, gave up 21 pressures and six sacks against the Tigers. Massive numbers. I thought quarterback Jackson Arnold looked solid, but it’s going to be a rough season if UNLV cannot protect him better than that.
2 Roster matchups to watch closely
Hawaii defensive tackles Luther McCoy and Geoffrey Speight Jr. vs. UNLV interior offensive line
A few of UNLV’s offensive linemen left the Memphis contest injured. This is a conference matchup, meaning an injury report is mandatory, so we should know more before kickoff. Either way, right guard Amare Taase and left guard Colton Thomasson really struggled against Memphis. Can Hawaii’s defensive tackle tandem cause similar pressure? On paper, Jackson Arnold and Jai’Den “Jet” Thomas are maybe the best backfield in the Group of Six, but that matters little without protection.
Hawaii wide receivers Carson Brown, Audric Harris, and Devin Alves against the UNLV defensive backs
I thought Kainoa Carvalho and Tama Uiliata looked like old-fashioned run-and-shoot slot demons against Stanford, I think both will be solid options for Hawaii this season. However, the elephant in the room remains. Washington transfer Audric Harris, Iowa State transfer Carson Brown, and Virginia Tech transfer Devin Alves were brought to Hawaii with intent: in the hopes that Hawaii can find the next Jackson Harris. Demanding 900+ receiving yards from both is unfair, but Hawaii will be hoping to see more from at least one of these three tomorrow.
1 Bold prediction
Did you all see DeVon Rice?! That dude looked like the second coming of Michael Brewster out there. I hope Cam Barfield is okay, we’ll see what the injury report says, but I think Hawaii has firmly found their running back of the future. DeVon Rice was electric on that touchdown reception against Stanford. I think he continues his ascent and scores a 40+ yard touchdown against UNLV.
