Memo to Hawaii Lovers: Strength of Schedule Matters

Enough is enough. 

In the last few days, we've seen every Strength of Schedule-ignoring, sandal-wearing Hawaii apologist under the island sun show up at Bleacher Report, crying out that the Warriors deserve BCS title consideration.

It's time somebody said something.

If I run into one more Kool-Aid drinking nut who thinks that the team that barely put away a Nevada-Reno Wolfpack squad that may as well have had Lieutenant Dangle calling the plays on Friday night should be playing in New Orleans in January, my head might explode. 

Before this rant spins out of control, let's take a moment to respond to Ryan Fritsche's article, titled, Memo to Hawaii Haters: Beware the Warriors. 

Ryan writes...

"What is it about the University of Hawaii that turns off the human voters and the computers?"

Should be obvious, but we'll get to that in a second. 

"Is it the Polynesian heritage?" 

Why even suggest that? Did anyone suggest that LSU got shut out of the BCS title game a few years back because of their Creole heritage?

Or—to bring up a team that everyone is comparing to Hawaii this year—did anyone suggest that Boise State got shut out of the title game last year because of their potato-farming heritage?  

Methinks no.  The Polynesian comment is just another way to build a wall of excuses for why Hawaii gets not respect when it comes down to one simple fact—which I'll address in just a moment.

"Is it blond-haired boy wonder Colt Brennan?" 

Colt seems like a nice kid.  And perhaps a better QB than Timmy Chang, who put up similarly gaudy numbers for Hawaii against similarly crappy competition a few years back. 

In fact, I'm pulling for Colt and think he deserves some Heisman consideration in a crowded and confusing year for the award (which it wouldn't be if Tim Tebow weren't looking to get shut out because of his sophomore status—you wanna talk about unfair standards, look no further than Tebow.) 

So why would having a standout QB running up the score against soft defenses be held against a team's national title hopes? Could it be something to do with a schedule full of crappy teams and no quality opponents to speak of? 

I think we may be getting close here, but let's take a look at one final question from Ryan:

"Or is it the fact that the WAC gets no love whatsoever?"

To be honest—and to steal a quote from Wet Hot American Summer—it is, and it isn't.

It's not that the WAC gets no love. It's the fact that the WAC hasn't made itself deserving of any love. It's the fact that Hawaii's opponents—a collection of mostly WAC bottom feeders combined with a couple D1-AA teams to boot—are a combined 29-76. 

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