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Hawai'i Football Heads To Vanderbilt For The 2023 Season Opener In Nashville, Tennessee

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Football

The University of Hawai'i football team opens the 2023 season with a road game at Vanderbilt of the Southeastern Conference, this Saturday, (August 26th) at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn.

The season marks Year 2 of the Timmy Chang era and the return of the Run-and-Shoot offense that Chang made famous during his playing career with the Rainbow Warriors. The game will be televised nationally on the SEC Network.

SERIES VS VANDERBILT 
Series Information: VAN leads 1-0
            In Honolulu: VAN leads 1-0
            In Nashville: First meeting

GAME STORYLINES

  • This week's season-opening road game at Vanderbilt will mark just the fifth time in program history that UH will play an SEC team on the road and first since the 2008 season-opener at Florida (UH lost 56-10).
  • UH has a 3-3 all-time record in Week 0 including a 2-2 mark on the road which includes wins at UMass (2017) and at Colorado State (2018).
  • Hawai'i opens on the road in Week 0 for the fifth time since 2016 and UH will open the season away from home for the sixth time in the last eight seasons.
  • UH is 3-10-1 all-time against current SEC teams, including 0-4 on the road.
  • Hawai'i is 63-38-5 (.618) all-time in season openers, including a 7-7 mark on the road (includes 2016 game vs. Cal in Sydney, Australia).
  • UH has dropped its last two season openers after winning the previous four.
  • UH will travel 4,340 air miles (8,680 round trip) for this week's trip to Nashville, Tenn. In contrast, Vanderbilt will travel approximately 3,154 total miles (6,308 RT) for its six road trips this season. Hawai'i's six road trips this season will total 37,720 round trip air miles.
  • Hawai'i and Vanderbilt met for the first time in last year's season opener with the Commodores winning 63-10 in Honolulu. Vandy led 21-10 at halftime and out-scored the Warriors 42-0 in the second half, including 35-0 in the third quarter.
  • Head coach Timmy Chang begins his second season leading his alma mater in 2023. This season, Chang has implemented the Run-and-Shoot offense and will be the primary offensive play-caller. Chang set numerous NCAA, Western Athletic Conference, and school records during his playing career (2000-04) within the offense and finished as the NCAA's all-time leader in passing yards, total offense, and passing touchdowns.
  • Chang was the play-caller and offensive coordinator at both Jackson State (2014-15) and Emory & Henry (2016), where he ran the Run-and-Shoot.
  • UH famously ran the Run-and-Shoot with notable success from 1999-2011 and again from 2018-19. During those years, UH ranked No. 1 nationally in passing TDs (564) and 300-yard passing games (143) and was No. 2 in passing yards per game (354.6) and No. 6 in scoring offense (33.6).
  • UH returns 13 starters (4-offense, 7-defense, 2-special teams) and lost 11 starters from a season ago. Among the returning starters include QB Brayden Schager and honorable mention all-Mountain West selections DL John Tuitupou, RB Tylan Hines, and DB Peter Manuma.
  • UH's all-time record in the month of August is 7-9 (Division I era).
  • Chang and Vanderbilt's Clark Lea are among a group of 18 FBS head coaches currently heading their alma mater.
  • UH enters the contest with a six-game road losing streak.