Aloha Stadium appears to be the land of opportunity this weekend.
Riding a wave of success over the past three weeks, the Warriors return home with an opportunity to improve to 3-0 in the WAC and 5-2 on the season.
Saturday’s game will also present an opportunity for Greg McMackin, now in his third season as UH head coach, to notch a signature victory — a feat that has thus far eluded the coach and one he needs in order to allow the program to return to the successes it saw under June Jones.
Signature wins, though they count the same in the standings as any other game, are the lifeblood of a football program. They represent milestones a coach can point to, reminding his players of what he and they are capable.
In his rookie campaign of 2008, Coach Mac brought his 1-3 team into Fresno and knocked off the Bulldogs, who held a No. 22 national ranking at the time, to begin a stretch in which UH won six of eight and got itself bowl eligible.
That was the closest thing to a signature victory McMackin has attained at UH to this point, even as that Fresno State team proved to be a bit overrated, finishing the season 7-6 and 4-4 in the conference.
This week is a different animal.
In struts the Nevada Wolfpack, ranked 19th in the nation, holding a 6-0 record and averaging 43 points per game — one of the few teams in the country putting up more than Hawai‘i (39.3).
What Nevada has been able to do so well has been pounding the football on the ground to the tune of 314 rush yards per game, good for fifth nationally. This presents a problem for UH, which, excluding the Charleston Southern win, is allowing 196 rush yards a game. That number has improved the past two weeks as the Warriors have built up big leads against both Louisiana Tech (127 rush yards) and Fresno State (104).
A victory over this unbeaten Nevada team would put UH squarely in the driver’s seat for strong bowl placement, while also setting it apart from the many other WAC teams that entered the season as question marks.
While a win over USC in the season opener would have been the bigger headline, based on where all teams currently sit in 2010, a win over Nevada provides even more substance. It would display an adaptability and consistency we have not seen from UH the past few years.
Coach Mac has compiled a record of 17-16 in his 2.5 seasons. The team has provided plenty of highs and lows, often beating teams it should and falling to the upper echelon.
Many programs would be content with similar results, but behind the great play of quarterback Bryant Moniz and his stable of talented targets, UH now has the chance to escape from the top tier of the also-rans and place itself into that next stratus of competitive clubs.
Currently in the third year of a five-year contract that pays McMackin a handsome salary, the coach has yet to really make his mark on the field. He has certainly been an ambassador for the team around the state, going out of his way to get neighbor islands more involved with the university and continuing the local tradition that permeates the program.
But being a good guy only goes so far in college athletics. Results are still the most heavily weighted factor when determining a coach’s successes.
With a win Saturday, McMackin could officially put his stamp on the Warriors and build some needed fervor as he heads into the back end of his contract.
