Hawaii came into the 2010 Hawaii Bowl on its home field with the nation's No. 1 passing offense, 8th-best total offense, and 9th-best passing efficiency offense against Tulsa and the nation's 119th-worst passing defense, and 101st-worst passing efficiency defense.
But the obvious advantage did not mean diddly-squat against Tulsa as the Hawaii Warriors committed 6 first-half turnovers that led to 24 Golden Hurricane points and an eventual 62-35 upset victory by Tulsa over the nation's 24th-ranked Warriors.
Tulsa found its mojo with an aggressive pass-rush defense that allowed its linebackers to drop back in coverage and negate Hawaii's high-powered passing offense.
A record night by Warrior receiver Greg Salas went wasted. Silas had 13 receptions for a career-high 214 yards and 2 touchdowns, and finished with career marks for receptions (285) and yards (4,345). He also scored 26 career touchdowns.
The real story turned out to be Tulsa's Damaris Johnson, who gained a career-high 326 all-purpose yards to break the NCAA career record. Johnson rushed for 98 yards and scored once on 5 carries (19+ average per carry), caught 4 passes for 101 yards and another touchdown, had 5 kickoff returns for 109 yards, and added an 18-yard punt return.
After leading at the half, 27-14, Johnson had two big plays as Tulsa scored 3 times in the 3rd quarter to also win the second half, 35-21, and the game, 62-35. Johnson had a 59-yard reception and a 67-yard TD run that put Tulsa up, 41-28, and the game away.
Darmaris Johnson is a junior that now has 7,796 all-purpose yards, breaking the NCAA record of 7,764 set by Western Michigan's Brandon West. Johnson was named Most Valuable Player for the Hawaii Bowl, and his performance increased his nation-leading all-purpose average from 192 to 202 yards (rounded figures).
Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz threw 3 TD passes but also gave up 4 interceptions in the defeat. Hawaii finished the season at 10-4; Tulsa was 10-3.
"We shot ourselves in the foot (with) . . . too many turnovers," said Greg Salas.
Hawaii actually piled up more yards than Tulsa (550 to 531), but Tulsa had the ball on offense less time (26+ to 33+ minutes) yet scored 62 points - averaging better than 2.3+ points per minute possession.
In other words, Hawaii simply could not stop Damaris Johnson and Tulsa's scoring offense, which was rated 10th-best nationally. Hawaii had the 9th-best offense coming into the game, but you would never know it the way the Warriors played.
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