The University of Hawaii football team will try to accomplish something it hasn’t in 34 years on Saturday, and quite a few people think the Warriors have a good chance to make it happen.
Stanford is favored to beat Hawaii, with Vegas spreads peaking at 5.5 points. But some have adjusted recently to as low as 3.5 — meaning at least some of the smart money has moved in early on a perceived bargain. Plus, recent head-to-head history favors UH, with its 23-20 victory last year, at home.
Those last two words, “at home,” are key. Also, more than ever, there are fewer givens going into the start of the season. Who knows? Before kickoff, one of these teams might find a key player from the high school class of 2022 who didn’t get his fifth year, and a friendly judge.
Back to that thing UH hasn’t achieved since coach Timmy Chang was around the age of the kids playing in the Little League World Series: The last time Hawaii started its season with a road victory against a team from a power conference was 1992.
Since that 24-21 win at Oregon under coach Bob Wagner, UH has lost six season openers as guests of power conference teams: 1998 at Arizona, 2006 at Alabama, 2008 at Florida, 2012 at USC, 2021 at UCLA and 2023 at Vanderbilt. (In the same time span, UH is 5-8 in home openers against power conference teams).
These were just bad matchups with lopsided scores in most cases, but not always. The 2006 game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., ended with the Tide winning 25-17, but not before withstanding a furious second-half UH rally that ended with Colt Brennan throwing a pass into the ’Bama end zone — which was nearly caught by Jason Rivers.
Some people, me included, believe the 2006 team that went 11-3 (the other two losses both also by one score) was as good as or better than the 2007 squad that went 12-1.
And some say that ’92 team was the best in program history. There certainly is a case for it.
The ’Bows followed up the win at Oregon with another at Air Force, 6-3. Then UH went to 2-0 in the WAC with a home-opening 36-32 win over BYU.
Hawaii finished 11-2 (losses at Utah and San Diego State, featuring Marshall Faulk). The WAC-champion ’Bows won their last four games, including a 27-17 Holiday Bowl victory over Illinois.
John Veneri, the radio voice of the Warriors, was a sophomore slotback and special teams player in ’92.
“We were always confident, no matter what. It was a quiet confidence. We didn’t care who we played, but given a choice we wanted the challenge and to show that we can beat anyone,” Veneri said. “(Oregon’s) not the easiest place to play at. Then we came home and played at Air Force.”
That 1992 win at Oregon belongs in the pantheon of other big road upsets like Nebraska in 1955 at Washington in 1973. Like the ‘92 Ducks, the Huskers and Huskies of those seasons did not go on to have great seasons indicative of their brand names. Starting with an upset home loss might have played a part in that, right?
In Hawaii, the 1992 football wins at Oregon and Air Force were overshadowed by much more serious news closer to home. People were preoccupied with preparations for and recovery from Iniki, the most powerful hurricane to hit the islands in recorded history.
The 2026 Warriors have something the 1992 team did not: momentum, at least in the win-loss column. When UH faces Stanford on Saturday, the ’Bows come off a 9-4 season, including a Hawaii Bowl win over Cal to finish the year. Stanford also beat its rival in the Big Game, but then lost to Notre Dame to finish with a 4-8 record under interim coach Frank Reich.
The Cardinal are in transition, but so are the Warriors, on defense, special teams and at receiver. But UH has a stable coaching staff.
“These days, when you have new players jump in, they might be new to the program, but not new to the (college) game, and some can make an immediate impact,” Veneri said. “Back then you grew into the program.”
Will these Warriors do Saturday what six other editions that had the chance since 1992 did not?
“I think this team has something about it,” Veneri said. “But we won’t know until we see them play.”
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