Quotes from the local papers

About how he had to cancel their plans to practice yesterday due to the rain and the Ching Field renovation not being done yet, Mac said:
"I didn't want to tear up the grass. We did have them run and lift. We'll still have three full practices this week." (HA)

About how the players that have been getting a lot of playing time had limited workouts last week, Mac said:
"Even our workouts were more about technique and fundamentals." (HA)

About giving the team Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off, Mac said:
"It was a good thing. There were guys playing with aches and pains. I could probably name three-fourths of the team who had aches and pains they've been fighting through. It's just good to have a week off where they're not getting hit. Really, when you play a game, the hits are not collisions anymore because of the size and the speed of the players. They're like car wrecks." (HA)

John Estes said that the week off helped with his variety of injuries, since it:
"gave me a chance to rest up. I needed that." (HA)

About how he played better against Nevada instead of their back-to-back road games after it, Estes said:
"It showed, in my body being all banged up." (HA)

Kealoha Pilares (who has a foot injury) said that the bye week:
"helped me recover a little bit. I feel good now." (HA)

About how they have to get their intensity back after taking the time off, Mac said:
"That's why I wanted to practice an extra day. I didn't want to lose any timing. That's something you lose by not playing a game. You don't get that game experience. But you also don't get the injuries and the collisions." (HA)

About introducing (going over bios and tendencies) their players to the Idaho players during yesterday's meetings instead of how they normally do that on Tuesday, Mac said:
"Introducing the (Idaho) team is very important. Now we have the game plan ready. We'll have three full days to work on it." (HA)

About how he likes playing both RB and slotback, Pilares aid:
"I guess I have one more game to consider me a slot." ( HA)

About how they need Stanford to beat Cal to become bowl eligible (otherwise, they need UCLA or Arizona State to win their last 2 games), Hawaii Bowl executive director David Matlin said:
"Stanford has the easiest road." (HA)

HA Note: "The Hawai'i Bowl, which has the sixth pick of eligible Pac-10 teams, would also have to hope the Bowl Championship Series doesn't take two teams from the conference, USC and Oregon State. Without Stanford and either UCLA or ASU being bowl eligible, the Pac-10 would not have enough representatives to meet its contractual commitments."

About how BYU beating Utah would help BSU make a BCS game, JD said:
"You won't often catch me rooting for BYU, but in this particular case, I hope the Cougars have a great day." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Donovan's rough estimate put the possible financial impact of a BCS berth for a WAC member at $500,000 for UH, which would receive a share of the bowl payout."

If Utah beats BYU and gets a BCS spot, JD said that BSU's chance of also making a BCS game are:
"not impossible, but very slim." (HSB)

About their bye week, Pilares said:
"It felt kind of weird not having a game this week, just watching all the games on TV. It's kind of boring when football's not there. With that time off, you feel more hungry to play now." (HSB)

About how the bye week helped refresh them for their stretch run, Greg Alexander said:
"It was good to get a week off mentally before these last three games. We know our situation and what we have to do." (HSB)

About how the rest from the bye week should outweigh any potential loss in momentum for them, Mac said:
"We'll get an extra day and it's a matter of making the reads and we'll get good reps in practice. The pluses outweigh the minuses." (HSB)

About how Alexander's improvement makes it more fun for their other players on offense, Greg Salas said:
"He's really getting comfortable back there, making all his reads and everybody's jelling together. You're having so much more fun when everything's clicking. It's definitely exciting and you definitely want to get back out there." (HSB)

Not taking Idaho for granted, Mike Washington said:
"Nothing in life is easy, right now we're taking one step at a time to get ready for Idaho. Regardless of their record or where they might stand in the WAC, we have to take care of our responsibilities." (HSB)

HSB Note: "The UH Board of Regents will be updated on the mediation between the school and Jones at its meeting at Kauai Community College on Friday. UH spokeswoman Carolyn Tanaka said the discussions have been ongoing and a decision is not expected to be announced after the meeting, but said "if we have a final settlement, we will make that public." "