Hawaii in No-Win Situation
This is the final part of our look at the University of Hawaii football team and the point-shaving accusations that have been leveled against it. In the previous article we looked at Hawaii's games against UNLV, Washington and Idaho and discussed the possibility of them being fixed. Now, we'll look at the other games frequently mentioned, those against SJ State, Utah State and Fresno State.Hawaii at San Jose State: Hawaii opened as 6.5-point favorites and closed as 6-point favorites in what was one of the ugliest games you'll see, as both teams were guilty of six turnovers. San Jose State led 20-7 at halftime before Hawaii stormed back with three straight second-half touchdowns to take a 27-20 lead with 12:19 remaining in the game.
San Jose State blocked the extra-point attempt and returned it for two points to make it 27-22. The Spartans drove down the field and missed a field goal and Hawaii moved down to the SJ State 13 before a sack and penalty pushed them back to the 25. Hawaii's 42-yard field goal attempt was blocked. SJ State scored a late touchdown in the final minute to take a 28-27 victory.
The claims of this game being fixed reside in the return of the blocked PAT for two points, which took San Jose State from not covering the point spread to covering despite the fact that there were more than 12 minutes remaining in the game and the fact that blocking a kick does not mean that it will be returned the other way, as evidenced by Hawaii's blocked field goal.
One fact that has been conviently overlooked by those claiming the fix was in is that Hawaii was playing the game with two new linemen from the previous week, which will not help with blocking on special teams.
As we mentioned in the previous article, Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz has taken the most heat by the pro point-shaving crowd, so it doesn't make sense for him to drive Hawaii down for a field goal with 3:28 remaining in the game that would have put Hawaii up by eight points.
Hawaii versus Utah State: Hawaii opened as 3.5-point favorites and actually closed as 4-point favorites, which you would not expect if the Warriors were shaving points.
After Utah State took a 7-0 lead, Moniz threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in the second quarter to take a 28-7 halftime lead.
Moniz drove the Warriors to the Utah State 20 to start the third quarter, but a 38-yard field goal was wide and Utah State scored a 48-yard touchdown three plays later to make it 31-14. Hawaii drove down and kicked a field goal with 5:28 to go in the third quarter.
Utah State needed just a little over two minutes to score another toucdown and make it 31-21.
Hawaii drove down to the Utah State 31 and Moniz was stopped a yard short on a 4th-and-3 play and Utah State scored on the very next play to make it 31-28 with 12:39 to go in the game.
Both teams punted and the Warriors punted a second time with just under five minutes remaining and Utah State drove down the field and scored with 14 seconds remaining to get the win, with the key play being a pass interference call on Hawaii on 3rd-and-14.
The keys here are the lack of line movement and Hawaii's poor defensive effort. If this game was actually fixed, the entire Warriors' defense would have to be involved, which would be impossible to keep quiet.
Also overlooked is that this game took place after school officials received the letter stating games were being fixed and the police were notified. While the news didn't become public knowledge for several weeks, don't think for a second that the team didn't hear about it. If Hawaii was palnning on shaving points, they would have certainly gone out the window.
Hawaii versus Fresno State: There was a slight downward move in the line with Hawaii opening as 5.5-point favorites and closing at 4.5, although that is likely attributed to Moniz being out after he was injured against Nevada the previous week.
This is another game that was played after school officials were notified that Hawaii was fixing games, so you would have to believe players were on their best behavior.
Fresno State jumped out to a 17-0 lead as Hawaii quarterback Shane Austin was ineffective and was replaced by David Graves, who led the Warriors to three touchdowns and a 21-17 lead. The Bulldogs scored on the second play of the fourth quarter and Hawaii was forced to punt the next two times it had the ball.
Graves got Hawaii down to the Fresno State 35 late in the game, but the Warriors could not get any closer and Fresno State held on for the win.
Fresno out-gained Hawaii 488 to 306 in the game and it's a bit surprising the game was as close as it was. Some will claim fix because the Warriors gave up the lead, even though they were not covering the spread to begin with. Instead, it's more likely that a team using its third-string quarterback was unable to get a win.
The line movement from 5.5 to 4.5 isn't really that big, as few games are decided by five points. If the line moved to three, then it would be a different story.
Injuries
One fact that was overlooked was the number of injuries Hawaii sustained during the year. A team constantly using its second or third best player at a position is going to perform worse than expected and that's one reason for Hawaii's dismal 4-8 ATS record.Hawaii's Final Game
Hawaii is 6-6 heading into its final game against a BYU team, which has won seven of its last eight games. With a victory, Hawaii would play in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve, while a loss would make them ineligible for a bowl game.But a victory would also bring new cries of game-fixing, on the assumption that there is no way a team could lose to UNLV, Fresno State and San Jose State and then beat a decent BYU squad. It's a no-win situation, but you have to believe the Warriors would gladly trade more criticism and accusations for a chance to play in a bowl game.
As long as college football is a game played by young men, strange things will happen and some of them will no doubt affect the final score and determine which team covers and which does not. But that doesn't mean that something fishy was taking place. That's merely part of the game.
