University of Hawai'i at Manoa Athletics

Postgame Notes
Hawai‘i at Arizona
Aug. 30, 2025
Arizona Stadium  –  Tucson, Ariz. 
 
GAME CAPTAINS

• Peter Manuma, Zhen Sotelo, Elijah Palmer, Virdel Edwards II, Nick Cenacle

 
SERIES INFORMATION

• Arizona leads the series, 6-1, including a 3-0 mark in Tucson.
• The teams last met in Tucson in 2016, with the Wildcats winning 47-28. The schools also met in Tucson in 1952.

 
UH VERSUS THE BIG 12

• The game marked UH’s second-ever against a Big 12 opponent having previously played Colorado in 2010 (L, 13-31 in Boulder, Colo.).

 
UH VERSUS THE AUTONOMOUS FOUR

• UH has dropped 10 of its last 11 games against Autonomous Four teams. (UH defeated BYU in 2019 and Houston in ‘20 when both were not in Power Conferences)
• Timmy Chang dropped to 1-7 all-time against Autonomous Four conference teams.

 
TEAM STREAKS/TRENDS

• UH has lost seven straight non-conference road games. Its last non-conference road win was at New Mexico State in 2021.
• Hawai‘i has lost 16 of its last 17 games on national television dating back to 2021.

 
INDIVIDUAL STREAKS/TRENDS

• Pofele Ashlock has caught a pass in all 26 games he has played in.
• Micah Alejado threw his first career collegiate interception with a third-quarter pick. The redshirt was clean in his first 136 career attempts dating back to last season.
• In all, it was his first career interception since his junior year at Bishop Gorman High School (Nov 11, 2022), a streak spanning 1,023 days, 18 games, and 347 attempts.
• Alejado also suffered his first loss in his last 27 starts (3 collegiate) dating back to his junior year at Bishop Gorman High School, with a span of 1,100 days since his last loss (Aug. 26, 2022) as a starter. 

TEAM NOTES

• UH failed to score a touchdown for the first time since a 35-0 loss to San Jose State in 2023.
• The team was also shutout in the second half for the first time since a home loss to nationally ranked Boise State in October of last season.
• UH turned the ball over five times against Arizona and has six giveaways to one takeaway through the first two games.
• UH has a combined 10 turnovers in its last two road games. UH also had five turnovers in its final road game of 2024 at Utah State.
• The UH defense has limited its first two opponents to just 270 yards (135.0 per game) and one passing TD.
• UH surrendered five sacks against Arizona and coughed up a sack fumble for the second straight game.
• UH’s all-time record in the month of August moved to 9-12 (Division I era).
• Arizona recorded six explosive plays (20-yards or more) against UH ranging from offense (pass, rush), defense (interception return) to special teams (punt return). Last week Stanford had just one play that went better than 20 yards.

 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Kansei Matsuzawa tied a career-long with a 41-yard field goal as the first half expired.
• Matsuzawa, who also hit a 34-yarder in the first quarter, went 2-of-2 on the day and is a perfect 5-5 for the season.
• Jackie Johnson III his first sack of the year with a 9-yard takedown of Noah Fifita in the third quarter. Johnson co-led UH in sacks last year with 5.0.
• De’Jon Benton recorded his first career sack as a Rainbow Warrior in the fourth quarter.
• Micah Alejado went 18-of-31 for 157 yards and an interception before exiting with five minutes left in the third quarter. It was the first time in his last four games – including the last three starts – that he did not throw a touchdown pass.
• In his first extensive action as a Rainbow Warrior, Luke Weaver went 8-of-16 for 66 yards and had two interceptions, while adding 17 yards on the ground.
• Two Rainbow Warriors made their first career start – sophomore transfer Jackson Harris at wide receiver and grad transfer Qwyn Williams at nose tackles.
• Harris recorded two catches for 21 yards, while Williams logged one tackle.
• Redshirt freshman receiver Tama Uiliata set career-highs in both receptions (4) and receiving yards (37), while senior Karsyn Pupunu tallied a career-high three receptions.