The signs are ubiquitous at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, home of the Air Force Academy's football team.
Situated 6,621 feet above sea level, signs across the stadium are shown as a form of psychological warfare towards opponents.
"Air Force will let you know at every turn on a wall, they'll let you know how high (the altitude) is and what the cause and effect of the elevation is," said Timmy Chang, who is making the trip for the first time as Hawai‘i's head coach but was an assistant on a Nevada squad that went and won in 2018. "For us, it's just mental focus, being mentally tough, and going out there for what we need to do."
The Rainbow Warriors were pushed hard with extra running in Wednesday's practice at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex before departing for Colorado on Thursday morning.
Hawai‘i, which turned the ball over four times in a narrow loss at home against Fresno State on Saturday, will emphasize taking care of the ball against an Air Force squad that runs a triple option offense, possessing the ball for 37 minutes and 15 seconds per game, good for third most in the country.
"Air Force, it's a different style of game," Chang said. "Game management comes into play. And so, understanding what your opponent does, can do, will do, it all comes in (to consideration), and so we got to be better on offense, one, taking care of the football, and two, converting and punching the ball and making sure that we stay on track."
If anyone knows how to have success against Air Force, both as a player and coach, it's Chris Brown.
Brown, who racked up 19 tackles and a forced fumble in a 52-30 win over Air Force as a UH standout on Nov. 24, 2001, also had a large hand in the defensive gameplanning in Hawai‘i's 27-13 upset victory over Air Force on Nov. 11, 2023. Air Force, which entered the 2023 game as the country's rushing leader, was held to 83.2 yards below their average. Meanwhile, the UH defense forced three interceptions and a fumble.
Brown, the associate head coach of his alma mater, made sure the Rainbow Warriors know what they're stepping into on Saturday. Hawai‘i has not played at Air Force since Oct. 22, 2016, a 34-27 overtime victory for the 'Bows.
"We showed them all the pictures of all the different signs, all the altitude and how the altitude can cause you to have a coma or death," Brown said. "And we literally told these players this is just to trick you and to play mind tricks on you. Everything's in your head.
"We're going to work as hard as we can during the week, and we're going to get a lot of conditioning in, and when it's time to go out there and perform, we're going to perform. At the end of the day, we have to bring our best game, and it's going to be a physical, physical game, and something I love."
Mind over matter has been a key tenet in the Hawai‘i defense under Brown and defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman. The Rainbow Warriors held Fresno State to 109 yards of rushing while producing a safety via De'Jon Benton, as well as a 37-yard touchdown return from Jamih Otis.
"We're gonna have to bring our best game that we possibly can," Brown says of Saturday. "We did a good job on defense (against Fresno State), but like coach Thurman said, it's not good enough. You have to go look at your mistakes and go fix the mistakes, and you cannot be satisfied with a good game. Perfection is what we're striving for. These boys are still hungry to be great."
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
