Forget the run-and-shoot offense.
Sure, Hawaii is still going to throw it around this year, even without Colt Brennan or any experienced quarterback. The Warriors will probably find a way to score their usual 40-plus points, but the offensive side of the ball is not where the identity of this year's squad may be.
This time it's all about the defense.
"(Our linebackers) and our front seven are the strength of our team," Hawaii coach Greg McMackin said.
That's where the Warriors return most of their players, and while you were busy watching Brennan throw the ball in four- and five-receiver sets, Hawaii actually had five players who made the 2007 All-Western Athletic Conference first team.
Linebackers Adam Leonard (105 tackles, four interceptions and two touchdown returns) and Solomon Elimimian (145 tackles, 1.5 sacks and three pass breakups) are leaders of one of the more experienced groups in the nation.
McMackin, the defensive coordinator last season, took the full reins after former coach June Jones left to coach at Southern Methodist.
McMackin said the offense would stay the same, and you can't blame him. The Warriors' offensive production has been among the most explosive in the nation with quarterbacks and receivers putting up ridiculous numbers. But McMackin's defensive knowledge is where he can make his mark on this team.
"Definitely it was a little bit more physical this year in camp than it has been before," Leonard said. "He's a defensive-minded coach, and he loves that part of the game.
"As far as the defense, the media will put a spin on it that our defense wasn't strong the past couple years, but we didn't get the attention just because of the great athletes we had on offense."
He wasn't kidding about the great athletes. Even in the WAC, Hawaii has a reputation for developing playmakers. Brennan and Timmy Chang, also a quarterback, come to mind.
Now, however, the Warriors don't have that experience. Besides Brennan, they also lost their top four receivers. Brent Rausch was named the starting quarterback recently, but a right bicep injury has his status in question.
In other words, Hawaii won't be in unison with its offensive weapons as much as it usually is. Leonard has confidence in his players, but admitted "they may not catch their stride in the first game or the second."
"They just have to continue to get reps," McMackin said. "We've been going against each other. Now we need game reps. We'll find out. We're playing, I think, one of the top two teams in the country. So we're going to find out where we are."
When the Warriors ended their Cinderella 2007 season in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia, they didn't look like they knew where they were. A more physical and talented Bulldogs team quickly pounded on Hawaii.
"We were a little star-struck," McMackin said. "I've been to a lot of bowl games - Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl. The atmosphere at that game was unbelievable, a lot because of our fans. It was really a Super Bowl-type atmosphere. We never really got going. That's something we will have learned. We have to go and be ready to play from the start. There's going to be a lot of people (at The Swamp), but we've played in front of a lot of people."
And there's that Tim Tebow guy they have to prepare for.
"My motto always was, 'If you want to be the best, you have to play the best,'" Leonard said. "To go down there and play in one of the hardest places in the country, I'm just excited."
