Setting the Stage: Hawaii

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Sep 5

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Colorado State (3-7, 2-4) at Hawaii (4-7, 1-5)
TC Ching Athletics Complex | Manoa, Hawaii
Saturday, Nov. 20, 9 p.m.

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Defense Still Carrying Confident Approach

HONOLULU, Hawaii – After facing a team which rarely passes, Colorado State's defensive front is looking forward to getting back to something they do well – rush quarterbacks.

Hawaii has no issue with throwing the ball, and with 33 sacks on the season, the Rams rank in the top 10 nationally with 3.3 sacks per game. The Rainbow Warriors are 121^st in the country by allowing 35 sacks this year.

"Last week, the game plan was I was obviously going to be used more in coverage and try to stop some of the quarterback run and pitch game with Air Force, which I was fine with," said end Scott Patchan, who has six sacks on the year. "Now, I'm pretty sure I get to go back to doing what I normally do."

Patchan also knows the Rams have to encourage Hawaii to throw the ball by stopping the run, which the Rams have taken a step back in doing the past two games. Both Wyoming and Air Force rushed for better than 380 yards – an unheard of total for the two months prior.

Teams which are having that much success running it rarely drop back to pass. The run totals have been alarming, but Patchan said the defense has not lost its confidence.

"It will help getting some guy back healthy," he said, with the Rams hit particularly hard at linebacker, especially the middle position. "Once we get those guys plugged back in, hopefully we'll get back on track like we were and get things rolling again.

"It's not fun. It's ever an easy thing to forget about. We've got that on our mind, we've got a chip on our shoulder now and we have something to prove. We still have confidence. It's not like we lost it."

Hawaii enters the game averaging 141.9 yards per game and 4.4 yards per carry on the ground. Dae Dae Hunter had 100-yard games in back-to-back weeks against Fresno State and Nevada, then missed three games before coming back to the lineup last week. He leads the team with 601 yards this year.

Wright Track

Dante Wright had never missed a long stretch of a football season before in his life. He only missed one game last year during a pandemic, but he missed virtually four games this year after sustaining an injury against Vanderbilt.

"It's always frustrating when you can't play and you want to," Wright said. "It's kind of hard sometimes. Even though I wasn't out there, I had to get the next guys ready, so it was being a coach. That was something I felt was really important in getting ready for those games."

Without him in the lineup, the Rams' offense was missing an explosive playmaker, and it showed. In the past four weeks, as he's come close to full strength, he's shown flashes of that player again.

He has 20 of his 31 catches in the past four weeks, but has yet to hit the big plays which were seemingly commonplace for him his first two years. He looked that way in the opener, catching six passes for 103 yards.

"I'm feeling pretty good, I think. I still have to keep going, get better," Wright said. "I don't think we should miss a beat just because of what happened in the past. We've got to keep doing what we're doing. Right now, nobody is going to feel sorry for me. I just have to keep going and play like I never missed a beat. That's what my team expects out of me."

Both he and quarterback Todd Centeio feel the chemistry and timing between them is improving each week. A return to form on both ends would give the Rams a needed weapon in an offense which has been lacking explosive plays.

Here and There

Colorado State worked out Thursday and Friday at a local high school, where punter Ryan Stonehouse – punting across the field – hit the roof with one of his practice attempts. It was a good 65-plus yards with plenty of height. … Thursday, the team took a tour of the USS Arizona Memorial in the afternoon.

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Todd Centeio

Scott Patchan

Ryan Stonehouse

Dante Wright

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