HAWAII vs. PORTLAND ST.
RWP: Rainbow Warrior Perspective
Location: Honolulu, Oahu (Clarence T.C. Ching Complex)
Date/Time: Saturday, September 13th 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. Apparently the game is available on Spectrum Sports TV in parts of Southern California and Nevada too.
Radio:
ESPN HonoluluHead-to-Head: According to the Hawaii Athletics website, Hawaii leads the series 5-1, the most recent contest being the 49-35
victory back in 2021. The lone loss was the infamous 20-45 beat down in 2000, not Nick Rolovich’s finest moment.
Three things to look for:
1. Another start for Luke Weaver
Early last week, Timmy Chang said that freshman quarterback Micah Alejado would be a game-time decision for the Sam Houston contest, but Alejado didn’t even suit up for the game. He was seen in street clothes while the team warmed up. As speculated, Alejado is likely being rested in the hopes that he’ll be ready for the Fresno State clash in a week.
In comes junior college transfer Luke Weaver. Against the Bearkats, Weaver was 27/43 for 294 passing yards and three touchdown passes, while displaying some impressive escapability as a scrambler. Now, it wasn’t perfect, as evidenced by the pick-six that he threw and the occasional inaccurate pass, but Hawaii needed someone to step in for the injured Alejado and Weaver proved more than capable.
There’s no reason to risk Alejado against competition like Portland State, nor wide receiver Nick Cenacle who is out with a knee injury. Chang has once again labeled Alejado as a game-time decision, but expect Weaver to start again this week.
2. Tough times for the Vikings
I proceed to write this section without meaning to come across as disrespectful, but there is no hiding from the grizzly details of the 2025 Portland State Vikings. The Vikings opened the season with a 42-0 loss to Tarleton State and followed that up with a 69-0 loss to Brigham Young. 111-0 through two games. Abysmal is a kind description.
There was marginal improvement against North Dakota in a 50-20 loss. Former Hawaii quarterback John-Keawe Sagapolutele, brother of burgeoning star quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, took over the starting spot to mixed results. He finished 11/17 for 146 passing yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions against the Fighting Hawks. Improvement, but only because the bar was obscenely low. On aggregate, the Vikings are losing 20-161 on the scoreboard and Hawaii will be the second-best team they’ve played to this point.
The Vikings’ leading rusher is a backup quarterback. Their top running back is averaging 2.5 yards per carry. Their leading tackler is defensive back Isaiah Green. It’s all just very, very bad.
3. A rare opportunity to win emphatically?
It’s hard to understate how pivotal Hawaii’s win over Sam Houston was. Now at 2-1, a win against Portland State puts Hawaii at 3-1 entering the pivotal conference opener against Fresno State. Halfway to bowl eligibility with two months of season remaining. Health permitting, Hawaii could finally be breaking out under Timmy Chang.
Could Saturday be an opportunity for a rare blowout victory for Hawaii? Hawaii’s games against FCS opposition haven’t always been straightforward. Last year’s Delaware State opener was more of a struggle than anticipated. The 29-point victory against Northern Iowa a few weeks later is the only margin that qualifies as a blowout. In fact, Hawaii hasn’t beaten FCS opposition by 30+ points since the 54-2 win over Lamar in 2012. The last 30+ point margin in general was the 54-3 win against Nevada in 2019.
Can Hawaii post a rare comfortable win this weekend, even with Luke Weaver starting? Normally I wouldn’t expect such, but Portland State is having a rough time.
Prediction:
Timmy Chang has been warning his players all week to not underestimate or overlook this Vikings squad. Last season’s opener against Delaware State was supposed to be a scoreboard beat down, and yet Hawaii needed a late second half surge to win by 21 points. Anything is possible and the Warriors don’t need to look any further than the 2001 home loss to Portland State for motivation and caution.
I don’t expect too much resistance on Saturday. Expect a ton of backups to play in the second half. Give me Rainbow Warriors 45, Vikings 13.
