Game Preview: Hawaii Warriors at Ohio State Buckeyes

At 3:30 PM today our beloved number one ranked undefeated Buckeyes will square off against the (1-0) Hawaii Warriors, who are coming off a gigantic 28-20 upset win against the Colorado Buffaloes. My expectations for Hawaii was around two victories for the season, but I never would have guessed they would have earned a victory against Colorado and they proved that the team as a whole has some juice.

By and large the Warriors were expected to get waxed by most teams on their schedule except for competition like UC Davis (which they should wax), Nevada, UNLV, and ULM. That should give you an idea of where Hawaii’s talents are, but if they compete consistently out of their minds like they did against the Buffaloes than we may be looking at a decent team.

The spread has Ohio State giving 38 points and that honestly looks like a great bet in the Buckeye’s favor. To the casual Buckeye fans this game will be a complete blowout and they will walk away satisfied, but to the football nerd this game may be frustrating. With an elite level quarterback and an awesome O-line, the Warriors will move the ball through the air.

What to Expect When Hawaii is on Offense

The Warriors have one of the brightest talents in college football taking snaps under center in Max Wittek. Wittek is a former five-star recruit who had offers from everywhere in the country and eventually landed at USC. After struggling to see the field for the Trojans, Wittek elected to take the graduate transfer route and so far he has been as impressive as advertised. This is a huge game for Wittek and he will bring his A-game to elevate his NFL Draft stock. Wittek may be the most talented QB we face all season.

Typically when dealing with smaller schools the common theme is a lack of size and strength in the trenches, but Hawaii has an excellent offensive line that is led by Ben Clarke at offensive tackle and Dejon Allen playing on the interior at guard. Clarke and Allen were near perfect against Colorado last week and the Buckeyes should be too much for them, but they will not embarrass themselves.

The receivers and running backs are not extremely dangerous and these unites will be on the lower end of the talent spectrum, but a potential sleeper is slot back Dylan Collie. Even though he is only a freshman he has been hyped up to the max in Warrior country and he played well against the Buffaloes. Collie will get plenty of reps in this contest and should be an interesting player to keep an eye on when the blowout officially takes place.

What to Expect When Hawaii is on Defense

This unit is what always holds back Norm Chow and Hawaii. It would not be surprising if Ohio State racked up over 100 points against this unit. With all of that said, they played phenomenal against one of college football’s most electrifying offenses in Colorado. There were a few bright spots that could surprise the Buckeyes, but I think last week was an anomaly.

Luke Shawley has been a pleasant piece to the puzzle for the Warriors and is essentially and extremely poor man’s version of Joey Bosa. Shawley played like a man possessed last week posting 14 tackles and his motor will get him in on the tackle today as well. The rest of this 3-4 defensive line has enough skill to not be completely destroyed.

Jerrol Garcia-Williams at linebacker is another player that has playmaker potential after missing all of last season with a torn ACL. Garcia-Williams is the leader of this linebacker core and it took no time at all for him to stake that claim as well as get into game mode. The other linebackers are athletic enough to hold their own in coverage, but they could really struggle against the run game.

The Hawaii defensive backfield is horrendous and after torching the elite Virginia Tech defensive backs, this week should be a cake walk. Ne’Quan Phillips sits at corner for the Warriors and has an aggressive playing style that has worked in the past, but he will have a huge task today. With all of the flash that Phillips has shown, I do not expect him winning many battles.

Prediction:

I expect the Ohio State Buckeyes to smash the Hawaii Warriors and beat the spread while doing it. Another side note, if you are in any Daily Fantasy Leagues play your Buckeyes now, because everyone should be receiving touches today. With that said, do not be fooled if Wittek plays mistake free football and wins a few downs with his athletic ability.

Hawaii looked like a complete joke on paper, but they looked like a crisp and dangerous team last week and that will hopefully equate to some wins down the road, but not today. Joshua Perry and Darron Lee should have great days on the defensive side of the ball while Michael Thomas continues his dominance. This will be a great warm-up game for Jalin Marshall as well to get him back in the rhythm of things. Predicted Score: Ohio State Buckeyes 49-7.

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