Both walked away from NFL jobs. Kragthorpe coached the Buffalo Bills' quarterbacks before taking over the Hurricane program last season. In signing with UH in December 1998, Jones turned down an offer to remain as head coach of the San Diego Chargers.

Both used their signature offenses to gain immediate success at their new jobs. Kragthorpe, who runs his father's pass-oriented offense featuring two tight ends, helped the Hurricane improve from 1-11 in 2002 to 8-4 last season. Jones, who co-authored the run-and-shoot offense, led the Warriors to a 9-4 record in 1999, a season after they had gone 0-12.

Here's a closer look at this Western Athletic Conference meeting:

Tulsa Offense

SE—84 Montiese Culton, 6-2, 174, Sr.

TE—16 Caleb Blankenship, 6-3, 230, Sr.

LT—56 Aaron Danenhauer, 6-5, 299, So.

LG—71 Matt Black, 6-3, 300, Sr.

C—63 Derek Warehime, 6-1, 292, Sr.

RG—61 Jesse Stoneham, 6-4, 315, Jr.

RT—78 Jeff Perrett, 6-7, 312, So.

TE—20 Garrett Mills, 6-2, 224, Jr.

FL—3 Ashlan Davis, 5-8, 177, Jr.

QB—15 James Kilian, 6-4, 215, Sr.

RB—23 Uril Parrish, 5-9, 202, Jr.

Outlook: The Hurricane's offense is like few others employing two tight ends. Mills and Blankenship are really super-sized slotbacks, aligned wide, in the slot or in the backfield. In the "fly" set, a tight end motions into the backfield for a handoff or, after the snap, zips into the passing lane. For the tight end, it's a legal running start, as long as he doesn't break toward the line of scrimmage before the snap. Even without the head start, the tight ends seek mismatches against thinner defensive backs.

"It's a very unique offense," Mills said. "It exploits our abilities to run routes. We're able to split out or run routes out of the backfield. Hopefully, it's confusing and causes some irritation for the defense."

Kilian, meanwhile, is his own triple-option offense. In a comeback victory over UH last season, Kilian led the Hurricane in passing (106 yards), rushing (115 yards) and receiving (35 yards), catching two passes on throwbacks from wide receivers.

The offensive line averages 305 pounds per blocker, and the "smallest" lineman, Warehime, is the feistiest. The linemen try to hold off defenders with reach blocks and double teams.

Parrish is running at full speed despite undergoing reconstructive surgery on both knees in the past three years.

Tulsa Defense

DE—97 Brandon Lohr, 6-0, 250, Jr.

NG—90 Brandon Jones, 6-2, 258, Fr.

DE—95 Josh Walker, 6-4, 260, Sr.

OLB—41 Nick Bunting, 6-1, 225, So.

MLB—55 Nelson Coleman, 6-2, 220, Fr.

OLB—27 Michael LeDet, 6-2, 220, Sr.

BAN—26 Bobby Klinck, 5-11, 190, Jr.

SPUR—18 Clint Roundtree, 6-0, 200, Sr.

LCB—7 Jermaine Hope, 5-9, 165, Sr.

FS—19 Shannon Carter, 6-0, 190, So.

RCB—9 Oliver Fletcher, 6-1, 175, Sr.

Outlook: The Hurricane was ranked No. 11 nationally in past-defense efficiency last season, mostly as a result of defensive coordinator Todd Graham's 3-3-5 stack scheme. The defense, used effectively when Graham coached at West Virginia, is essentially a nickel package.

In the base alignment, Carter, Klinck and Roundtree play a three-deep zone, testing a quarterback's patience by forcing him to throw short passes. The three down lineman and a blitzing linebacker provide the pass rush. The linemen are interchangeable; for instance, end Brandon Lohr also can play nose guard.

Tulsa receives a boost with the availability of Klinck, who transferred from Oklahoma. Players who transfer between Division I-A schools are required to sit out one year. Klinck's redshirt deadline expired this week. Klinck has practiced with Tulsa since training camp.

Tulsa Specialists

PK—29 Brad DeVault, 6-0, 192, Jr.

P—5 Chris Kindred, 5-11, 204, So.

DS—99 Drew Lagow, 6-5, 263, Jr.

KR—3 Ashlan Davis, 5-8, 177, Jr.

PR—13 Jermaine Landrum, 5-9, 165, Sr.

Outlook: Tulsa is last in the WAC in red-zone success (it has scored in six of the 10 times it reached an opponent's 20), a shortcoming that can be traced to the kicking game. Tulsa's only field goal came on DeVault's 20-yarder in the opener. Tulsa attempted one field goal in the ensuing three games.

Hawai'i Offense

LWO—84 Jason Rivers, 6-1, 189, So.

LSB—2 Chad Owens, 5-9, 177, Sr.

LT—70 Tala Esera, 6-3, 291, So.

LG—64 Samson Satele, 6-2, 278, So.

C—69 Uriah Moenoa, 6-2, 325, Sr.

RG—66 Brandon Eaton, 6-2, 291, Jr.

RT—74 Jeremy Inferrera, 6-2, 284, So.

RSB—7 Se'e Poumele, 5-9, 171, Sr.

RWO—9 Britton Komine, 5-10, 188, Sr.

QB—14 Tim Chang, 6-2, 205, Sr.

RB—6 Michael Brewster, 5-5, 185, Sr.

Outlook: For the third consecutive game, the Warriors face a defense aligned in a pass-prevent scheme. Once again, they must answer: Will they be able to complete long passes? This season, Chang has attempted 23 passes of at least 20 yards, completing three. Against Rice, he did not throw a deep pass in 17 offensive plays in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors had several chances to stretch the Rice defense, but were contained by incorrect pass routes, busted blocking assignments and inaccurate passes. The Warriors also dropped seven passes, including four in the end zone and one that could have altered the tone. West Keli'ikipi, a 260-pound running back, dropped a swing pass. That play, which is the equivalent of baseball's brushback pitch, is intended to keep the defensive backs from crowding the line of scrimmage. "It was meant for me to punish the corners," Keli'ikipi said. Look for him to get another chance tonight.

Jones said the system has ways of getting receivers open and deep on nearly every play. "We just have to execute," he said.

The line will be realigned, with Moenoa moving from right guard to center, replacing injured Derek Fa'avi (sprained right foot). Fa'avi will be available in emergency situations. Eaton will move from right tackle to right guard. Inferrera, who has alternated with Eaton at right tackle, earns his first start of the season.

Hawai'i Defense

LE—98 Melila Purcell III 6-4, 266, Jr.

LT—99 Lui Fuga, 6-1, 294, Sr.

RT—91 Matt Faga, 6-2, 324, Sr.

RE—30 Kila Kamakawiwo'ole, 6-3, 241, Jr.

SLB—5 Chad Kapanui, 6-0, 226, Sr.

MLB—51 Ikaika Curnan, 5-10, 221, Jr.

WLB—45 Tanuvasa Moe, 5-11, 210, Jr.

LCB/NB—37 Abraham Elimimian, 5-10, 185, Sr.

SS—42 Leonard Peters, 6-1, 184, Jr.

WS—15 Lono Manners, 5-10, 204, Jr.

RCB—24 Kenny Patton, 6-0, 187, So.

Outlook: Three players who missed significant practice time because of injuries — Fuga (aggravated sprained right knee), Curnan (partially torn ligaments in left elbow) and Moe (hyper-extended left elbow) — are back in the lineup. Manners will start in the new defensive scheme, in which the safeties will drop back into a two-deep zone.

The Warriors' greatest concern is making stops. Against Rice, the Warriors missed 16 tackles. The Owls gained 94 yards after the misses (YAM), a formula that measures the additional yards a ballcarrier gains after slipping a tackle.

Hawai'i Specialists

PK—47 Justin Ayat, 6-0, 201, Sr.

P—25 Kurt Milne, 6-0, 196, So.

LS—61 Bryce Runge, 5-11, 236, Jr.

KR—82 Ross Dickerson, 5-11, 190, So.

PR—2 Chad Owens, 5-9, 177, Sr.

Outlook: Ayat, fully recovered from a groin injury, will handle all of the kicking duties. In the opener, backup punter Tim Wright kicked off. Reserve kicker Nolan Miranda was added to the 60-player travel roster to Houston for the Rice game in case Ayat aggravated the injury. But Ayat handled the kickoffs and placekicks. "I'm feeling good," Ayat said.

Ayat and Milne have spent the past two weeks working on directional kicks. Because most teams have counter-clockwise return schemes, Ayat tries to place his kickoffs in a return team's right corner. "It limits the field we have to cover," he said.

Milne's goal is to place punts in the lane between the numbers and sideline. Feeling "light-headed" during the Rice game, Milne had difficulty placing punts. Instead of a straight-ahead motion, he was kicking across his body. His five punts landed in the middle of the field — the last netting 29 yards, setting up Rice's go-ahead scoring drive.