If the University of Hawaii can find solace in one thing entering its matchup with No. 1 Ohio State it’s that nobody expects the Rainbow Warriors to do anything.
Hawaii (1-0) heads to Columbus to face the defending national champions as a 41-point underdog on Saturday.
The only other time the Rainbow Warriors faced a defending national champion was in 2005 against USC. Hawaii lost that game against Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Co. 63-17 and are 0-4 all-time in matchups against No. 1 ranked teams.
The Rainbow Warriors do come in with some optimism. A 28-20 victory over Colorado last week was the team’s first win in a season opener in the Norm Chow era (2012-present) of Hawaii football.
USC transfer Max Wittek looked solid in his UH debut, throwing for three touchdowns and 202 yards on 50 percent passing. He was the first Hawaii player in three decades to throw for three scores in a debut.
Junior wide receiver Marcus Kemp made three big plays against Colorado, including a highlight reel 79-yard TD catch and run — UH’s longest scoring play since 2011. Kemp is the top returning target for UH, having made 56 receptions for 797 yards and three touchdowns in 2014.
Against Colorado, Kealakehe alumnus Asotui Eli was among nine players making their first start for UH. Eli played well in his debut at center for the Rainbow Warriors and the offensive line as a whole allowed just one sack.
Hawaii also has the fact that the Buckeyes are playing on a short week, having won their opener 42-24 against Virginia Tech on Monday.
But will that matter? Probably not.
Ohio State (1-0) enters having won 14 in a row overall — the longest active streak in the nation. The Buckeyes have won their last 66 of 67 regular-season home games against unranked non-conference opponents and are 112-8-4 all-time in home openers.
After a rocky first half against the Hokies, not much went wrong for Ohio State. The Buckeyes racked up 572 yards of offense in the game — 360 of that on the ground — and former quarterback Braxton Miller earned Big Ten offensive player of the week honors with two electric TD scores in his new role as a H-back/WR.
Big armed junior Cardale Jones got the start against Virginia Tech, completing 9-of-18 passes for 186 yards and two TDs. He also rushed for a career-high 99 yards and a score.
Despite that performance, coach Urban Meyer is still mum on who the starter will be against Hawaii — Jones or J.T. Barrett. In a depth chart released Wednesday the duo were listed as co-starters.
Ohio State will also return four players — including projected first round pick Joey Bosa on the defensive line — who missed the first game for violating an Ohio State University Athletic Department policy.
The trip marks the start of UH’s hefty travel schedule. This season the team will cover 40,122 miles by air for road games. The tilt in Columbus will be the longest trek, at 9,020 miles round trip.
