Scouting the Warriors

Last year

Hawaii went 12-1 and 8-0 in the WAC. Hawaii's only loss was a 41-10 throttling by Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Hawaii's biggest win was a 39-27 win at Boise St.

Tradition

The Warriors don't have much of a tradition. Hawaii has won three conference titles since joining the Western Athletic Conference in 1979. Hawaii has only had seven All-Americans, the first being defensive end Al Noga, who was the school's first Heisman Trophy candidate in 1986.

Recruiting

Hawaii's incoming recruiting class is highlighted by a pair of junior college quarterbacks. They are Greg Alexander, a four-star recruit from Santa Rosa, Calif., and Brent Rausch, a three-star recruit from Palm Desert, Calif. A pair of three-star junior college wide receivers in Dustin Blount, from Compton, Calif., and Jovonte Taylor, of Los Angeles, also signed.

How UH can win

The Warriors must learn from last year's Sugar Bowl and find a way to block faster, more athletic defensive ends they normally don't see in the WAC. If they can't, they'll be in for a long, loud afternoon in The Swamp. Hawaii also must hope they can attack Florida's defense in the same way teams like Georgia, Michigan and Auburn did last year. The Warriors' best chance to stop Tim Tebow might be to keep him off the field.

Worry about this guy

Senior middle linebacker Solomon Elimimian. A three-year starter, Elimimian was picked as the preseason defensive player of the year in the WAC after ranking 14th nationally with 10.9 tackles per game in 2007. His 313 career tackles are the seventh most in WAC history and 130 shy of tying the all-time mark of 443 set by Robert Rodriguez of UTEP from 2001-04.

Coachspeak

"I hear it's a great place. Big-time college football. The crowd. All of that stuff. I think it will be exciting for our guys. The only thing we've done is go over to our stadium and turned on the speakers for crowd noise. That's what we've done to try to simulate it. We won't experience it until we're there."

- Hawaii coach Greg McMackin on playing at The Swamp

Top 5 NFL products

5. Ashley Lelie — Lelie was drafted in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos and currently plays for San Francisco. The wide receiver has posted 3,143 yards and 13 touchdowns in six seasons.

4. Maa Tanuvasa — This defensive end was a staple for the Denver Broncos' 1997 and '98 Super Bowl champion teams.

3. Jesse Sapolu — An offensive lineman, Sapolu won four Super Bowl titles with the San Francisco 49ers. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1993 and '94.

2. Mark Tuinei — This offensive lineman was a two-time pro bowler and three-time Super Bowl champion with the Dallas Cowboys.

1. Jason Elam — The kicker scored the third-most points in NCAA history in his four years at Hawaii. A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Elam won two Super Bowl rings with the Denver Broncos. He also tied Tom Dempsey for the longest field goal in NFL history at 63 yards.