Hawaii, an Old but Not Notable Series

Aztec games against Hawaii are among the four oldest of the current rivalries, beginning in 1938. But for some reason, in my mind it’s not one of our most memorable series. It may sound like a romantic vacation trip, but not for a football trip, especially with red-eye flights back home after the game, or playing in a monsoon, when they use what looks like a huge Zamboni to suck rainwater off the field!

The 1985 game at Hawaii was played in a monsoon (photos by Ernie Anderson)

OK, we lead the series, 16-9-2. And in games played there, we lead 8-6-2. So we have played there a lot more times than here. I think it was in the WAC when we had to play three out of four there. From 1982 to 1985, we played four in a row in the islands.

Our longest winning streak was from 1990 to 1998 – nine straight wins and then the series stopped. Two more games were played, in 2002 and 2005. Both were in Aloha Stadium. Both were losses in high-scoring games.

The Aztecs’ first bowl win and only New Year’s Day game was January 1, 1952, when we beat Hawaii, 34-13, in the Pineapple Bowl, capping Coach Bill Schutte’s great 10-0-1 season. 

1951 Aztecs: Pineapple Bowl Champs

My best memories: the way Marshall Faulk flat-out owned them. In three games, 1991-93 – two there – Marshall piled up 687 yards rushing. Best of the three games was his 300 yards here in 1992, the same year he ran for 299 at BYU. But that was probably a BYU stat keeper’s effort to keep him short of 300 yards, which would sound even worse!

Marshall Faulk gaining some of his 212 rushing yards at Hawaii in 1991
(photo by Ernie Anderson)

Obviously, in those wild games Marshall had a lot of dramatic long runs. But there was one short run that still is etched in my memory. I may not have the yards exactly right but we were inside the 10 at Hawaii. Marshall took the handoff and there was nothing there, no hole, nothing you could see. But with magic steps and moves and determination, he managed somehow to score a TD. It was a sight to see!

Those were happy memories for me, but trips to the islands also hold sad memories for me. After a 10-10 tie there in the final game of the 1985 season, Coach Doug Scovil was fired. Fired on the plane home! He asked Wayne Ambler to arrange for a private room when we stopped in San Francisco, so he could have a team meeting to tell them personally. Unexpectedly, I was invited in, so I can tell you it was a class act by a very honorable man.

Then in 2005, 20 years later, after losing the final game of the season at Hawaii, Tom Craft was terminated.

That’s all history – happy or sad. What matters now, in tomorrow night’s game in Hawaii, the Aztecs are determined to run their record to 6-4, clinching bowl eligibility… and have a happy plane ride home, even if it is a red-eye!

GO AZTECS!