The game will kick off at 10 p.m. ET, but that’s a noon kick in Australia.
Advertisement
Hawaii’s Rainbow Warriors stretch during a training run at a field in Sydney, Australia, Friday, Aug. 26, 2016. The contest will mark the first college football game to ever be played in Sydney and the first in Australia since games in Melbourne in 1985 and 1987.
The first full weekend of games is next week, but the season officially kicks off Friday night when Cal takes on Hawaii in.
SYDNEY (AP) After three seasons at Texas Tech, quarterback Davis Webb made quite an impression in his first game as a graduate transfer at California.
“I had to get him his visa”, Hubbard said. Hawaii, on the other hand, has to play at MI just a week later.
The teams provided plenty of early entertainment for unfamiliar fans, part of a crowd of 61,247 in the 83,500-seat stadium, scoring two touchdowns each by midway through the opening quarter. Jared Goff put up increasingly gaudy numbers in Dykes’ offense, eventually returning Cal to bowling respectability and turning himself into the #1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Nick Rolovich will make his debut as head coach for the Rainbow Warriors, who are coming off a 3-10 campaign in 2015. The Bears took over at Hawaii’s 34 yardline and scored on the first play of the drive: A catch-and-run by Hansen pushed the lead to 27-14.
Hawaii was led by wide receiver Marcus Kemp with four receptions for 73 yards and one TD.
The rain that played havoc with training schedules on Thursday was gone, giving way to a sunny, cool morning at Olympic Park where Hawaii held their final session in the shadow of the stadium that was the centerpiece of the 2000 Olympics. A Rainbow Warriors spokesman said just before the game began that safety Daniel Lewis Jr., linebacker Jerrol Garcia-Williams and tight end Metuisela Unga were not with the team Saturday. When Cal fired their all time winningest coach, Jeff Tedford, after the 2012 season, his replacement, Sonny Dykes, stripped down the program and overhauled the talent to fit his Air Raid offensive scheme. They will be more experienced and deeper this year though cornerback Darius Allensworth is the only returnee who started every game in 2015. Nope, that’s what I thought.
The Rodeo, California-born Woolsey will lead Hawaii’s contingent on Saturday in a familiar pre-game ritual that many Australian rugby fans will recognize. Foot-long hot dogs were big sellers at the outdoor booths, but in keeping with the multicultural nature of western Sydney where the stadium is located, Asian and middle Eastern goods also featured prominently on the menus. Nick Rolovich will coach his first game for the Warriors on Saturday. “I’m excited for what we can do this season”. He played for June Jones in the accelerator-only style passing offense that helped Hawaii to the Sugar Bowl eight years ago. The Golden Bears are 20-point favorites, after most books opened the line at 21. Not Hawaii’s way on Saturday.
The Bears, who have been in Sydney all week, will fly home Saturday and have two weeks to recuperate before visiting San Diego State on September 10. After a bye week, they’ll play the Aztecs at San Diego on September 10.
Advertisement
A tangible reason the offense will be better is that the running game that features a few good running backs and it starts with Paul Harris who was one of eight Mountain West running backs who had 1,132 yards and he is not even listed as the starter as Diocemy Saint Juste is listed as co-starter after sitting out previous year. The Bears were able get a field goal after a UH leaping penalty on a Cal punt allowed the Bears to extend a drive.
