Sheraton Hawaii Bowl or bust …

HONOLULU—Two opening season wins, six straight losses, and now riding a four-game-win-streak, the University of Hawaii Warriors football team is one win away from making the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. This season marks the second under head coach Greg McMackin, who had only one defensive starter from last year and rotated three different quarterbacks all season. 

From the beginning, many fans had their doubts and questions about the 2009 season, as the Warriors 7-7 last year ended on a bitter note by losing to Notre Dame in a blowout at the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve. Seats in Aloha Stadium emptied as Hawaii appeared to have lost that winning rhythm as they got into the tougher part of the season with big losses to WAC conference juggernaut Boise State and WAC runner-up Nevada. 

But since the Nevada lost on the road, the Warriors sent a message to their critics, fans, and national viewers by posting four straight wins, including their biggest win of the season over Navy last week, which put them back into contention to face Southern Methodist University (SMU) at the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

Hawaii went into the Navy game as the underdogs, with Navy having a tougher schedule and beating tougher opponents—the Midshipmen fought for a two-point win over then-ranked-22 Notre Dame. In a battle of offense, Hawaii’s run-and-shoot quickly overshadowed Navy’s touted rushing game. After a 17-17 halftime score, the Warrior defense shut down the Navy rush, led by senior linebacker Blaze Soares with 12 tackles and a sack to end the game. Sophomore quarterback Bryant Moniz controlled the offense, with starting QB Greg Alexander out since the Louisian Tech season-ending injury. Moniz finished the game with three touchdowns, throwing for 366-yards completing 32 of 44 attempts. 

But come tomorrow, Hawaii’s memorable wins this season—the overtime win over San Jose or the Utah State win to snap the losing-streak—fall to the waist side as they take on the Badgers of Wisconsin in a make-or-break game to put the Warriors up against Hawaii’s favorite coach at the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. 

SMU, under the direction of former Hawaii head coach June Jones, who once led Hawaii to the BCS Sugar Bowl for the first time in Hawaii history and a 75-41 overall record during his stay from ’99-’07, has had its biggest turnaround season—marking the Mustangs’ first bowl game in 25-years.

Wisconsin, going into the ESPN2 televised game on Saturday, comes off a close loss to conference rival Northwestern, falling short, 31-33, after a 10-point comeback. The Badgers will play Auburn in the Outback bowl in Florida on January 1. The Warriors, a 12-point underdog against Wisconsin, have been able to pull out surprises with a high-powered offense and are currently showing signs of life on defense. With over 40,000 “Warrior maniacs” in the stands against Navy, you can definitely expect a packed stadium this Saturday.

The University of Hawaii vs. Wisconsin football game kicks-off at 6:30 p.m. at Aloha Stadium, and is also being televised live on ESPN2 and espn360.com.