Remember when Hawai’i was the full embodiment of joy in college football? The Rainbow Warriors gained a cult following in the early 2000s behind coach June Jones’ all-out spread passing attack, and quarterbacks Timmy Chang and Colt Brennan rewrote the NCAA record books.

The 2007 team in particular captured the hearts of fans around the country. In the most chaotic season of the most chaotic sport, the Warriors emerged as the only undefeated team at the end of the regular season. Brennan set records for career touchdown passes, and even the BCS’s old school skepticism of smaller conferences couldn’t help but put them in the Sugar Bowl*.

*As a Georgia fan, I’m obligated to point out that the monster defense Hawai’i met in that game probably would’ve won the national title if a four or twelve team playoff existed at the time.

Jones abruptly left for SMU at the end of that triumphant season, and the island magic seemed to fade away with him. With a few bowl appearances sprinkled in, the program has been through it – the whole Norm Chow thing, playing in a high school stadium while state budget cuts delayed renovations to their home turf, the Todd Graham era culture getting bad enough to require a state legislature session, you get it.

Chang, who still sits third in the NCAA career passing yardage leaders, returned as head coach following Graham’s dismissal, but the Rainbow Warriors still hadn’t seemed to capture any momentum in the new era of college football. With an 8-15 record, Chang had seemingly burned through the goodwill he earned as a program legend and was beginning to face talk of a warm, if not outright hot, seat.

Well, at least until this year. All the pieces have clicked in Honolulu, and the Warriors are actually good – and already bowl eligible for the first time since 2020. On Friday night, Hawai’i throttled G5 playoff contender San Diego State 38-6, and could very well leap the Aztecs into a spot in the Mountain West championship game.

Among the hidden gems unearthed by the staff to propel this season are two specialists with fascinating backstories.

First, a quick bit of trivia. Do you know who holds the NCAA record for most field goal makes in a season with no misses? 

…

Ah, you were so close! It’s Tulane’s Cairo Santos, now with the Chicago Bears, who went a perfect 21 of 21 for the Green Wave in 2012.

Well, at least until this year. Hawai’i kicker Kansei Matsuzawa – who grew up in Japan and learned how to kick by watching YouTube videos, seriously – is now a perfect 22/22 with (at least) three games remaining, including a walk off winner in the first game of the year against Stanford.

Another Rainbow Warrior who didn’t grow up playing (American) football is punter Billy Gowers. Gowers, like many top punters in college, was a prominent Australian Rules Football player – appearing across three different seasons for this author’s favorite team, the Western Bulldogs – before he was cut in 2020 and opened a barber shop in Melbourne. Hawai’i has utilized his unique skillset – true to his AFL background, Gowers can punt with both legs and is not at all afraid of being tackled – en route to his name appearing on the Ray Guy watchlist.

There’s no straightforward way to win at Hawai’i. Located thousands of miles away from even the closest conference opponents, still playing in a stadium that barely holds 15,000 fans, off-the-beaten-path is the norm for these teams. And, at least for this year, joy is back on the islands for Saturday night kickoffs.

No. 5 Georgia 41, Mississippi State 21

It looked like Georgia was going to continue the trend of not waking up until sometime in the second half, but instead the Dawgs stepped on the gas as soon as the first quarter ended – going on a 38-0 run to notch their first truly comfortable win since September.

If we’re grading playoff contenders on their experience playing in adverse conditions, Georgia certainly goes to the top of the heap. It’s still not clear if they have the top-end gear to play this way against the other elite teams, but this was the most encouraging sign in awhile that it exists.

No. 6 Ole Miss 49, Citadel 0

The most interesting thing that happened in this game was Lane Kiffin photobombing an on-field proposal. 

Two notes here: 

No. 3 Texas A&M 38, No. 22 Missouri 17

The Aggies unleashed a furious pass rush on Mizzou’s freshman fill-in quarterback Matt Zollers, holding him to a miserable 7/22 passing line with two strip sacks thrown in for good measure. There is some cause for concern, as the A&M defense continued a worrying trend by allowing the Tigers to run for over 200 yards even without a semblance of a passing threat. That feels like more of a January problem than anything, but the Aggies have all but locked up a playoff bid, so January problems are coming to the forefront.

No. 16 Vanderbilt 45, Auburn 38 (OT)

Auburn looked like a completely different team, with the offense putting up its best performance in literal years while the stout defense took a massive step back with coordinator Dj Durkin taking over interim coach duties.

Add this one to the pile of things really are different now, because I’ve seen Vanderbilt lose this exact game at least 20 times in my life. A Commodore team that can trip over its own feet multiple times and still win a conference game is something brand new for all of us.

No. 4 Alabama 20, LSU 9

Unlike Auburn, no real interim coach bump for the Tigers. Alabama still can't run the ball, which has to will eventually catch up to them, but not when the opposing offense is as inept as this LSU unit. Maybe the Louisiana governor should try out calling plays next week, he’s inserted himself into every other aspect of the football team.

Kentucky 38, Florida 7

We don’t like to use the Q-word very often, but this Florida team has well and truly quit. The Thanksgiving weekend tilt against Florida State might be the saddest matchup in that particular rivalry’s history, with both teams on the brink of missing a bowl game.

No. 2 Indiana 27, Penn State 24

Two insane things from this game, on the same play:

First of all, THAT CATCH. Recency bias is a thing, but given the degree of difficulty and importance to the final result, this might be the best catch in the last decade of college football? If you can think of a better one, leave it in the comments below.

Second, please hit play on that clip again, close your eyes, and just listen to the unhinged chaos of the Gus Johnson call. Gus isn’t for everyone, and I get it, but I’d so much rather have this energy to meet that moment than 95% of the other broadcasters out there.

No. 9 Oregon 18, No. 20 Iowa 16

Iowa historically makes good teams play like they’re Iowa, an undeniable feather in the cap of Kirk Ferentz and a big reason why Kinnick Stadium has been the site of so many top ten upsets. Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, Oregon coach Dan Lanning is a certified crazy person and absolutely loves to get punched in the mouth and swing back. This Oregon team is built differently than Ducks squads of the past, and should really be thought of in the top tier of title contenders this year.

UConn 37, Duke 34

Only here for the potential playoff ripple effect: Duke, now 5-4, still has a clear path to win the ACC title. If the Blue Devils – who now HAVE LOSSES TO CONNECTICUT AND TULANE – win the conference, it’s entirely possible the ACC could miss the playoff entirely.

To clarify, the five highest-ranked conference champions are guaranteed playoff bids. Understandably, everyone assumes that means all the power conference champions are guaranteed bids, but that’s not quite true. In this scenario, it’s plausible for the Sub Belt’s James Madison and the winner of the American Conference – like, say, the Tulane team that beat Duke earlier this year – to be ranked higher than the Blue Devils. Congratulations, you now have an ACC rooting interest down the stretch.

Tulane 38, Memphis 32

Oh hey, we were just talking about you, Tulane. The Green Wave survived a furious fourth quarter comeback bid to get back in the driver’s seat for an American Conference title game appearance and that potential playoff spot.

FCS: No. 1 North Dakota State 15, No. 15 North Dakota 10

NDSU, previously seen beating rival and fellow title favorite South Dakota State by 31, trailed for maybe the first time all year in the fourth quarter. The Bison needed a late touchdown and a desperate interception in the final seconds to close this one out. Maybe the FCS title race isn’t as set in stone as previously thought…

FCS: No. 2 Montana 29, Eastern Washington 24

Because maybe the entire subdivision has just gone nuts this year. Undefeated Montana survived on, well, you just need to see it for yourself:

I’m not sure who put out the memo this season that teams need to throw to the big boys more often, but we love to see it. Truly sad that The Piesman Trophy no longer exists in an official capacity, because this would be a great year for it.