Hawaii will practice in El Paso to get ready for NMSU

After dropping a decision to Utah State last week, Hawaii opted to stay on the mainland to prepare for its upcoming game against New Mexico State.

Instead of flying back to Honolulu, the team will headquarter for several days in an El Paso hotel and work out at the Sun Bowl, UTEP's home field. Hawaii coach Greg McMackin said that there were several tutors on the trip, and that the schedule the team keeps would reflect a normal during-the-week schedule.

"We wanted to get as close to where we were going to end up (as possible)," McMackin said. "El Paso is close to New Mexico State. I know Mike Price (UTEP coach) and we were able to get the facilities (use) work out. It's been great."

McMackin said that next year the Warriors will do the same thing. They play Washington State and UNLV on back-to-back weeks, and the plan is to stay in Vegas for the entire week.

This week's game is critical for the Warriors, who finish with NMSU, Idaho, Washington State and Cincinnati. Hawaii (4-5) can afford only one more loss and still remain bowl eligible.

BRONCOS CAN PLAY DEFENSE

At Boise State, the offensive unit has always grabbed the lion's share of the headlines even though the defense has been great.

The Broncos' defense is ranked second nationally, allowing just 9.9 points per game. Boise State is ranked 12th in the country overall, allowing 277.63 yards per contest.

"They are a great football team," NMSU coach Hal Mumme said. "We're beat up on offense. We have seven starters out on offense and we couldn't handle their defensive front.

"Boise State has so much depth on the defensive front. They played eight defensive linemen. I kept waiting for a dropoff but you couldn't tell the difference."

POW HONOREES

Louisiana Tech running back Daniel Porter, Louisiana Tech return man/wide receiver Phillip Livas and Utah State linebacker Paul Igobeli were named the conference's offensive, special teams and defensive players of the week.

Porter ran for a career-high 189 yards and two scores in Tech's 38-35 upset win over Fresno State.

Livas returned a punt 81 yards for a score in Tech's win.

Igobeli registered six tackles, recovered a fumble and blocked a field goal in Utah State's win.

WILL WIN HELP AGGIES?

Brent Guy is truly one of the 'good guys' among WAC coaches. Fans in and around Logan have been critical of him and the team's performance.

Hopefully the last two games - a tough loss to Fresno State on a 58-yard field goal as time expired and a 30-24 upset of Hawaii, the defending WAC champions - have taken a little bit of heat off him.

Guy said he doesn't read stuff on Internet boards.

"To compete and play with Fresno and to beat Hawaii with the number of injuries we've had says a lot," Guy said.