Know Wyoming’s foe: Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

LARAMIE -- Timmy Chang. Colt Brennan. Bryant Moniz. Cole McDonald.

Those are just a few Hawaii quarterbacks who have thrown for more than 8,000 yards during their career on the islands.

To put that in perspective, just two Wyoming signal callers have ever eclipsed that number through the air: Casey Bramlet (9,684) and Brett Smith (8,834).

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Brennan tossed 131 touchdowns in just three seasons. Chang, the Rainbow Warriors first-year head coach, threw 117 in parts of five seasons in Honolulu. Smith is the most prolific in Cowboys' history with 76 scoring strikes.

What does all that equate to? The run-and-shoot has been nearly perfected at UH.

Maybe Brayden Schager will be the next great QB in paradise? Not yet.

An aspect of Hawaii's offense that is often overlooked is the running back position. When you put up numbers through the air the way that program has, it's easy to see why. Still, there have been some impact guys at that spot.

Gary Allen amassed 3,451 rushing yards from 1978-81. Diocemy Saint Juste gashed defenses for 3,102. His 1,510 yards in 2017 is a single-season record.

Michael Carter rushed for 214 yards against Wyoming back in 1991. That was a 32-17 victory in Laramie. He capped his career with 2,528 yards and 39 touchdowns, a school record.

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS FROM 7220SPORTS:

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* Pokes, 'Bows set to tangle on the islands Saturday night

* Wyoming's Ryan Marquez has finally discovered his role

* DeVonne Harris rocks goggles ... and quarterbacks

The 'Bows currently have another beast in their backfield in Dedrick Parson.

The senior from Philadelphia transferred to UH after rushing for 1,565 yards in two seasons at Howard. Those numbers, combined with what Parson has done during his two seasons in Honolulu, would make him the third-leading rusher in program history with 2,726 yards. His 32 career touchdowns -- 10 of which have come through eight games this season -- would land him all alone in second place.

Standing just 5-foot-8 and weighing in at 205 pounds, Parson is starting to pick up steam. In his last three outings, he has pounded out 277 yards on just 53 attempts. That's an average of 5.2 yards per carry. He has also added four touchdowns on the ground.

In a win over Nevada, Parson rushed for 136 yards on just 24 carries. He scored three touchdowns in Hawaii's lone victory over an FBS opponent this season.

Here are some other things you need to know about Wyoming's meeting with Hawaii:

* Head coach: Timmy Chang (1st year at UH) 2-6 overall record

* Offensive coordinator: Ian Shoemaker (1st year); Defensive coordinator: Jacob Yoro (6th year)

* Record in 2021: 6-7 overall, 3-5 in Mountain West play

* Offense in 2022: Average 18.1 ppg, 320.1 ypg (129.5 rush, 190.6 pass)

* Defense in 2022: Allow 34.5 ppg, 435.4 ypg (212.1 rush, 223.3 pass)

* Key Returners - Offense: Brayden Schager (QB - 114-197, 1,201 yds, 4 TD, 6 INT; 19 rush, 7 yds, TD), Dedrick Parson (RB - 120 rush, 543 yds, 10 TD; 18 catch, 89 yds), Tylan Hines (RB - 39 rush, 279 yds, TD), Zion Bowens (WR - 16 catch, 235 yds, 2 TD), Jalen Walthall (WR - 16 catch, 210 yds, TD), Dior Scott (WR - 23 catch, 181 yds), James Phillips (WR - 17 catch, 148 yds), Caleb Phillips (TE - 16 catch, 187 yds)

* Key Returners - Defense: Penei Pavihi (LB - 50 tackles, sack, PBU, INT, TD), Hugh Nelson (DB - 36 tackles, 5 PBU), Peter Manuma (DB - 35 tackles, 2 PBU, FF), Malik Hausman (DB - 31 tackles, 3 PBU, 3 INT), Virdel Edwards (DB - 30 tackles, 4 PBU, 2 INT), John Tuitupou (DL - 16 tackles, 3 sacks, FF)

* Overview: During Timmy Chang's four-plus seasons as the quarterback on the islands, he threw for 17,072 and 117 touchdowns. The yardage is still the second most in college football history. The scores, 11th. In the first three games of Chang's coaching career at his alma mater, It must've felt like the opposition gave him a taste of his own medicine. In losses to Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky and Michigan, the Rainbow Warriors allowed an astounding 168 points. That's an average of 56 per game. That category still doesn't look pretty -- 34.5 points per outing -- but it's misleading. In the last three games against San Diego State, Nevada and Colorado State, the 'Bows are giving up just 16.3. Hawaii dropped a 16-14 decision to the Aztecs before knocking off the Wolf Pack, 31-16. Last Saturday in Fort Collins, Rams' Avery Morrow gashed the visitors for 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a 17-13 loss. Hawaii is the youngest team in the FBS this season, according to ESPN. It lost 19 players to the NCAA Transfer Portal in the offseason, including veteran signal caller Chevan Cordeiro, who now calls San Jose State home. Not surprising, youth has been front and center this season. Mistakes have followed. The stats -- on both sides of the ball -- have proven that.

* Thoughts on Hawaii: "We're taking that mantra of 1-0, which we're going to do again this week, playing Hawaii over there for the Paniolo Trophy, which is a neat trophy. So, there's some heritage between these two clubs. We're excited about that. I know Hawaii, it has just been my experience, when they play at home, they have played particularly well. I think that they're a challenging football team. Coach Chang is a great former quarterback and is now in a leadership role of Hawaii's football program. The guys play hard. Their quarterback, Schager, completes close to 58% of his passes and he's from a really recognized high school program, Highland Park out of Dallas. So, he's got a great background there. They're able to throw the ball well and they have a really imposing offensive line. They're able to run the ball. What's really impressive about their defense is, what I see is, they're where they should be and very rarely do you see some guy not where he's supposed to be. They're really strong up front. They have very imposing linebackers who play hard. They're downhill and their guys play hard. So, another challenge for us. Since I've been our head coach at Wyoming, we've not won when we've gone to Hawaii, so we're excited about it." - Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl