HAWAII vs. SAM HOUSTON
RWP: Rainbow Warrior Perspective
Location: Honolulu, Oahu (Clarence T.C. Ching Complex)
Date/Time: Saturday, September 6th at 6:00 p.m. (Hawaii Time)
Television: Spectrum Sports
Streaming: For fans on the mainland, the game should be free on the Mountain West app
Radio: ESPN Honolulu
Head-to-Head: Last season’s 31-13 loss to Sam Houston was the first game of a home-and-home between the two programs, so this is the return game.
Three things to look for:
1. The case of Micah Alejado
Against the Stanford Cardinal, Micah Alejado picked
up a nasty ankle injury. To the surprise of many, he returned to the game and valiantly led the Warriors to victory. Though, many were sure adrenaline carried him past the damage to the ankle. Expecting his prognosis for the Arizona game to be a poor one, Alejado was surprisingly and promptly back at practice.
Alejado started against Arizona and for much of the evening seemed limited but not hobbled by the injury. Down 31-6, I turned to my dad and said, “should they pull him here? This one is over.” He agreed, only for both of us to watch Alejado aggravate his injury a few plays later. He hobbled off and needed an ice pack. Is this going to be a season-long dilemma?
Alejado offered an interesting comment post-game:
With a three-game home-stand set to start this week and ending with a pivotal conference opener against Fresno State, should Hawaii sit Alejado for a few games? College football is a marathon, not a sprint. The latest from Chang is that Alejado is a game-time decision.
2. Turnovers and penalties
Alejado’s injury aside, let’s be honest: the score in Tucson was undesirable, but most Hawaii fans would have taken a 1-1 start to the season. Hawaii will not be completely overwhelmed from a talent perspective like that again this season. All is well, for now.
That said, the undisciplined start to the 2025 season is a disappointing trend continued from preview seasons. Hawaii had seven penalties for 65 yards against Arizona, along with an abysmal five turnovers lost. Hawaii had eight penalties against Stanford. These penalties aren’t all created equal, quite a few of them are timely penalties that have cost Hawaii possession of the ball.
There is time to reverse the trend, but while the arrow is pointing up for Hawaii football with Alejado at quarterback, it’s disappointing to see Hawaii hasn’t cleaned up this issue that’s been a problem for the duration of the Chang era. If Hawaii cannot play clean football these next few weeks, when?
3. A rough start for the Bearkats
Sam Houston elected to take advantage of the Hawaii rule and play in Week 0, so just like the Warriors Sam Houston has already played twice. A 41-24 loss to Western Kentucky, and then a 38-21 home loss to Mountain West opposition in UNLV.
Hunter Watson is back at quarterback this season. He threw three touchdown passes last season against the Warriors, but through two games this season hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass. He is Sam Houston’s leading rusher so far. Crazy enough, including Watson the Bearkats have three rushers with runs of 50+ yards this season, and yet only Watson has more than 100 rushing yards to this point. Feast or famine, the Bearkats run game.
Wide receiver Qua’Vez Humphreys gashed Hawaii last season for 106 yards and two touchdowns, but he only has one catch for nine yards through two games. I think we know the Bearkats offense is capable of more than this, but it’s been a tough start to 2025.
The Bearkats defense conceded 500+ yards to Western Kentucky and 400+ to UNLV. Can Hawaii take advantage of this, particularly if Alejado cannot play?
Prediction:
According to FanDuel, Hawaii opened as a 9.5-point favorite. It’s fallen a whopping three points. Is that weighing in Alejado’s status for Saturday? I’m not sure, but part of me expects Timmy Chang to sideline the promising quarterback this week and next week. There is too much at stake.
I could be wrong, but I think we see a combination of Luke Weaver and Demaricus Davis against the Bearkats. If not them, then expect a gameplan that forces Alejado to distribute the ball quickly.
Hawaii wins an ugly battle, relying on their running game more than usual to accomplish the goal. Cam Barfield rushes for 80+ yards. Give me Rainbow Warriors 27, Bearkats 20.
