Quotes from Monday morning

About how he's just focused on winning and isn't going to worry about the rankings or BCS, JJ said:
"Nothing that anyone else says has meant anything to us. We knew from the beginning that if we didn't win every game, Colt (Brennan) would have no chance for the Heisman, and we would have no chance for the big dance." (HSB)


About how he didn't vote UH #1, former UH football coach Bob Wagner said:
"I'm probably a little more objective than some people think I should be." (HSB)


About how he moved UH "way up" after they beat BSU but wasn't the one who voted UH #1, former UH AD Hugh Yoshida said:
"I'm very happy for the team, but I have to keep a little bit of credibility." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Another panelist who lives in Hawaii, Star-Bulletin sports writer Cindy Luis, said she voted the Warriors at No. 9."


About whether or not the Fiesta Bowl (HF used to be a Fiesta Bowl director and chairman) would pick UH or leave UH for the Sugar Bowl's last choice), Karl Benson said:
"(Frazier's) got great relationships there, but the Fiesta Bowl will do what's best for the Fiesta Bowl. Right now I think the BCS takes care of itself, and there's no lobbying to do there. It's a matter of which bowl believes that Hawaii's the best team for it." (HSB)


About how he hasn't picked which WAC teams would be in which bowl, Benson said:
"We predicate everything on trying to match up with the best possible opponents. And there's still a lot of uncertainty, especially if Hawaii loses." (HSB)


About the possibility of losing UH to a BCS Bowl, Hawaii Bowl honcho Jim Donovan said:
"We're hoping (the Warriors) go to the BCS. We want them to win that one remaining game." (HA)


About how beating Washington should give UH a 95% chance of making the final top 12 in the BCS, Sam Chi (BCSguru.com) said:
"If Hawai'i beats Washington that should be enough. I'd put it at about 95 percent. It should be a near slam-dunk now." (HA)

"The only scenario I can see for the Warriors not to get into the BCS is this: LSU beats Tennessee, Oklahoma beats Missouri and Boston College beats Virginia Tech, Hawai'i wins a sloppy game against Washington, or at least the final score is very close." (HA)


Last week Chi wrote on BCSguru:
"The Warriors, at No. 15, may have already climbed to the top of Mauna Kea and can't go any higher." (HA)


Estimating a 90% chance for UH if it beats Washington, Jerry Palm (CollegeBCS.com), Palm had warned last month:
"Hawai'i's schedule is so bad that they might not crack the top 15 in the computers, even at 12-0." (HA)


About how Boston College or Tennessee could jump over UH in the BCS standings, Palm said:
"If either Boston College (over Virginia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship) or Tennessee (over LSU in the Southeastern Conference championship) wins, but Virginia Tech or LSU stays above (UH) anyway. I'm not saying Virginia Tech or LSU would definitely not fall below them, just that they might not." (HA)


About how beating UH would make their season, Washington coach Tyrone Willingham said:
“We’ve got an opportunity to go play a football team that gives us an opportunity to recover some of the things that we’ve lost this year. We’ve got an opportunity to play a football game in December. When you start playing in December, usually good things are happening, and we want to start recognizing that.” (Tacoma News Tribune)


About wanting to win the UH game for UW's seniors, QB Jake Locker said the UH game will be:
"a chance to send the seniors out right. There are a lot of really good relationships on this team. Everybody really cares about each other. So I think it will be important for us to send those guys out on the right note." (Seattle Times)


About the last time UH played Washington, former UH assistant coach and current President and General Manager of KGMB-TV Rich Blangiardi said:
"Back then (in Seattle in 1973), we turned on the TV and Jimmy the Greek, who was doing telecasts, said we were 50-point underdogs. That was the way people viewed it." (HA)


About how he feels UH will get into the BCS if they finish 12-0, Karl Benson said:
"They need to finish the way they have started." (HA)

Asked if there would be any way for UH not to make it into the BCS if they beat Washington, Benson said:
"Absolutely not." (HSB)

Benson added that:
"having back-to-back BCS (entrants) would validate the fact the WAC has established itself as a major player in college football." (HA)


About how it is harder to schedule teams now for UH, Karl Benson said:
“We’ve seen coaches make the decision that they would just as soon play 12 and not play that extra game. I know that the University of Hawaii went through scheduling challenges. … I think the decision that the Pac-10 made to play nine conference games is going to have an effect on our ability to schedule the Pac-10.” (Tacoma News Tribune)


About how Hawaii fans travel well, Karl Benson said:
"Hawaii has historically had a great fan following when they play on the mainland. This year when they played UNLV in Las Vegas, they had 12-15,000 fans there and maybe only 2,000 made the trip from the state of Hawaii." (NY Sun)


About how Colt makes it easy for fans to cheer for UH, Benson said:
"Colt Brennan is a cult figure. It would be easy for fans to adopt Hawaii for the day. Put on an aloha shirt and go to the Superdome and root for the underdog." (NY Sun)