There will be a reunion of football offenses when host Hawai'i plays Navy today at Aloha Stadium.

The Warriors' four-wide passing offense and the Midshipmen's triple-option attack share some DNA. Both have roots in Hawai'i.

In the mid-1980s, Bob Wagner, who was UH's defensive coordinator, marveled at how Air Force went from a wishbone offense into a four-wide spread when it needed to move downfield in a hurry.

Raised on the triple option — in which the quarterback hands off to the fullback on a dive, keeps it or pitches to a trailing back — Wagner believed Air Force's passing element was the missing link to a multiple-threat offense.

Then, while recruiting in the Northwest, Wagner watched a Division I-AA in which Georgia Southern ran an offense combining the triple-option and run-and-shoot.

When Wagner was named UH's head coach, he hired Paul Johnson, who was Georgia Southern's offensive coordinator. Johnson's spread offense combined with Wagner's double-eagle defense helped UH to unprecedented success.

Johnson mentored Ken Niumatalolo, a former UH quarterback. Niumatalolo is now Navy's head coach.

Wagner, who coached players who are now coaches for UH and Navy, today will attend his first UH game in seven years.

Here's a look at the matchups:

MIDSHIPMEN OFFENSE

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

WR—84 Greg Jones 5-10 182 Jr.

LT—Jeff Battipaglia 6-4 256 Jr.

LG—Osei Asante 6-1 265 Sr.

C—71 Eric Douglass 6-2 273 So.

RG—66 Curtis Bass 6-1 265 Sr.

RT—70 Matt Molloy 6-3 260 Jr.

WR—Nick Henderson 6-4 205 Sr.

SB—28 Marcus Curry 5-11 200 So.

QB—4 Ricky Dobbs 6-1 198 Jr.

SB—33 Bobby Doyle 5-11 204 Sr.

FB—47 Vince Murray 6-1 217 Jr.

FB—39 Alexander Teich 6-0 212 So.

Outlook: During UH's Holiday Bowl season in 1992, Ivin Jasper and Michael Carter shared the quarterback's job. Carter was considered to be the runner, Jasper the passer. A generation later, with the same offense, Jasper, as Navy's offensive coordinator, is calling running plays 89 percent of the time. "All the places we've been good, we've run the football," Jasper admitted. "The past four years, we've been No. 1 in the nation in rushing."

The key is Dobbs, who is smart, tough and has an addiction for the end zone (22 touchdowns this season). Earlier in the year, Dobbs suffered a tear behind his right kneecap. The doctors gave him two choices: 1) undergo season-ending surgery; or 2) undergo plasmapheresis, which, according to medical official Avis Yasumura, is a tissue-strengthening procedure in which blood is extracted, treated and then reinserted into the injured area. Dobbs chose No. 3. "Three?" Jasper recalled. "They're all looking around at that point. He said, 'I want to put my faith in God.'" Two weeks later, Dobbs helped Navy defeat Notre Dame. He earned a grade of 90. "He's a great leader," Jasper said. "Kids feed off of him. He's not a rah-rah guy, but he plays hard."

And because the triple-option does not face a pass rush — which, actually, would create a gap — the receivers can run extended routes when Dobbs opts for a play-action pass. Dobbs is averaging 17.33 yards per completion.

MIDSHIPMEN DEFENSE

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

LE—98 Jabaree Tuani 6-1 265 So.

NG—93 Chase Burge 6-4 270 Jr.

RE—59 Matt Nechak 6-4 252 Sr.

RE—90 Billy Yarborough 6-5 240 Jr.

OLB—34 Ram Bela 5-9 193 Sr.

ILB—51 Ross Pospisil 6-0 227 Sr.

ILB—50 Tony Haberer 6-1 217 Sr.

OLB—49 Craig Schaefer 6-2 220 Sr.

LCB—1 Blake Carter 5-11 187 Sr.

R—8 Wyatt Middleton 6-2 208 Jr.

FS—7 Emmett Merchant 5-9 186 Jr.

RCB—15 Kevin Edwards 6-2 180 Jr.

Outlook: Soon after being promoted to head coach in 2008, Niumatalolo made it a priority to retain Jasper and defensive coordinator Buddy Green. Green's specialty is the 3-4 base defense. He has studied under two of the scheme's masters, Bud Carson and Bill Belichick. "It fits us because of our size," Green said. "We're not real big. We don't have the four big linemen to play in the 4-3 scheme."

In the 3-4, the nose guard plays across, although slightly shaded, from the center. The safeties are in a two-deep zone. And rover- or safety-types can play outside linebacker against passing teams, such as the Warriors.

The Midshipmen were relying on nose guard Nate Frazier, who suffered a season-ending injury during training camp. Burge, Jordan Stephens and Shane Bothel rotate at that position. Tyler Simmons is part of the three-player rotation at the two inside linebacker positions. Pospisil is the most active. He has a team-high 83 tackles. But Pospisil downplays his leading role. "Each and every person is essential," he said. "It's working as a unit. Each and every link in the cable is essential, from the safeties to the d-linemen. When we're all working and taking on our responsibilities, that's when we're functioning the best, when we're having fun. That's what defense is about: having fun and a lot of emotion."

MIDSHIPMEN SPECIAL TEAMS

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

K—16 Joe Buckley 5-9 176 Jr.

LS—96 Brian Ackerman 5-11 188 So.

H—14 Greg Zingler 6-0 187 Sr.

P—35 Kyle Delahooke 6-1 207 Jr.

KR—41 Bo Snelson 5-7 180 Fr.

KR—39 Alexander Teich 6-0 212 So.

PR—85 Mario Washington 6-0 193 Jr.

Outlook: A late boomer, Buckley did not see any action his first two Navy seasons. But he won the starting job in this season's fifth week, and now has converted 8 of 11 field-goal attempts, and each of his 35 PATs

WARRIOR OFFENSE

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

LWO—21 Kealoha Pilares 5-11 200 Jr.

LSB—1 Greg Salas 6-2 200 Jr.

LT—77 Aaron Kia 6-5 290 Sr.

LG—64 Ray Hisatake 6-3 315 Sr.

C—55 John Estes 6-3 300 Sr.

RG—74 Raphael Ieru 6-2 315 Sr.

RT—51 Austin Hansen 6-4 285 So.

RSB—2 Jon Medeiros 5-9 185 Jr.

RWO—7 Jovonte Taylor 5-9 170 Jr.

QB—17 Bryant Moniz 6-0 190 So.

RB—23 Leon Wright-Jackson 6-1 215 Sr.

RB—25 Alex Green 6-2 220 Jr.

Outlook: Study the videos, and Kia is having a decent season, certainly better than the way he played in 2008. "Last year, I was playing out of control," Kia said. Still, Kia has been a magnet for criticism on message boards and talk shows, largely because of his 12 penalties this season. Most of the penalties are valid. But once this season, Kia recalled, "the play was done, I was shoving the guy off, and he punched me in the back of the helmet. Then the ref threw the flag. And I'm like, 'Yes.' Then they said the penalty was on 77. I'm like, 'what?' Now everybody was talking. 'There he goes again. He's out of control.' " Kia, in fact, has graded well. He has only two holding penalties. And he has relinquished two sacks in 517 pass plays, second best among UH starting linemen, and remarkable for a back-side blocker. Kia has received praise from Wright-Jackson, who used Kia's bracket block to score last week's winning touchdown, and Moniz.

While emerging as an accurate passer, Moniz, who did not play last week because of bruised ribs, has become an elusive runner. In non-sack scrambles, Moniz averages 7.3 yards after breaking or evading a tackle.

Since his promotion to No. 1 right slotback, Medeiros has become the No 2 option. In the past five games, Medeiros has been the primary target 9.75 times per game, of which he has caught 76.9 percent of those throws. Now the key is to get his predecessor, Pilares, more involved. As a slotback, Pilares caught 71.4 percent of the passes in which he was the primary target; as a wideout, he has caught 38.9 percent. Pilares still is one of the Warriors' top post-catch runners, with a yards-after-catch (YAC) average of 7.25.

WARRIOR DEFENSE

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

LE—90 Elliott Purcell 6-3 255 Jr.

LT—49 Tuika Tufaga 6-2 285 Sr.

RT—95 Vaughn Meatoga 6-2 290 So.

RE—58 Fetaiagogo Fonoti 6-2 255 Sr.

LS—43 Mana Silva 6-1 203 Jr.

ILB—53 Blaze Soares 6-1 245 Sr.

ILB—59 R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane 5-11 225 Sr.

RS—9 Spencer Smith 5-11 205 Jr.

LCB—2 Lametrius Davis 6-0 190 Jr.

FS—19 Richard Torres 5-8 175 So.

RCB—18 Jeramy Bryant 5-10 180 Jr.

Outlook: The New Jersey Turnpike, with its seemingly endless similar scenery, used to be one of the most dangerous stretches. Rumble Strips were originally designed as a precaution for drowsy drivers on that highway. It takes discipline to make the monotonous drive, the same sort of self-control needed to play cornerback against the triple-option offense. The Midshipmen will run play after play, and then — whammo! — they will throw deep off a play-action play. "They'll try to catch you sleeping," said associate head coach Rich Miano, who coordinates the defensive secondary. That will force Davis and Bryant, who will be in man coverage, to remain alert. "You've got to be patient," Davis said. "You have a chance to be lackadaisical because there's so much running. That's when they'll pass."

The Warriors also need to be cognizant of the Midshipmen's cut blocks — legal tactics in the open field and when a defender is not engaged in a block. Often Navy receivers will try to make blocks 30 yards downfield on running plays. Torres said he will revert to his wrestling training at Kahuku High. "We call it hand crawls," Torres said. "When they attack the legs, you have to move your hands and legs at the same time to block it out. Hopefully, it comes naturally during the game."

WARRIOR SPECIAL TEAMS

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

PK—20 Scott Enos 5-9 180 Jr.

LS—45 Luke Ingram 6-5 210 Fr.

H—11 Inoke Funaki 5-11 205 Sr.

P—31 Alex Dunnachie 6-3 235 Fr.

KR—7 Jovonte Taylor 5-9 170 Jr.

PR—88 Ryan Henry 5-9 170 Jr.

Outlook: Family members knew Dunnachie could kick. Even when he was 11, he was out-kicking older Australian rules players. One day, he decided to try American football, prompting his family to utter a collective: Huh? But they supported his venture, paying for two trips to punting camps in the United States. "They forked over quite a bit of money," Dunnachie said. It paid off, when he received a UH scholarship offer. Of his punts, he said, "It must be leg speed. I don't have the strongest leg," he said. Not so, countered Chris Tormey, who coaches UH's special teams. "He has a very strong leg," Tormey said.

What Dunnachie lacked was focus. He struggled at mid-season, with three punts each failing to net more than 10 yards. Since then, he corrected the problem. "I was forgetting to watch the ball when I was kicking it," he said. "It sounds silly, but during the game, a lot of things are going through your head." Tormey said: "It's like golf. You have to remember to keep your eye on the ball. Really, it's pretty simple, a basic fundamental. He's done a great job the past couple of weeks." His mother will see that in person. She is attending her first UH game today.