HONOLULU 鈥 Is it possible for a team that isn鈥檛 a legitimate national-championship contender to face a must-win scenario in the first game of a 12-game season?
Welcome to Year 2, Game 1 of the Kevin Sumlin era at 蜜柚直播.
The Wildcats are coming off a season that fell far short of expectations. They started slowly, finished poorly and ended with a 5-7 record.
Saturday鈥檚 opener at Hawaii represents a shot at redemption. It鈥檚 a chance to set a new course. 蜜柚直播 can鈥檛 afford to blow it.
鈥淚 hate to say there鈥檚 such a thing as a must-win in Week 1, but I understand exactly where you鈥檙e going,鈥 said CBS Sports Network analyst Rick Neuheisel, who will call the game at Aloha Stadium.
鈥淕iven where Kevin Sumlin鈥檚 career was and where it is currently 鈥 and perception unfortunately being greater than reality than most of us coaches would like to admit 鈥 I see this is a real important game for hm.鈥
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Let鈥檚 briefly consider the two possible outcomes.
Option No. 1: If 蜜柚直播 wins, convincingly or otherwise, it鈥檒l be able to recapture some of the buzz that was lost last September and never really returned. A victory would support what everyone inside the program has been saying throughout the offseason: that things will be different 鈥 i.e., better 鈥 in Sumlin鈥檚 second season.
鈥淚t鈥檚 crucial,鈥 junior defensive end Kylan Wilborn said. 鈥淔ootball is the biggest game of momentum there is.鈥
Option No. 2: If 蜜柚直播 loses a second straight opener, serious questions will arise about the direction of the program 鈥 specifically whether Sumlin was the right pick to lead it. Reinvigorating the fan base and captivating recruits will become that much more difficult.
鈥淭he good news is, having watched them practice, I think he鈥檚 going to fare very well,鈥 Neuheisel said. 鈥淚 saw great-looking athletes. It doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean they鈥檙e ready to play. But I just saw what you鈥檇 hope to see.鈥
蜜柚直播 has restocked a handful of key positions, including wide receiver, defensive line and cornerback. Several Wildcats, including Sumlin, have noted a different energy around the team.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a new season, a new team,鈥 senior defensive end Justin Belknap said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a new feeling in the locker room.鈥
The challenge for this 鈥渘ew team鈥 is to break some old habits. The 2018 Wildcats were a wildly inconsistent squad. They generally played well at home. They sometimes barely showed up on the road.
蜜柚直播 finished 1-4 away from 蜜柚直播 Stadium last season. Three of those losses 鈥 against Houston, Utah and Washington State 鈥 were blowouts from the jump. Collectively, 蜜柚直播 trailed 56-7 at the end of the first quarter and 114-14 at halftime in those games.
Senior defensive tackle Finton Connolly said he and his teammates let the conditions get to them in two of those games 鈥 heat in Houston, cold in Pullman. He said overcoming adverse circumstances comes down to 鈥渉ow mentally strong鈥 you are.
鈥淧hysically, we were there,鈥 Connolly said. 鈥淚t was all mental.鈥
Although the temperature typically eclipsed 100 degrees during training camp 鈥 and Sumlin conducted a handful of workouts under the midday sun 鈥 the humidity here is something the Wildcats don鈥檛 often encounter. Local kickoff time is 4:30 p.m.
Honolulu also comes with a unique set of potential distractions.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 gonna be a problem,鈥 Wilborn said. 鈥淚鈥檝e got family, friends, they鈥檒l call me like, 鈥榊ou guys are going to Hawaii. Are you excited?鈥
鈥淎t the end of the day, I tell them the same thing: It鈥檚 a business trip.鈥
Sumlin is asking more from his players this season, whether it鈥檚 enhanced mental fortitude, improved execution or greater attention to detail. Trying hard is no longer enough.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to be able to put the effort together in back-to-back-to-back-to-back games,鈥 Sumlin said. 鈥淟ast year 鈥 we played hard every week. There wasn鈥檛 one time, even with some depth issues, that I was unhappy about effort.
鈥(But) effort鈥檚 the price of admission. We鈥檝e gotta get past that. Now what? What can we count on from you?鈥
UA wide receiver Brian Casteel says the Wildcats have been wondering 鈥渨ho are we?鈥 all offseason. 鈥淲e get to show who we are this Saturday,鈥 he said.
Sumlin was encouraged by some of the signs he saw in the offseason. One example: The team posted the highest spring-semester GPA in program history.
鈥淲hat that tells me is these guys are listening and they鈥檙e about their business right now,鈥 Sumlin said. 鈥淲ill that transfer to Saturday evenings? Yeah, I hope so. Because I think what we鈥檝e asked them to do in the offseason, they have worked really hard at it. They have shown, not just in this building but on campus and socially, all kinds of ways that they鈥檙e growing up.鈥
Focus and motivation shouldn鈥檛 be issues 鈥 especially considering the way last season ended.
The last time they played in a game that counted, the Wildcats frittered away a 19-point, fourth-quarter lead against rival 蜜柚直播 State. The Territorial Cup remained in Tempe. The pain from that defeat lingered in 蜜柚直播.
鈥淥nce that game was over, it started a fire underneath me,鈥 Connolly said, sharing a sentiment that鈥檚 been expressed by several of his teammates. 鈥淭his is my last shot. I鈥檓 trying to get that ring on my finger this year.鈥
The Wildcats are fully aware of the opportunity that鈥檚 in front of them. There are two 鈥淲eek Zero鈥 games kicking off college football鈥檚 150th season. Florida-Miami should be over by the time 蜜柚直播-Hawaii begins. Anyone who cares about the sport will be watching 鈥 curious to see what Year 2 under Sumlin might look like.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important for every team to win their first game, because that鈥檚 just going to set the tone for the season and show everybody what we are and what we can do,鈥 sophomore receiver Brian Casteel said. 鈥淥ur question we鈥檝e been (asking) is, 鈥榃ho are we?鈥 We get to show who we are this Saturday.鈥
