MONROE, La. -- The ULM football team will travel to Honolulu as it battles Hawai'i at Aloha Stadium at 10 p.m. CT / 6 p.m. HT on Saturday. The game will air on TWC Oceanic / Mountain West Network.
The game will also air on KJLO 104.1 FM in Monroe with pre-game slated to begin at 9:30 p.m. (CT). Nick White will handle play-by-play duties and will be joined on the broadcast by Scott McDonald (analyst) and Richard Duran (sideline).
FIRST AND TEN...
• The game is ULM's second time in school history leaving the continental U.S. The previous game was a 23-20 overtime win at Hawaii on Nov. 22, 1997 in the season finale.
• It is also the Warhawks' first against a Mountain West team since playing at Wyoming in September 2005.
• ULM held Texas State to a field goal on the Bobcats opening possession. The Warhawks, through 11 games, have yet to allow a touchdown on an opening drive this season. ULM has surrendered now four field goals and forced seven punts.
• In the first quarter, Ben Banogu recorded his team-leading fifth sack of the season as he brought down Bobcat quarterback Tyler Jones.
• Craig Ford's 28-yard field goal late in the first quarter was his seventh made field goal of the season by the redshirt freshman.
• On ULM's scoring drive late in the first quarter, Ben Luckett picked up a pair of first downs as he netted 24 rushing yards on two rushing attempts on the drive.
• ULM allowed just 10 points in the first half, the third lowest total this season (0, Nicholls State; 9, at UL Lafayette).
• ULM forced Texas State to punt on the Bobcats' first drive of the second half. It is the fifth time an opponent has punted on opening drive of second half this season. The other six games have equated to two touchdowns, one made field goal, one missed field goal, one blocked field goal and one turnover on downs.
• Texas State kicker Lumi Kaba missed a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter. It is the ninth missed field goal by a Warhawk opponent this season. ULM has now had eight different opponents miss a field goal this season.
• To start the fourth, Texas State missed a 42-yard field goal attempt and it is the second time this season a Warhawk opponent has missed multiple field goals in a game (Tulsa, three).
• After a touchdown pass by Texas State, James Sherman missed the PAT, the second unsuccessful PAT by a Warhawk opponent this season.
• Hunter Kissinger led the Warhawk defense with 15 total stops on the night as he registered 13 solo stops and assisted on two others.
• Michael Johnson also tallied double-digit tackles as he finished with 12 solo tackles. He tied a game-high three tackles for loss in Thursday's contest.
• Johnson has 5.5 tackles for loss in his last two games and 30 stops over the last three. He has had eight tackles or more in eight contests this year.
• In all, the Warhawk defense logged 10 tackles for loss, netting 33 yards for loss. The Warhawk defense also had two sacks on the night.
• Chris Qualls finished with a punting average of 38.9 on the night and he had a long of 48 against the Bobcats.
ULM VS. HAWAI'I
ULM and Hawai'i will meet on the gridiron for the second time when the two programs square off on Saturday night at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. ULM leads the all-time series 1-0 after picking up a 23-20 overtime win on Nov. 22, 1997.
SCOUTING THE RAINBOW WARRIORS
Hawai'i enters its final game of the 2015 season with a 2-10 overall record and a 0-8 mark in Mountain West play. The Rainbow Warriors' wins came against Colorado (W, 28-20, Honolulu, Sept. 3) and California-Davis (W, 47-27, Honolulu, Sept. 19). Like the Warhawks, the Rainbow Warriors have a total of five non-conference games this season. Hawai'i's other non-conference games were on the road as it traveled to then-No. 1 Ohio State (Sept. 12) and then-No. 22 Wisconsin (Sept. 26).
As a team, the Rainbow Warriors average 16.8 points per contest and 313.0 yards of total offense per contest (114.2 ypg rushing; 198.8 ypg passing). They have converted 31% of their third downs (52-of-167) and 29% of their fourth downs (6-of-21). Opponents are averaging 36.4 points per game and 454.8 yards of total offense per game (248.0 ypg rushing; 206.8 ypg passing). Hawai'i's opponents have also converted 44% of third downs (84-of-191) and 50% of fourth downs (9-of-18).
Max Wittek and Ikaika Woolsey have split the majority of snaps under center this season. Wittek is 128-of-271 for 1,542 yards with seven touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Woolsey, meanwhile, is 65-of-133 for 792 yards with four touchdowns and six interceptions. On the ground, Paul Harris leads the team in rushing attempts (170) and rushing yards (966) while ranking second in rushing touchdowns (five). Melvin Davis leads the team in rushing touchdowns as he has tallied six rushing scores over the course of his 59 rushing attempts. Marcus Kemp is the team leader in receptions (33) and receiving yards (519) while sitting tied for second in TD receptions (two). Devan Stubblefield is the leader with four touchdown grabs and he sits second in both receptions (30) and receiving yards (351).
Julian Gener is the team's leading tackler as he has registered 90 stops on the season (59 solo, 31 asst). He is second on the team in tackles for loss, trailing only Kennedy Tulimasealii who has registered 17.5 tackles for loss this season and a team best 3.5 sacks. As a defensive unit, the Rainbow Warriors have tallied 76 tackles for loss and 21 sacks. Three different players have recorded an interception, while five players have recorded a fumble, highlighted by Marrell Jackson's three fumble recoveries.
Rigoberto Sanchez handles the majority of kicking duties for the Rainbow Warriors. He is 8-for-11 on field goal attempts with a long of 50 this season. He also has punted 74 times with an average of 45.1 yards per punt and a long of 73. Of his 74 punts, 25 have gone 50 or more yards, 28 have landed inside the 20, 18 have been fair caught and two have landed in the endzone. Sanchez also has 22 kickoffs on the year with an average of 64.2 and 14 touchbacks. Mauro Bondi has also kicked off and he has 19 kickoffs with an average of 64.0 and seven touchbacks.
AT A GLANCE: UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I
Nickname: Rainbow Warriors
Conference: Mountain West
Location: Honolulu
Founded: 1907
Enrollment: 20,000
Bowl Appearances: 10
Notable Alumni:
• Ken Niumatalolo, Navy head coach and first ethnic Samoan collegiate head coach at any level
• Richard Parsons, former chairman of Citigroup and Time Warner. Interim CEO of Los Angeles Clippers.
• June Jones, former Hawaii and SMU head coach
Notes of Interest:
• The women's teams were once known as the Rainbow Wahine, the latter name being Hawaiian for “women”
• Hawaii was the third non-BCS team to play in a BCS bowl, playing Georgia in the 2008 Sugar Bowl.
• The 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium had the ability to be converted into a diamond formation for baseball and soccer. It included four movable 7,000-seat sections. It was locked into a football-only configuration in 2007.
