Stanford vs. Hawaii: Preview, How To Watch, Odds, Picks
Warriors at home vs. the Cardinal
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Is an upset brewing?
The Hawaii Warriors should’ve, could’ve, and would’ve, won. But damn, that was exciting. Hawaii made a few crucial errors that led to them falling just short to the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday night. Usually after a close loss with so many pivotal plays going against the Warriors I feel disappointed and frustrated, but after the game on Saturday I felt hopeful and excited for what is to come.
The Warriors surprised even the biggest diehards when they showed how far the program has come in year two of the Timmy Chang era. They went from a 63-10 blow out loss in last year’s season opener at home, to having a chance at a game tying drive on the road in Nashville last Saturday. A few plays go in the favor of the Bows instead of the way it played out and we could’ve been looking at a 1-0 team heading into this week’s match up with the Stanford Cardinal out of the mighty PAC4 (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself).
Head Coach Troy Taylor made the jump from Sacramento State and took over the Cardinal program after a commendable twelve year run by David Shaw. The days of the Stanford clock controlling power-run scheme are gone. Taylor brings his up-tempo, balanced, spread attack to Stanford but the biggest question is, does he have the personnel to run the scheme?
On the depth chart released this week, all offensive skill position starters were listed with an “or”. Currently sophomores Ashton Daniels, Justin Lamson and junior Ari Patu are all listed as co-starters at quarterback and none of them have significant playing experience.
Tomorrow night… the legendary Satele family will be in the house!
Be sure to stop by the Legends Tent on the Mauka Sideline for autographs and pictures throughout the game. #BRADDAHHOOD #GoBows pic.twitter.com/BJPOqdU5nF
— Hawaii Football (@HawaiiFootball) September 1, 2023
Game: Stanford (0-0) at Hawaii (0-1)
Where: Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex
When: 9 p.m. ET
TV: CBS Sports Network
Streaming: Fubo TV with a free trial
Radio: ESPN Radio 1420
Series Record: Stanford 3-0
Odds: Stanford (-3)
Patu was the back-up to Tanner Mckee last season but because of the coaching staff change, his experience in the program is not as significant anymore. Daniels played as a freshman last year but he had more rushing attempts (25) than passing attempts (6). Lamson was the backup quarterback at Syracuse last season. Taylor rotated multiple quarterbacks at Sacramento State and found surprising success. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Patu handling passing duties and Daniels being the running quarterback.
Casey Filkins led the Cardinals in rushing with 478 yards and 5 touchdowns. Filkins and EJ Smith are listed as the top two backs. Smith is the son of legendary running back Emmit Smith.
The receivers are relatively unproven but that may be due to the scheme they were in last season. The leading returning receiver is tight end Benjamin Yurosek. Yurosek had 445 yards and a touchdown last season after recording 630 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2021. Look for him to attack the seams and be the number one target for whoever is under center.
The Cardinals are big up front. They are known as being dominant at the line of scrimmage although the last couple years have been down years for the position group. Simione Pale is listed as a starter as a true freshman and the other starters are all upperclassmen.
Tomorrow’s drip ❄️⚪️#BRADDAHHOOD x #GoBows pic.twitter.com/xRPGSzmjSv
— Hawaii Football (@HawaiiFootball) August 31, 2023
The Cardinals new defensive coordinator Bobby April brings an attacking 4-2-5 scheme from Wisconsin where he served as the outside linebackers coach. He helped to develop local Saint Louis alum Nick Herbig into a 2022 fourth round draft pick. Now April gets to work with an experienced Stanford defense that returns most of the front seven and is led in the backend by another local product in Punahou’s Alakai Gilman. The Cardinals struggled on defense last season but it sounds like the addition of Coach April has injected some juice and excitement into the unit.
The Warriors played with great effort last week fighting all the way to the final whistle. If they can continue to play with that kind of effort, move the ball offensively consistently, be tough and aggressive on defense and clean up the special teams coverage issues, they have a chance to spoil Coach Taylor’s Stanford debut.
Coach Chang mentioned in his epic post game speech last week that the rest of the schedule is on alert. I’m sure the Cardinals saw what the Warriors did last week and will not take them lightly. You can feel the excitement building because you can tell that the Warriors are just a couple plays away from being a good football team. Let’s see if they take a couple steps closer this week. It’s time to pack T.C. Ching and get loud for the home team.
Let’s go Bows!
