It was 10 years ago when today's opposing head coaches — Notre Dame's Charlie Weis and Hawai'i's Greg McMackin — faced off.

Back then, Weis was the New York Jets' offensive coordinator; McMackin was the Seattle Seahawks' defensive coordinator.

In a must-win game at the Meadowlands, Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde appeared to be tackled short of the end zone on a 5-yard sneak with 20 seconds to play. But the official ruled it as the go-ahead touchdown.

The Jets won the game, 32-31, crushing the Seahawks' playoff hopes. The outcome led to changes in the replay rules — and also the eventual dismissal of the Seahawks' coaching staff.

Today, Weis will call Notre Dame's offensive plays. McMackin calls the Warriors' defensive plays.

Here's a look at today's Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl:

NOTRE DAME OFFENSE

Pos. — Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

X—23 Golden Tate 5-11 195 So.

LT—77 Mike Turkovich 6-6 305 Sr.

LG—55 Eric Olsen 6-4 303 Jr.

C—51 Dan Wenger 6-4 302 Jr.

RG—59 Chris Stewart 6-5 337 Jr.

RT—74 Sam Young 6-8 330 Jr.

TE—9 Kyle Rudolph 6-6 252 Fr.

Z—11 David Grimes 5-10 177 Sr.

QB—7 Jimmy Clausen 6-3 217 So.

FB—44 Asaph Schwapp 6-0 257 Sr.

HB—5 Armando Allen 5-10 195 So.

HB—33 Robert Hughes 5-11 237 So.

HB—34 James Aldridge 6-0 225 Jr.

Outlook: Led by sophomores Clausen, Tate and Allen, the Fighting Irish were efficient offensively through their first eight games. "Right about the two-thirds mark of the season, I think that Jimmy (Clausen), along with several players of the offense, seemed to get out of sync, so to speak," Weis said. Indeed, in their final four games, in which they went 1-3, the Fighting Irish's offense suffered a dramatic implosion. Through the first eight games, they had 61 "big plays" (pass completions of 20 or more yards, rushes of at least 10 yards); in the next four, they had 15. Clausen's pass-efficiency rating fell from 134.95 in the first eight games to 96.56 in the next four (during which he had two touchdown passes and eight interceptions). While the Irish improved their pass protection this season — an NCAA-record 58 sacks allowed in 2007 to 20 this season — they were sacked eight times in the last four games. Clausen's interception ratio went from one every 25 pass plays in the first two-thirds of the season to one every 16.63 pass plays in the final third.

The problems were two-fold. The Irish incurred several injuries, including the loss of Floyd (4.5 seconds over 40 yards). As a result, defenses began to play more cover-2 zones, suffocating the deep routes. It also allowed an extra defender to slide over to Tate. "I didn't have Michael Floyd, and it limited us in our passing game," Clausen said.

But Floyd is back, which should help Tate. "They can't double-team me," Tate said. "If they double-team me, it opens Michael Floyd up. He's a great part of this offense." Despite missing essentially three games, Floyd set school records for receiving yards (702) and receptions (46) by a freshman.

Weis has worked on correcting the passing breakdowns — some, he insisted, are linked to poor routes. "The last couple of days, when we watched offensive tape, I've sat in there with just the wide receivers," Weis said. "I haven't done that in a long, long time. But when they're running a route that's 14 yards, and they run it 12 yards, then all of a sudden the ball goes 2 yards over their head."

The refresher lessons should help Clausen, who has both a quick release and the football IQ to speed-read through his progressions.

Allen, who is the best of the three rotating backs, is healthy again. He was on crutches because of a foot injury after the regular-season finale. Allen is a dependable receiver on screen routes, as well as a speedster who benefits from Schwapp's lane-clearing blocks. Schwapp is capable of bench pressing 530 pounds; his biceps are so big he redesigned a tattoo on his right arm to accommodate the extra space.

NOTRE DAME DEFENSE

Pos. — Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

DE—94 Justin Brown 6-3 277 Sr.

NT—95 Ian Williams 6-2 310 So.

DE—96 Pat Kuntz 6-3 283 Sr.

SLB—22 Harrison Smith 6-2 212 So.

MLB—58 Brian Smith 6-3 245 So.

ILB—40 Maurice Crum 6-0 235 Sr.

WLB—90 John Ryan 6-5 264 Jr.

WLB—56 Kerry Neal 6-2 246 So.

LCB—8 Raeshon McNeil 6-0 190 Jr.

FS—27 David Bruton 6-2 212 Sr.

SS—28 Kyle McCarthy 6-1 203 Sr.

RCB—20 Terrail Lambert 5-11 195 Sr.

Outlook: A football field is not a stage, where each player stands on a specific mark. It is free-flowing, as evidenced by the Irish's schemes. The 3-4 front is just a suggestion; the Irish often use a four-man line, then blitz from every point.

Williams, who had 45 tackles last season (third most ever by a Notre Dame freshman), broke into the lineup at nose tackle. Last year's point defender, Kuntz, moved to defensive end — in name only. Kuntz actually aligns across from the guard (today it will be UH's Clarence Tuioti-Mariner), while a weakside linebacker moves up to the line of scrimmage. Kuntz still gets to do the gritty work. "It's a tough position," Kuntz said. "You've got to keep fighting, keep crawling, keep scratching."

Harrison Smith is a linebacker who acts like a safety, and McCarthy, who is the first Irish defensive back to amass 100 tackles in a season, is a safety who acts like a linebacker. Lambert, recovering from injuries to his left knee and ankle, is back. Lambert is the best bump-and-run defender.

But Weis said the defense belongs to Crum, a tri-captain. "There's always a player that the team looks to as the heart and soul of the football team," Weis said, "and that's what Mo Crum has been. He's been the heart and soul. There are three captains on the team, but there's really only one heart, and he's been it. He's a young man I'll admire and respect the rest of my life."

NOTRE DAME SPECIAL TEAMS

Pos. — Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

PK—14 Brandon Walker 6-3 202 So.

P/H—43 Eric Maust 6-2 177 Jr.

LS—39 Kevin Brooks 6-2 240 Sr.

KR/PR—5 Armando Allen 5-10 195 So.

KR/PR—23 Golden Tate 5-11 195 So.

KO—39 Ryan Burkhart 5-11 190 Jr.

Outlook: The Irish lead the nation in kickoff-return defense, allowing 16.17 yards per return. Of the 55 kickoffs, only one resulted in a touchback, a tribute to their speedy gunners.

Tate and Allen provide speed on returns. Tate, who is a centerfielder on the Irish baseball team, can run 40 yards in 4.4 seconds. Allen was clocked at 4.27. "It was great for me," Allen said. "I was coming off of ankle surgery. I had a lot of people telling me I wouldn't be able to run as fast. It was actually one of the fastest times I've ever run."

Allen said Aloha Stadium's compacted FieldTurf is a "fast surface." Walker said the turf also is helpful for kickers. "Another analogy with golf is you can hit a 6-iron off the grass and go 170 (yards) or so," Walker said. "You can hit a 6-iron off the turf and you'll hit 200. It's better contact and being able to push through it." After missing six of his first seven field-goal attempts, Walker has converted 13 of the past 17.

HAWAI'I OFFENSE

Pos. — Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

LWO—1 Greg Salas 6-2 200 So.

LSB—5 Michael Washington 5-9 170 Sr.

LT—77 Aaron Kia 6-5 290 Jr.

LG—62 Keith AhSoon 6-1 315 Sr.

C—55 John Estes 6-2 295 J.

RG—51 C. Tuioti-Mariner 6-0 300 Sr.

RT—78 Keoni Steinhoff 6-3 295 Sr.

RSB—85 Aaron Bain 5-8 190 Sr.

RWO—89 Malcolm Lane 6-1 180 Jr.

QB—12 Greg Alexander 6-3 230 Jr.

RB—21 Kealoha Pilares 5-11 190 So.

RB—26 Daniel Libre 5-8 185 Sr.

RB—48 David Farmer 6-1 245 Sr.

Outlook: In studying videos, the Irish noted that the Warriors appeared to play faster at Aloha Stadium. "It's a FieldTurf, but it's a very low FieldTurf," Weis said. "It's a very fast track. I think it plays into their players." There might be some substance to the argument. Lane is averaging 14.4 yards per catch in road games, 22.1 at home. Salas' averages are 12.2 on the road, 19.1 at home.

Since reclaiming the starting job, Alexander has become a dual threat. He is averaging more than one broken tackle per scramble. His arm strength and accuracy are stretching defenses, opening the way for slants, bubble screens and the re-emergence of the shovel pass. In the past three games, he has completed better than 75 percent of his deep passes (traveling at least 20 yards from the line of scrimmage). Since the second half of the Nevada game, Alexander has 12 touchdown passes against two interceptions. During that span, his efficiency rating is 136.79, which would rank 34th nationally if he played in more games. He also said his left knee, which was bloated against Cincinnati, is better. "I had a bunch of fluid in there," Alexander said.

The Warriors are hopeful that they have solved their pass-protection problems. They have allowed 49 sacks, including 10 in the past two games. They were unsuccessful even when they unveiled a double-tight-end formation.

Pilares, who missed the past two games because of a sprained right foot, has participated in practice and is expected to play. He is the Warriors' best post-catch receiver, with a yards-after-catch average of 8.64.

HAWAI'I DEFENSE

Pos. — Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

LE—94 David Veikune 6-3 265 Sr.

LT—93 Keala Watson 6-3 320 Sr.

T—96 Fale Laeli 6-1 305 Sr.

T—95 Vaughn Meatoga 6-2 305 Sr.

RT—99 Josh Leonard 6-3 305 Sr.

RE—58 John Fonoti 6-2 255 Jr.

OLB—44 Adam Leonard 6-0 235 Sr.

MLB—17 Solomon Elimimian 6-0 225 Sr.

OLB—13 Brashton Satele 6-1 255 Jr.

LCB/NB—2 Ryan Mouton 5-10 175 Sr.

LCB—3 Jameel Dowling 6-3 200 Sr.

FS—24 Desmond Thomas 6-2 170 Sr.

SS—35 Keao Monteilh 5-11 200 Sr.

SS—7 Erik Robinson 5-10 200 Sr.

RCB—23 Calvin Roberts 5-11 175 Sr.

Outlook: Mouton appears to have fully recovered from a high-ankle sprain that had limited his mobility. Mouton, who was used at free safety, returns to left corner, where he likely will face 6-foot-3 Michael Floyd. In situations involving five defensive backs, Mouton becomes the nickelback and Dowling enters as the cornerback.

Robinson, who is a physical safety, had been hindered by a hamstring injury. Robinson will play, although he probably will not start at strong safety.

Veikune, who is the strongest Warrior (455-pound bench press), has been on a tear, amassing nine sacks in the past six games.

HAWAI'I SPECIAL TEAMS

Pos. — Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

PK—86 Dan Kelly 6-3 225 Sr.

P/H—49 Tim Grasso 5-11 210 Sr.

LS—57 Jake Ingram 6-4 235 Sr.

KR—89 Malcolm Lane 6-1 180 Jr.

PR—85 Aaron Bain 5-8 190 Sr.

Outlook: This will be the final UH game for the best throw-catch tandem in the program's history. Overcoming adverse weather conditions and other obstacles, Ingram and Grasso have not had a bad snap-hold exchange this season. "Knock on wood for that," said Grasso, who was an all-state receiver in Utah. "There have been crazy games when it's been wet, and you drop it while warming up on the sideline. But you go out there, and it's fine."

Grasso credits Ingram, who had joined UH as a defensive end. But while helping to practice with Tanuvasa Moe, who was the long-snapper at the time, the seeds of a career change were planted. Ingram was awarded a scholarship to serve only as the long-snapper. Once, Ingram tried to sneak into a defensive drill. But UH videos every practice, and Ingram was busted on what was essentially a surveillance camera. "It's the eye in the sky," Ingram said. Ingram said he patterned his style after Moe's. He often watches videos to make sure he doesn't develop a hitch in his motion. He also has learned to tune out opponents. "Sometimes guys say stuff," he said. "It doesn't affect me. I'm used to it. The guys in practice talk smack. They say things that are probably not newspaper-appropriate."