The best food is served in bowling centers. The best music reviews are found in college newspapers. And today's best football game might be the one matching two teams with a combined 1-10 record.

The Western Athletic Conference game between New Mexico State (0-6, 0-2 in WAC) and Hawai'i (1-4, 1-2) is rooted in styles and schemes from football's most innovative mavericks.

Hal Mumme, in his first season as the Aggies' head coach, is developer of an aggressive wide-open passing attack. One of his star pupils, former Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch, was the top pick in the 1999 National Football League Draft.

NMSU defensive coordinator Woody Widenhofer was one of the architects of the Pittsburgh Steelers' "Steel Curtain" defense in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Meanwhile, UH coach June Jones and his mentor, running backs coach Mouse Davis, were key programmers of the four-wide offense, known as the run-and-shoot through the mid-1990s. UH's defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville was head coach of two NFL teams. His "Gritz Blitz" defenses with the Atlanta Falcons led to today's popularity of the zone-blitz schemes.

"We've changed with the times," Glanville said, "but the heart of what we do is still the same."

Here's a closer look:

NMSU OFFENSE

LWR—18 A.J. Harris 6-2 190 Fr.

H-Back—10 Paul Dombrowski 6-0 209 Sr.

LT—75 Kyle Smith 6-3 265 Jr.

LG—77 Justin Shopbell 6-4 298 Sr.

C—69 Mike Martinez 6-5 327 So.

RG—64 Nick Cole 6-3 340 Sr.

RT—76 Roberto Davis 6-2 265 Fr.

SB—19 Derek Dubois 5-9 171 So.

RWR—7 Brandon Allen 6-2 190 So.

QB—11 Royal Gill 6-5 220 Jr.

RB—34 Justine Buries 6-0 200 So.

Outlook: The only thing predictable about Mumme is his unpredictability. The Aggies do not have an offensive playbook — their 150 plays are taught on the field — and they don't huddle. "A lot of the plays will have the same formation," Gill said. "One play can have five different variations, but it's really the same play." As with most four-wide formations, the Aggies try to spread the defense, creating one-on-one routes across the middle or curls to the flats. Against a difficult early-season schedule, the Aggies are struggling to grasp the offense. They have committed 20 turnovers — 14 interceptions, six lost fumbles — relinquished a sack every 9.8 pass attempts and converted 24 percent of third-down plays. "At quarterback, we've vacillated back and forth between two juniors (Gill and Joey Vincent), and neither one of them has been able to master what we want to do," Mumme said. Gill earns the start after not committing a turnover in last week's "mudbath" at Fresno State, Mumme said. "He really did a pretty good job. The ball was like throwing a wet rock. It was like running on ice."

Buries, who did not compete in spring practice because of a leg injury, has been a surprise starter, averaging 80.2 yards per game. He did not suit up for the opener, then earned a shot because of work on the scout team. "The other guys didn't do such a hot job for us, so we started looking around, and coach Widenhofer said, 'You ought to look at this guy. He runs real hard and he blocks.'" Buries rushed for 115 yards against New Mexico, and 107 each against California and Louisiana Tech." Most of his runs are off draws or lead plays.

NMSU DEFENSE

LE—96 Chase Spicer 6-5 262 Sr.

NG—90 Jermey Weeks 6-2 285 Jr.

RE—95 David Niumatalolo 6-4 300 Fr.

LOLB—44 Brandon McKinney 6-3 262 So.

MLB—42 Jimmy Cottrell 6-1 238 Sr.

WLB—24 John Howell 6-1 248 Sr.

ROLB—13 Dustin Sober 6-2 223 Sr.

LCB—31 Shukree Shabazz 5-9 186 Sr.

SS—3 Eric Carrie 5-10 208 Jr.

FS—2 Matt Griebel 5-11 186 Sr.

RCB—27 Courtney Bryan 5-11 195 Jr.

Outlook: The Steelers won four Super Bowls with a 4-3 defensive alignment. But in the early 1980s, when key members of the "Steel Curtain" were taking their curtain calls, Widenhofer made the bold decision to switch to a 3-4 alignment. Widehofer moved on, landing at NMSU, but the 3-4 endures in Pittsburgh, a span of 23 years. And the essence of the 3-4 — the cover-2 pass coverage — remains. Most cover-2 schemes — a defense in which two safeties are aligned deep, with each in charge of one half of the field — are compatible with a 4-3 front. In Widenhofer's schemes, the three down linemen are pass rushers, the two safeties retreat in deep coverage, and everything in between is defended by the four linebackers and two cornerbacks. The defense is designed to congest the short routes and deny the deep patterns. For the Aggies, the trouble is the three-man pass rush has resulted in four sacks in 176 pass attempts (or one sack every 44 attempts). The Aggies have one interception. "It's a learning curve," Cottrell said.

NMSU SPECIALISTS

PK—9 Conor Foley 6-1 175 Fr.

P—48 Brad Evans 6-3 191 Jr.

KR—28 Chris Williams 5-9 155 Fr.

KR/PR—29 Stevelan Harper 5-6 153 Jr.

Outlook: The Aggies have returned only four of 23 punts. Foley did not attempt a field goal in the previous two games.

UH OFFENSE

LWR—88 Chad Mock 5-11 171 Jr.

LSB—7 Davone Bess 5-9 187 Fr.

LT—70 Tala Esera 6-4 295 Jr.

LG—64 Samson Satele 6-2 305 Jr.

C—59 Derek Fa'avi 6-1 273 Sr.

RG—66 Brandon Eaton 6-2 295 Sr.

RT—72 Dane Uperesa 6-5 315 Jr.

RSB—1 Ryan Grice-Mullen 5-10 174 Fr.

RWR—82 Ross Dickerson 5-10 185 Jr.

QB—15 Colt Brennan 6-2 190 So.

RB—20 Mario Cox 5-11 235 Fr.

RB—48 David Farmer 6-0 240 Fr.

Outlook: The leading rusher, Nate Ilaoa, who is recovering from a turf-toe injury on right foot, vowed to play. But Jones insisted otherwise, noting Ilaoa did not practice this week. If Ilaoa is unavailable, freshmen Cox (the speed back) and Farmer (the blocker) will rotate. Uperesa, who has a sprained right ankle and sprained left elbow, is expected to start.

After being stifled by grasping defenses in recent games, the Warriors might look to extend their pass routes. In the first two games, Brennan was 1 of 4 on passes that traveled at least 20 yards in the air from the line of scrimmage; in the past four games, he was 9 of 20 (45 percent). On deep passes, a completion rate of 35 percent or better is considered to be good. In last week's game, Brennan said, the safeties "were so deep and athletic they could sit on the deep route. They were giving me the underneath route, so I had to take it. Going deep is a quarterback's dream. I ask the coach every day to let me air it out."

If Brennan is forced to throw swings or to the flats, his best bet is Grice-Mullen, who averages 7.31 yards after the catch (YAC). Cox, who is elusive in the open field, also is itching to catch screens or shovel passes.

UH DEFENSE

LE—67 Michael Lafaele 6-1 310 So.

NT—93 Keala Watson 6-3 325 Fr.

RE—91 Ikaika Alama-Francis 6-6 250 Jr.

SOLB—45 Tanuvasa Moe 6-0 220 Sr.

SILB—41 Solomon Elimimian 5-11 224 Fr.

WILB—43 Brad Kalilimoku 5-11 205 So.

WOLB—1 Kila Kamakawiwo'ole 6-3 234 Sr.

LCB—24 Kenny Patton 6-0 184 Jr.

FS—8 Landon Kafentzis 6-0 202 Sr.

SS—15 Lono Manners 5-10 199 Sr.

RCB—35 Keao Monteilh 5-11 170 So.

Outlook: To counter the Aggies' no-huddle system, the Warriors will rely on Manners and Moe to shout out defensive calls. The Warriors also will have to improve their tackling. Last week, Louisiana Tech broke 10 tackles — five in a 20-point third quarter — for an additional 134 yards, including two touchdowns. "If you're out there, you have to make plays," Moe said. "If you hit a guy, and he bounces off, that's unacceptable."

Manners, who has three dislocated fingers, and Moe, who is suffering from a variety of injuries, will play. "I'm hurt in a lot of spots," Moe said. "Sometimes I forget where I'm hurt."

With Melila Purcell out because of a bone bruise and a partially torn knee ligament, either Lafaele or Renolds Fruean will move to left end. Fruean started the first two games at nose tackle, but missed the next four because of a sprained right ankle. If Lafaele, who started the past two games at nose tackle, opens at left end, Keala Watson will make his second career start at the nose.

UH SPECIALISTS

PK—99 Daniel Kelly 6-3 199 Fr.

P—25 Kurt Milne 5-11 208 Jr.

KR/PR—27 Andre Taylor 5-11 171 Jr.

Outlook: Kelly should be fine after missing two practices because of flu-like symptoms. But Moe, who has a sprained right wrist, probably will not be available to long-snap. That job will go to Jake Ingram, a reserve defensive end.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.