Coming off disappointing home losses, Hawaii and Arizona State are searching for answers ahead of their nonconference matchup Saturday night in Tempe, Ariz.
The Sun Devils (2-2) absorbed the most lopsided defeat of their Big 12 era, a 55-19 loss to Baylor.
Hawaii (1-4) fell 20-16 to San Jose State, its second straight defeat.
Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham stressed accountability and Hawaii coach Timmy Chang focused on discipline in their weekly press conferences Monday.
Dillingham addressed questions regarding the struggles of quarterback Cutter Boley, the offensive line and the defense in the loss to Baylor, and repeatedly accepted the blame.
“It is my responsibility to get our guys to play good football, and they did not,” Dillingham said. “Regardless of whose fault it is, it’s my fault. It all starts and ends with me.
“There’s no secret sauce. I wish there was. I’m not just going to tell you we’re going to do one magical thing that’s going to fix it. We’re going to do a bunch of things that are very, very small.”
Despite Boley throwing an interception against Baylor and struggling to gain consistency, Dillingham indicated the Kentucky transfer will remain the starter.
Boley completed 25 of 43 passes for 304 yards and a touchdown against the Bears, but his second-half interception was particularly costly. He was scrambling under pressure when he attempted to throw the ball away, only to have the pass picked off.
Dillingham defended Boley, who has completed 61.4% of his passes this season for 1,040 yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions.
“I didn’t think Cutter was the glaring issue of the football team in any way, shape or form,” the coach said.
The Rainbow Warriors outgained San Jose State 435-324 but still lost. Hawaii turned the ball over twice and failed to force a turnover.
“There’s no use beating them up,” Chang said of his players. “They feel down already. So, the message is, ‘How do we get better? How do we stop the things that hurt us?'”
Hawaii quarterback Micah Alejado threw for 338 yards and a touchdown but also tossed two interceptions. This season, he has 1,361 yards through the air, completing 61.1% of his passes with four touchdowns and three interceptions.
The Rainbow Warriors have scored 20 points or fewer in three of their last four games, all losses. The program is 1-22 under Chang when failing to top 20 points.