Utah State’s sixth game of the season will be coming off a bye week in early October, though its opponent that week, Hawaii, will also be fresh off a bye when it travels to Logan to take on the Aggies. Both teams are likely to be on the fringe of bowl eligibility and will see this game as a very winnable contest that will further their goals.
This game will also feature coaches in two different situations. On the one hand, Timmy Chang is hanging on to his job at Hawaii by a thread as he enters year four with an overall record 12 games under .500. On the other hand is Bronco Mendenhall, a first-year head coach with the full support of the fanbase and athletics department.
Although this matchup isn’t a rivalry by most, there’s some pride that will be mixed up in this game. Utah State has a long winning streak going against Hawaii and could end its Mountain West era undefeated against it. The Warriors would certainly like to leave at least one mark on the Aggies before this series goes on hold.
This is the in-depth preseason preview of Utah State’s sixth opponent of the season, the Hawaii Warriors.
Other Opponent Previews
Game Info
- Game Day: Oct. 11
- Location: Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Manoa, HI)
- Kickoff Time: TBA
- TV Broadcast: Mountain West Network
- Radio Broadcast: KVNU 102.1 FM / 610 AM
Quick-Hit Info on Hawaii
- Head Coach: Timmy Chang (4th season at Hawaii, 13-25 record)
- 2024 Record: 5-7
- 2024 Offense Rank: 111th (22.3 points per game)
- 2024 Defense Rank: 75th (26.0 points allowed per game)
- Returning Production Rank — 70th
- Returning Starters — (6 offense, 5 defense)
- 2025 Preseason Average Ranking — 100.5
History of Utah State vs this opponent
- All-Time Series: Utah State leads 13-6
- Series During MW Era: Utah State leads 7-0
- First-Ever Meeting: Dec. 17, 1927 (Hawaii won 21-20)
- Most Recent Meeting: Nov. 16, 2024 (Utah State won 55-10)
The Aggies are undefeated against Hawaii in its Mountain West era and are on an eight-game winning streak against the Warriors overall. The last defeat to Hawaii came in 2010, a 45-7 loss that was part of a string of five losses in six games (spanning 2005 to 2010). Those losses all came during Utah State’s time in the WAC where it was also conference mates with Hawaii. But since both programs migrated to the Mountain West, it’s been all Aggies. However, USU’s move to the Pac-12 may put a serious hold on this matchup. These two sides met a few times in the 1950s and 60s, but for nearly a half-century (i.e. after a 1966 matchup between the two), Utah State and Hawaii didn’t see each other on the field until they were both in a conference together.
Opposing Players to Watch
- Micah Alejado (QB)
- Pofele Ashlock (WR)
- Nicholas Cenacle (WR)
- Jamih Otis (LB)
- Jackie Johnson III (DE)
The Warriors in 2024
Timmy Chang’s third season didn’t build much on his 2023 campaign where his team went 5-8 (which itself was a slight bump from a 3-10 season in 2022). The Warriors suffered one fewer loss but had played a slightly easier schedule, with two of its five wins being against non-major opponents (Delaware State and Northern Iowa). Take out those two FCS games and Hawaii essentially began the year 0-5. Its first FBS win was against Nevada, the eventual last-place team in the conference.
As rough as the start of the season was, the final five weeks would prove to be (mostly) positive results. The win over Nevada was the start but a surprise road win over Fresno State followed the week after, marking the one victory the Warriors secured against a team with a winning record all year. They even followed that up by nearly upsetting UNLV in a narrow 29-27 loss. A win over New Mexico in the final week of the season capped off a decent run of games, only interrupted by the 55-10 shellacking at the hands of Utah State.
2025 Season Prospects
Much of Hawaii’s prospects this season will depend on how much the final five weeks of last year’s schedule was truly reflective of team development. The Warriors rank a decent 70th in returning production (fourth among Mountain West teams), which gives them a chance to take advantage of last season’s late surge.
Probably the most interesting player to watch will be quarterback Micah Alejado. As a true freshman last year, he played his first snaps late in the year when Brayden Schager suffered an injury that kept him out of the final couple of games. Outside of a handful of snaps against Northern Illinois and Fresno State, Alejado got his first real action against Utah State. He went 11-for-12 with 11 passing yards and threw the only touchdown for Hawaii in that game as he split time with John-Keawe Sagapolutele. Alejado’s solid outing against the Aggies led to him starting against New Mexico in the season finale where he put on an absolute show. He completed 37 of 57 passes for two Hawaii freshman records of 469 yards and five touchdowns.
Between the USU and New Mexico games, Alejado completed 69.6% of his passes, had a six-to-zero TD-INT ratio and averaged 8.4 yards per attempt. Those kind of numbers over a full season would easily win one player of the year awards for the conference and be among the best in the nation. The question is whether Alejado can do that over a full season and against better defenses. Utah State and New Mexico ranked 117th and 128th in pass defense last year. Those weren’t the toughest tests by a long shot.
Chang spoke highly of his freshman QB at Mountain West Media Days in an interview with 106.9 The FAN. He told a quick story about when he recruited Alejado and how the then-high school QB’s goals included not throwing an interception his senior year and completing 70% of his passes, among several other goals (such as winning championships). Alejado ended up hitting both of those goals as a senior.
“When your mind’s that strong and your will is that strong, that’s the kind of guy that you get,” Chang said. “You get a true freshman performance where he’s (37 of 57, 469 yards) and five touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s something to be excited about.”
The weapons around Alejado should be enough for the redshirt freshman. His offensive line returns four of their top seven rotation guys, two starters and two regular-playing backups. The right side of the O-line has most of the experience as the starters at right guard, Kuao Peihopa, and right tackle, James Milovale, are the two main guys back. Reserve center who played 258 snaps, Ethan Spencer, is back and should assume the starting role this year. The biggest replacement that needs to be made is All-Mountain West left tackle Ka’ena Decambra, who played all but 34 of the team’s snaps at left tackle last year.
At wide receiver, the two most important guys return — Nicholas Cenacle (63 receptions, 721 yards, six touchdowns) and Pofele Ashlock (61 receptions, 629 yards, six touchdowns). To this group the Warriors add former Stanford receiver Jackson Harris. With how much passing Hawaii does, there could very well be three players topping 50 receptions.
As for the run game, it’s hard to say how much having starter Landon Sims back will help. That’s not meant to be a knock against Sims (though there are concerns with his performance). It’s more a reflection of Hawaii’s complete abandonment of the run game last year. Sims ran the ball 71 times last year, finishing second on the team in rush attempts behind the quarterback, Schager, who missed one-and-a-half games. Sims averaged only 4.9 yards per carry, which ranked 11th in the conference among running backs with at least 70 rush attempts. There will need to be some serious improvement on all fronts if the Warriors’ run game will be any better than last year (in which it ranked 126th in total rush yards).
While the offense has a decent amount going for it in terms of returning talent, Hawaii’s defense is arguably in better shape. It returns 65% of returning production and five of its top 11 in snaps played. Hawaii took a notable step forward on its defense last year, going from 123rd in 2022 to 112th in 2023 all the way up to 75th in 2024. Maintaining that upward trajectory will be a significant storyline for this season and the rebuild Chang is hoping to pull off with this team.
The one worry is that a lot of what was lost comes from the top players. Hawaii does return leading tackler Jamih Otis, but lost defensive back Cam Stone, the team’s top overall player last year, along with the second and third leading tacklers, Elijah Robinson and Logan Taylor. Robinson also led the Warriors in TFLs (11) and sacks (5.0).
However, there are plenty of players that have experience and production that can step into team-leading roles this year. Peter Manuma, Justin Sinclair, Elijah Palmer and Kilnahe Mendiola-Jensen will fill out the defensive backfield. Jackie Johnson III (five TFLs, 5.0 sacks last year) should step into the lead pass-rushing role, joined by up-and-comers Tariq Jones and Jamar Sekona. Jalen Smith will fit in alongside returning linebacker Otis, who will likely end up filling the role of best player on the defense with Stone now gone.
“He’s a special individual,” Chang said of Otis. “He has the capability to run downhill and stuff holes, but also as a sideline-to-sideline guy that has enough speed to run with guys.”
Preseason Game Prediction — Comfortable Win
Though the prediction is a win for Utah State there’s plenty of reasons to pick Hawaii in this one. Preseason rankings largely favor the Warriors and they’ll also be coming off a three-game stretch against FCS side Portland State then Fresno State and Air Force. The Aggies will be fresh off a road trip against Vanderbilt. Both sides are also coming off a bye so there’s no advantage to either side in that regard.
And yet, it’s really hard to pick against this kind of history. Across multiple coaches, good or bad years, home or away, Utah State always seems to come out on top one way or another. So mostly for that reason, this prediction goes down as an Aggie victory.
