Quotes from Tuesday night

So happy to be WAC champs outright, Solomon Elimimian said:
“It feels good to be WAC champs outright for the first time ever." (AP)

AP Note: "When asked how long he had worn the green, wrinkled shirt, Elimimian said, “like two days.” It looked closer to two weeks, but Elimimian wasn’t taking it off."


About the feeling they have after beating BSU, Colt said:
“It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders and now there’s all this energy and new life." (AP)


About how UH and BSU demonstrate the strength of the top of the WAC, Karl Benson said:
“What Boise State was able to do last year, Hawaii is on the cusp of doing that this year. It demonstrates the strength at the top of the WAC.” (AP)


Benson said that last week's win:
"really validated how good Hawaii is." (AP)


About their success last year when they went 11-3, JJ said:
“The three losses last year were by 18 points. That says a lot. The kids are believing in each other." (AP)


About how they have to run the ball to keep Colt and the UH offense off the field, offensive coordinatory Tim Lappano said:
"We've got to be able to run the football. It's really important that we're able to run the football and manage the clock. You're not going to be able to shut them out. You try to slow them down, and I don't think anybody has done that, that I'm aware of. So it's really important that we stay on the field and convert third downs." (HN)

HN Note: "Locker needs 90 yards against Hawaii to reach 1,000, which would give Washington two 1,000-yard rushers for the first time in school history. He and Louis Rankin would also be just the fourth 1,000-yard tandem in Pacific-10 Conference history.

If Rankin and Locker, who rank fourth and sixth in the Pac-10 in rushing yards per game, can run the ball successfully, that will leave less time for Warriors quarterback Colt Brennan and his receivers to victimize a struggling UW defense."


Liking the idea of reaching 1000 rushing yards for the season, Jake Locker said:
"If it's something that would help us win, then yeah, that would be awesome." (HN)


About how they will need to score a lot of points to keep up with UH's offense, WR Anthony Russo said:
"We definitely feel we have to step up on offense. They're going to put up some points and some yards, so we need to do the same and stay on the field." (HN)


About practicing in their indoor facility all week to prepare for the warm temperatures in Hawaii, Lappano said:
"That's a good thing, because it's cold out. We'll try. We're going to go in there and rent a couple of space heaters and crank it up a little bit." (HN)


About how he'd like to give 5th-year senior backup QB Carl Bonnell some playing time vs. UH, Lappano said:
"I wanted to play Carl in that Apple Cup, I wish we could have. I'm not saying that we can't play him a little bit against Hawaii. I think he deserves to play one more time before it's all said and done. There's a chance you could see Carl out there a series or two. I don't have any problem with that. I don't think Jake would either." (HN)