The Lamar University Cardinals will travel 4,000 miles from Beaumont, Texas, to play only their second game against an FBS opponent - their first was last Saturday versus Louisiana Lafayette. Their host will be the University of Hawaii Warriors. The game will be at Aloha Stadium with kickoff set for 6:00PM Hawaiian Time (11:00PM Central) September 15th.
This is Lamar's third season playing football after disbanding in the late '80s. They played their first FBS game a week ago against Louisiana Lafayette losing 40-0 with all 40 points scored in the first half (source - KBTV). Hawaii was also beat soundly in Los Angeles by #1 USC 49-10 back on the 1st of September. They say teams improve the most from their first game to their second - there would seem to be a lot of improving for Hawaii - while Lamar plays their second game versus Prairie View A&M this week.
Cardinal offense iffy
The Cardinal offense has a new quarterback in JC transfer Ryan Mossakowski who was ineffective on 12 of 19 pass attempts for only 81 yards against Louisiana Lafayette. Backup redshirt sophomore quarterback Caleb Berry didn't do a good deal better - coming in about the middle of the second quarter. And Lamar doesn't look to have much of running attack. The Warriors run defense was not bad against USC, which is encouraging because their secondary was thought to be the best unit on defense.
Defense showed promise for Lamar in spite of their loss to Louisiana Lafayette. Although they gave up 40 points, some of that was caused by offensive turnovers and poor field position. The Cardinals shut out Louisiana Lafayette in the second half and looked good doing it, including forcing three fumbles. Hawaii's offense was playing catch-up against USC's vaunted passing game and couldn't establish a ground attack. There are signs the Warriors offense may be able to move the ball.
Don't expect a lot of points from this game. Both defenses look solid, while the offenses are a bit iffy. The difference between these teams is two-fold. One, Hawaii is a FBS school while Lamar is an FCS squad that wasn't even playing football three years ago. Secondly, the Warrior offense, especially in the passing attack with new quarterback Sean Schroeder, has the ability to move the ball - as evidenced by their second half opening drive against USC.
Score will be ...
The Lamar Cardinals will get to work out some of the kinks this week but when they play Hawaii, the Warriors appear to have a steady efficient offense that will slowly but surely wear down the Cardinals - the men of Manoa will win going away. Final predicted score: Hawaii 27 - Lamar 6.
The Cardinals will be at home versus Langston the following week and the Warriors will host their first Mountain West Conference game against the Nevada Wolf Pack who are coming off an upset win over California at Berkeley this past week. The Nevada Hawaii game is scheduled for 4:30PM start time (September 22) and will be on NBC Sports.
Sources - University of Hawaii, Lamar University
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Pac-12 Versus Mountain West: It's a Draw
USC Looks like #1 While Hawaii is a Question Mark
Hawaii Warriors 2012 Football Schedule
Through thick and thin, Daryle has been a huge fan of college football as well as Hawaii, visiting there as a second home for over 40 years. Go 'Bows!
