Major test awaits Hawai’i as UCLA visits islands for Week 1 battle

HONOLULU – From coast to coast, all eyes will have a chance to watch Hawai’i football. 

For the first time since 2012, the Rainbow Warriors will make an appearance on a network station on Saturday as CBS broadcasts Hawai’i’s Week 1 game against UCLA with kickoff scheduled for 1:30 p.m. HT. It is the first UH home football game on network television since 2005 against Fresno State. 

Hawai’i (1-0) represents the first hurdle in the head coaching career of DeShaun Foster as the former Bruin standout and recent running backs coach took over at his alma mater this offseason following the departure of Chip Kelly. While the Bruins were selected to finish towards the bottom in the program’s first season in the Big 10 conference, UCLA’s new leader does return plenty of talent from last year’s 8-5 team to test the Rainbow Warriors and other programs this year. 

Foster has built a strong coaching staff around him for his premiere season as the leader of UCLA, bringing in former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy as the associate head coach and offensive coordinator for the Bruins while retaining defensive coordinator and Kamehameha Schools product Ikaika Malloe. 

Defensively, UCLA lost a significant amount of talent from the unit that ranked amongst the best in the nation at times last season. That does not mean Malloe, Foster and UCLA are barren of talent on the defensive side of the ball. 

Redshirt senior linebacker Kain Medrano is back this year after he started all 13 games last season for the Bruins, earning Pac-12 honorable mention honors in the middle of the defense. Flanking him is senior linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo, who also appeared in all 13 games last year and started four of them, and Comeback Player of the Year watch list member Ale Kaho as part of a deep and talented linebacking core for UCLA. 

Starting defensive linemen Keanu Williams and Jay Toia returned after productive seasons in 2023 for UCLA, both being named to the Reese’s Senior Bowl watch list ahead of this year. The Bruins have a stated goal to try and get after UH quarterback Brayden Schager, who drew praise from Malloe earlier in the week. 

“[Schager] is the leader of that team, let alone the offense,” Malloe said to the media on Tuesday. “Brayden Schager is special. He will have a chance to prove himself … if we can get to the quarterback, hopefully we can make him make some unsound decisions.” 

UCLA boasts a large amount of returning producers from last season’s offense, seeing redshirt senior QB Ethan Garbers back as the starter after appearing in 11 games (6 starts) last season for the Bruins. 

He will be aided by a loaded wide receiver room for UCLA as Logan Loya and J.Michael Sturdivant return after leading the Bruins in receptions, yards and touchdowns last season. The room also features Campbell High School’s own Titus Mokiao-Atimalala and Notre Dame transfer Rico Flores Jr., who was a consensus four-star recruit out of high school, as starters. Flores is even listed ahead of Loya on UCLA’s initial two-deep despite Loya posting 655 yards and catching five scores last year. 

UCLA WR Titus Mokiao-Atimalala is a Campbell alumnus and the younger brother of Hawai’i WR Tamatoa Mokiao-Atimalala. | Photo Credit: Brian Bautista

The backfield for UCLA has returner TJ Harden and freshman Cam Jones in the fold, looking to post big numbers behind a bruising and large offensive line. Harden ran for over 800 yards in 2023 and found paydirt on eight separate occasions and will be a force for Hawai’i to reckon with on Saturday. 

The Rainbow Warriors enter the game as two-touchdown underdogs despite being the hosts and having a game under the belt already. For Hawai’i, a massive opportunity awaits against a talented UCLA team going through a transition phase under a new coaching staff. 

Hawai’i will need a pristine performance from the offensive line this weekend to have a chance at an upset while the UH defensive line will need a similar pass rush to appear in Mānoa from the DSU game. It will be two former NFL coordinators dialing up plays to face off on Saturday as Hawai’i defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman prepares his unit for Bienemy’s offensive bag of tricks. 

With weather expected to be far better conditions for football, Hawai’i’s offense hopes to execute at a higher level after drops and missed throws muddied feelings on the Rainbow Warriors’ season-opening victory. With sunshine and temperatures expected in the 80s around game time, watch for the ball to be flying in Mānoa. 

Game Day Theme: Island Style Day (Green Out) 

In continuation of the celebration of culture and diversity, Hawai’i Athletics requests that fans don their favorite green UH shirt to “Green Out” the stands against UCLA to show Hawai’i fans’ unity on the CBS national broadcast. Fans are also asked to bring ti leaves while ti leaf rally towels are handed out to the Hawai’i student section. 

Fans should also be on the lookout for a clear bag giveaway from sponsor Bank of Hawai’i, located at Gate 2.