SAN DIEGO – Helpless to stop the run and turnover prone, Hawaii’s hopeful showdown with San Diego State turned into a beat down the likes of which it’s only suffered once before in the Mountain West.
SAN DIEGO – Helpless to stop the run and turnover prone, Hawaii’s hopeful showdown with San Diego State turned into a beat down the likes of which it’s only suffered once before in the Mountain West.
Donnel Pumphrey ran for 112 yards Saturday, Rashaad Penny added 108 yards on the ground and the Aztecs thumped Hawaii 55-0, putting the Rainbow Warriors’ bowl hopes in further jeopardy.
“I don’t know if there’s anything else we could have messed up today,” Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich.
In losing for the third time in four games, the Rainbow Warriors (4-6, 3-3) were bottled up offensively for the first time since a 66-3 loss to Michigan in early September, managing just 48 yards on the ground and a season-low total of 215.
“Defensively, they did a good job,” said quarterback Dru Brown, who threw three interceptions, including a pick-six. “Just like Michigan, they do a lot of similar things when it comes to disguise.”
“That being said, I don’t think we played nowhere near where we can play,” Brown said.
The Aztecs (8-1, 5-0) won their fifth straight and clinched at least a share of the Mountain West’s West Division title by extending their lead to 2 ½ games over the second-place Hawaii.
San Diego State rushed for 296 yards, led by Pumphrey, who had 85 yards by the end of the first quarter when the Aztecs led 14-0. It was his eighth straight 100-yard game, tying his own personal best and moving him two behind Marshall Faulk for the program record.
“Pumphrey is as good as advertised and so is that whole team, and so is (coach) Rocky Long and that whole staff,” Rolovich said. “They’ve done it the right way. After the game, it was unbelievable what they said about our team.”
The 55-point margin of victory was the largest in the series and it matches last year’s loss at Boise State as UH’s largest margin of defeat in a Mountain West game. Hawaii has lost 27 of its last 28 games on national television dating back to 2011.
Rolovich said Long “apologized for the score getting out of hand.”
“They just beat us 55-0 and they said ‘you guys are so much better. I know today wasn’t the day, but you guys are playing better,’” Rolovich said. “This game needs good people and this place has good people at it.”
Christian Chapman passed for 76 yards, three touchdowns and an interception for the Aztecs.
Redshirt freshman Aaron Zwhalen started the second half and played three series went 3-of-10 for 32 yards and one interception in his first action as a Rainbow Warrior.
Hawaii’s Steven Lakalaka had his streak of seven straight games with a rushing touchdown snapped, and it came in a game in which he was playing against his brother, San Diego State sophomore linebacker Ronely Lakalaka.
“It was fun, but as time goes on he was just another player across the field,” Steven Lakalaka said. “He did a pretty good job today. That’s my brother, I love him.”