Alabama Football Game Thirteen Notes: at Hawaii
11/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
 ALABAMA QUICK NOTES:
ALOHA! For the second year in a row, the Alabama Crimson Tide (4-8, 2-6 SEC) will close out the regular season with a game on the island of Ohau against the Hawai'i Warriors (7-4, 5-2 WAC) this Saturday, Nov. 29 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawai'i. The game will be nationally televised by ESPN and will kickoff at 2:47 p.m. (HT). That translates into a 6:47 p.m. (CT) kickoff in the state of Alabama. Alabama dropped a 28-23 decision at arch-rival Auburn last weekend in Jordan Hare Stadium, its second consecutive loss. With eight losses already this season, Alabama will try an avoid the most losses in a single-season season since the 1955 season this weekend in Honolulu. The 1955 Alabama team holds the school record for most losses in a season with 10. A loss at UH would give the Crimson Tide the second-most in school history. Hawai'i drubbed a winless Army team last weekend at Aloha Stadium, racking up a school-record 741 total yards in the 59-28 blowout win. Wide received Chad Owens hauled in a UA record 14 passes for 168 yards and one TD. It was the junior's third straight 100-yard game. Handling the announcing duties for ESPN are Dave Barnett (play-by-play), Bill Curry (analyst) and Rob Stone (sideline). The game will also be aired on the 80-plus station Crimson Tide Sports Network with Eli Gold (play-by-play), Kenny Stabler (color analyst) and Tom Roberts (sidelines) describing the action. UA IN 109th FOOTBALL SEASON The University of Alabama is in its 109th football season and has compiled a 758-292-43 (.714) all-time record in 1,093 games. The Crimson Tide played its first football game on Nov. 11, 1892 with a 56-0 win over Birmingham High School in Birmingham. Alabama is fifth on the all-time victory list for Division I. The Crimson Tide football legacy includes 12 national championships and 21 SEC championships. UA has also logged 27 10-win seasons, the most by any Division I school. UA also ranks among the best in post-season play, holding the NCAA record for most bowl games (51) and wins (29). THE HEAD COACHES Alabama head coach Mike Shula (4-8, .333) is making his head coaching debut during the 2003 season. Shula previously served as an assistant coach in the NFL with Tampa Bay, Chicago and Miami. A three-year letterman at Alabama (1984-86), Shula was a two-time All-SEC selection and threw for over 2,000 yards as a junior (1985), leading Alabama to dramatic come-from-behind wins over Georgia and Auburn. Hawai'i head coach June Jones is 38-24 (.613) in his fifth season as head coach of the Warriors. Prior to being named head coach at UH, Jones was the interim head coach of the NFLs San Diego Chargers (1988) and the Atlanta Falcons (1994-96). He is 0-1 in his career against Alabama. THE SERIES Alabama beat Hawai'i 21-16 on Nov. 30, 2002 in the only other meeting between these two teams. Bama is 2-0 all-time at Aloha Stadium, including a 24-3 win over Southern California in the 1985 Aloha Bowl. UP NEXT The Hawai'i game marks the final game of the 2003 season. However, here are some dates to keep in mind while covering the Crimson Tide football team. Date Event ROAD TRIPPING, Part V *Alabama will depart for its game in Hawai'i on Wednesday, Nov. 26 with a direct charter flight from the Birmingham Airport to Honolulu. The team is scheduled to leave Birmingham at 7:30 AM (CT) and arrive in Honolulu at 2 PM (HT) on Wednesday. *The team will be headquartered at The Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu from Nov. 26-Dec. 1. *The team will return to Tuscaloosa on a direct charter flight Monday, Dec. 1 at 6:05 PM (HT) arriving in Tuscaloosa on Dec. 2 at 9 AM (CT). WILLIAMS IS DOAK WALKER SEMIFINALIST The SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors announced today that Alabama's Shaud Williams was one of eight semifinalists for the 2003 Doak Walker Award. The annual award has recognized the top running back in college football since 1990. Williams, a senior, is the SEC's leading rusher, averaging 106.3 yards per game. His 1,169 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, combine with 88 receiving yards, 133 punt return yards and 63 kickoff return yards for 1,453 all-purpose yards. After 11 games of the 2003 season, Williams has 244 rushes (4th on the single season list) and his 1,169 yards is 10th on the single season list. Alabama has games with Auburn and Hawaii remaining. He joins just nine other Alabama players to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season. Williams, who has been coached by five different head coaches during his career, has 541 career rushes for 2,974 yards and 24 touchdowns. He has averaged 5.5 yards per carry over his collegiate career. He has 11 career, 100-yard rushing games. "We are very fortunate to have such a strong group of running backs as semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award," said Randall Goss, Chairman of the SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors, "and also we congratulate all of the candidates who were nominated by their schools." The 144 members of the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee will cast their votes this week to determine the 2003 recipient. On Monday, December 1, three finalists will be named, and, on Thursday, December 11, the recipient of the 2003 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on ESPN's The Home Depot College Football Awards. The award will be presented at the 2003 Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet in Dallas on Thursday, February 12, 2004. Felix "Doc" Blanchard and Glenn Davis, former Army star running backs, were jointly named the recipients of the 2003 PricewaterhouseCoopers Doak Walker Legends Award and will also be honored at the banquet. 2003 Doak Walker Semifinalists: Player School FINAL GAME FOR UA SENIORS The Hawai'i marks the final football game for 28 seniors. The list of seniors includes: Player Hometown This Hawai'i game will mark Alabama's 13th regular-season game, tying the single-season school record set last year. *Alabama played 13 regular season games in 2002, which included a game against UH in Honolulu. *Prior to last year, the previous record was 12 regular season games set in 1986. *The 1986 season marked Alabama's first 12-game regular-season. The Crimson Tide opened that year on Aug. 27 and posted a 16-10 win over Ohio State in the Kickoff Classic at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. *The 13-game season will also tie the school record for most games in a single-season, including post-season games. *Alabama also played 13 games in 1986, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2002 and now 1003. *The Crimson Tide played in the SEC Championship Game and a bowl game in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1999, in addition to its 11 regular-season games. *The 1986 season included 12 regular-season games, plus a Sun Bowl win over SMU. *For the second straight year, all 13 games of this season will take place in the regular season as the Hawai'i game will wrap up the Crimson Tide's season. TRAVEL PLANS The Crimson Tide will depart Tuscaloosa on Wednesday, Nov. 26th and arrive in Honolulu that afternoon. *The travel party will depart Honolulu on Monday, Dec. 1 and arrive back to Tuscaloosa early Tuesday morning (Dec. 2). Wednesday, Nov. 26 Thursday, Nov. 27 Friday, Nov. 28 Saturday, Nov. 29 Sunday, Nov. 30 Monday, Dec. 1 Tuesday, Dec. 3 ALABAMA-HAWAI'I SERIES Alabama posted a 21-16 win on Nov. 30, 2002 here at Aloha Stadium in only other meeting between the two teams. LAST MEETING: Alabama 21, UH 16 The final game of the 2002 season pitted Alabama's top ranked defense against the high powered offense of Timmy Chang and the Hawai'i Warriors. The Tide's defense proved to be too much, as the Tide recorded four first half interceptions and hung on for a 21-16 victory. With tough defense, the Tide was able to hold the Warriors scoreless in the first half for the first time since Hawai'i's 1998 game against SMU. Alabama was also able to break Hawai'i's six game home winning streak, and capture their 10th win of the season. Alabama began the scoring behind Shaud Williams' one-yard touchdown run, five minutes into the second quarter. The Williams score was set-up by a second fake field goal, as holder Lane Bearden flipped the ball to Dre Fulgham for a 12 yard gain to keep the drive alive. Ray Hudson also ran for a touchdown with a 14 yard carry, his first rushing touchdown of the season. Bama finished scoring when Tyler Watts threw the last touchdown pass of his Alabama career to Sam Collins on a 26-yard pass midway through the fourth quarter. The reception increased Alabama's lead to 18 points, and the defense would make it stand as they withstood a late fourth quarter rally by the Warriors. With the win over the Hawai'i, Alabama produced a 10-win season for the 27th time in school history, a mark which leads the NCAA. ALABAMA-HAWAI'I NOTEBOOK *Alabama will be making its third trip to the island of Ohau for the college football game. *In 1985, the Crimson Tide defeated the Southern California Trojans, 24-3, in the Aloha Bowl at Aloha Stadium. Gene Jelks (offense) and Cornelius Bennett (defense) were named the Aloha Bowl's most valuable players. *Alabama head coach Mike Shula was the starting quarterback in the Tide's 24-3 win over USC in 1985. *Shula has never faced Hawai'i as a head coach. *Shula also served as an assistant coach for the American Football Conference (AFC) at the NFL Pro Bowl held annually at Aloha Stadium. *UH head coach June Jones is 0-1 (.000) as a head coach against Alabama. *Jones also has several ties with the Crimson Tide football program. In 1998, he served as interim head coach for the San Diego Chargers. When Jones left the NFL to become head coach at UH, he was replaced at San Diego by former UA player Mike Reilly, who played on the defensive line for Coach Paul Bryant from 1966-68. *Jones other tie with Alabama came in 1996, his final year as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, where he coached former UA great Cornelius Bennett. The 1996 season was Bennett's first in Atlanta, after 10 years with the Buffalo Bills. *UH Director of Athletics Herman Frazier is the former AD at UAB. *UH defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa was the linebackers coach and special teams coach at Boston College during the Doug Flutie era. *UH offensive assistant coach Tyson Helton, is the son of former University of Houston head coach Kim Helton. *The younger Helton played quarterback for his father at Houston and lists his first collegiate start for the Cougars against the Crimson Tide. "I had some great experiences as Houston, but my most memorable was my first start at Alabama in front of about 90,000 fans dressed in red and white," Helton said. *Helton's start against the Crimson Tide came in the coaching debut of former UA head coach Mike DuBose on Aug. 30, 1997 at Legion Field. Alabama won 42-17. ALABAMA VS. THE WAC Alabama has compiled an 9-6 (.600) all-time record against the current schools that comprise the Western Athletic Conference. The Crimson Tide has faced six of the current 10-team field. Opponent Series Results HAWAI'I VS. THE SEC Hawai'i has compiled a 2-5 (.286) record against the current SEC field, dating back to its meeting with Kentucky in 1958. *UH has played only three teams while in the SEC and Alabama will be the fourth this Saturday at Aloha Stadium. Hawai'i hosted South Carolina in 1977 and 1981 while an independent. Arkansas played in Honolulu in 1987 while a member of the Southwest Conference. *Last year, Alabama became the first SEC team to face Hawai'i since Tennessee posted a 28-6 win in Honolulu on Dec. 4, 1975 *In addition, Alabama and Tennessee are the only two SEC teams to ever play Hawai'i in Honolulu. *Here is UH's record breakdown vs. the SEC. Year Result (Site) Former Alabama kicker Peter Kim currently resides in Honolulu and serves as the CEO of the Yummy Management Company. Kim opened his Yummy Korean BarBQ in 1987 and now has 32 restaurants with licensing operations spread over eight concept lines from Korean and Italian food to chicken, ribs and pizza. He was selected Hawaii Entrepreneur of the Year in 1998. He had the contract for concessions at Aloha Stadium for a couple of years. While he had the contract, he called some of his concession stands "Bear's Drive-In plate lunch stands" in honor of Coach Bryant. *As a freshmen in 1978, Kim kicked for the University of Hawai'i. His last appearance at Aloha Stadium saw him kick a 37-yard FG that gave UH the early lead over Southern California. *Kim lettered at UA in 1978 for former coach Dick Tomey, who will serve as the color analyst for Monarch Radio Sports on Saturday night in Honolulu. Tomey, a former head coach at Arizona, currently resides in Honolulu. *Kim transferred to Alabama in 1979 and played for the Crimson Tide from 1980-82 under Coach Paul Bryant. *He lettered all three years with Alabama, making him the only player in history to letter for both Alabama and Hawai'i. *Kim will be in attendance this Saturday at Aloha Stadium to watch the Crimson Tide. Kim's career stats at Alabama: Year PAT FGs Points THE STATS Here is the statistical comparison between Alabama and Hawai'i entering Saturday's 2003 finale. BAMA-HAWAI'I STATS BREAKDOWN Category BAMA HAWAII Rushing Yards 159.7 100.1 Rushing Defense 132.3 161.9 Turnovers 19 31 Penalties Per Game 5.8 7.9 RUSHING LEADERS Att-Yds-TD John West (UH) 54-328-4 PASSING LEADERS Comp-Att-Int-Yds-TD Timmy Chang (UH) 310-517-18-3576-23 RECEIVING LEADERS Rec-Yds-TD Chad Owens (UH) 76-1017-8 PUNTING No-Yds-Avg-Blk Kurt Milne (UH) 43-1705-39.7-0 PUNT RETURNS No.-Yds-Avg-TD C. Herbert (UH) 19-217-11.4-0 KICKOFF RETURNS No.-Yds-Avg-TD Ross Dickerson (UH) 17-408-24.0-1 LEADING TACKLERS Solo-Ast-Total Ikaika Curnan (UH) 55-35-90 SACKS LEADERS Sacks-Yds Lost Travis LaBoy (UH) 11 (-83) |
