11pm MT on a Thursday night in Honolulu against a team the Buffs beat 21-12 at home last season.
Last year in its opening 2 games, the Rainbow Warriors:
Game 1: Lost to Washington, 17-16. Huskies led 17-10 at half and were dominated in the 2nd half. Hawaii just couldn't score enough. Hawaii had a 26-19 lead in 1st downs and a 424 to 336 lead in yards.
Game 2: Lost to Oregon State, 38-30. Down 31-7 in 1st half and 38-7 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Hawaii dominated the 4th quarter, but couldn't close.
At CU, that 21-12 Hawaii loss was a 21-6 halftime lead with Hawaii again adjusting and stoning a Pac-12 opponent in the 2nd half.
Biggest changes for Hawaii in 2015 are in the trenches. Pretty much everyone returns at the offensive skill positions (including 2 QBs that may have been the starter if they'd been healthy) and the linebacking corp is stout. But the OL lost 4 starters and the DL may not have the bodies to form a 2-deep.
A P5 program should dominate a game like this at the LOS. But will CU be a team that can do that even with all the returning players and reinforcements that came in on its lines? Will CU be able to step up on the road against an opponent that regularly plays its best with a ton of pride and intensity at home? Is the wonky game time another issue -- we see a lot of upsets on Thursday nights?
Do you think Hawaii is talking about how close CU was against Oregon State, Utah, UCLA and Cal?