Three takeaways from Hawai’i loss at San Diego State in Mountain West opener

HONOLULU – One you just could not lose. 

Hawai’i (2-3, 0-1 MWC) saw road struggles and San Diego State troubles continue in Week 6 as the Rainbow Warriors fell in the Mountain West Conference opener at Snapdragon Stadium, 27-24. Hawai’i had a possession late for a chance to take the lead, but a failed 4th-and-2 conversion ended the Rainbow Warriors’ hopes at a comeback as Pofele Ashlock was tackled behind the line of scrimmage. 

The two programs traded blows throughout the afternoon, seeing a pair of ties in the first half and a pair of lead changes within minutes of each other in the 4th quarter. While Hawai’i was able to post more total yardage than San Diego State, the Aztecs won the turnover battle and went a perfect 3-for-3 on 4th down conversion attempts while getting points on all five red zone opportunities against the Rainbow Warriors defense.

With Boise State coming to the islands up next, Hawai’i has had to move on from the result already – but before we look to the Broncos, here are three takeaways from the Rainbow Warriors’ Week 6 loss at San Diego State. 

The offensive line needs to bounce back fast. 

The loss of Luke Felix-Fualalo to an injury in Week 1 against UCLA has been one of many factors that have resulted in the up-and-down play of the offensive line for Hawai’i this season. While James Milovale has been a solid replacement in Fualalo’s absence at right tackle, starting left tackle Ka’ena Decambra has been inconsistent and had his worst game of the season against the Aztecs. 

The junior has struggled when the competition has gone up a level so far this season after making the move outside to left tackle this season. Decambra started 11 games as a sophomore, nine as the right guard and two as a right tackle, providing adequate pass blocking and struggling in the running game.  

Kuao Peihopa, who replaced Decambra as the starting right guard this year after switching over from the defensive line, also had his worst game of the year in both the passing and running games. After consistently grading out in the 70.0 or above category as a pass blocker, Peihopa got a 46.9 grade as he allowed multiple pressures and a quarterback hit (via PFF). 

The entire offensive line struggled in run blocking as Hawai’i failed to eclipse 100 yards rushing against the 2nd-worst run defense in the conference through a month of play. After an impressive performance against Northern Iowa as a unit, the drop off coming after a bye week is frustrating. 

While the SDSU defense is strong, the road gets even tougher this weekend as Hawai’i hosts #17 Boise State and the Mountain West pre-season Defensive Player of the Year selection Ahmed Hassanein (6 sacks, 13 QB hurries). The UH offensive line will need to bounce back fast after one of the roughest showings all season. 

Defense has been forced to play perfect – and has not been able to. 

This will sound like a criticism of the defense – it is not. 

Hawai’i had multiple chances to take back control of the game after scoring against San Diego State, most notably to end the first half after tying the game at 10 and after taking a lead for the first time with less than 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter. The Aztecs ran the two-minute drill to perfection against a lighter Hawai’i defense, quickly advancing down the field and converting on a 4th-and-4 inside UH territory with 41 seconds left before halftime on the way to the go-ahead touchdown. 

Instead of having the offense pick them up with the first possession of the second half, Hawai’i went three-and-out and punted back to SDSU not even two minutes after halftime ended. Back on the field in their own territory, the defense was able to hold the Aztecs to a 43-yard field goal that made it a 20-10 deficit. 

Hawai’i finally played complimentary football on the next three possessions as the offense marched into the end zone twice in two drives to sandwich a three-and-out forced by the defense and take a 24-20 lead with 9:39 left to play. With momentum leaning back in Hawai’i’s direction, San Diego State completed a 48-yard pass on 2nd-and-10 while backed up on their own 13 to quickly flip into UH territory.  

The Aztecs went on to score the go-ahead touchdown with 7:05 remaining in regulation and Hawai’i would advance into SDSU territory before turning it over on downs with 72 ticks left on the clock. Again, the UH defense stepped up to get the ball back with 10 seconds left by forcing a three-and-out, but it was too little, too late. 

In many ways, Hawai’i did enough to win this game on both offense and defense despite trailing most of the evening but still could not make the winning plays at the end on either side. The defense has been the top graded unit in the Mountain West through five games and the Rainbow Warriors still have three losses, two that have come after holding a lead entering the 4th quarter. 

Hawai’i needs the offense to start faster and allow the defense some wiggle room by playing with a multi-score lead against an FBS opponent. The defense has been good overall but cannot get to perfection to save a slow offense. 

A bowl game is going to take a lot of work (and luck). 

In bowl game calculations, a win against San Diego State was critical for Hawai’i after falling against Sam Houston during the non-conference schedule. The Mountain West slate is among the harder variations possible with Fresno State, UNLV and nationally-ranked Boise State all awaiting in the final seven games for Hawai’i. 

Though they have two wins on the record, only one of Hawai’i’s victories over FCS programs will count in the overall calculation of the six wins needed for bowl eligibility. After losing at San Diego State, the Rainbow Warriors will need to go 5-2 over the final seven games to snag a spot in a bowl game.  

Part of the worry is that UH would need to win at least one game on the road over that stretch – and that is assuming a 4-0 finish in the islands with matchups with Boise State and UNLV. Without an upset of either the Broncos or Rebels, Hawai’i would need to win two road games against the trio of Washington State, Fresno State and Utah State. 

For any of that to happen, Hawai’i needs to begin winning on the margins. The penalty issue needs to be completely wiped out – they have improved in total penalties but still see costly errors in big moments – and the turnover battle cannot be lost anymore.  

It will take a total team effort to save Hawai’i’s bowl dreams, but this staff and these players have gotten hot to end a season before. The Rainbow Warriors finished the 2023 season with three wins in the final four games, including wins over Air Force and Colorado State in the islands to spoil different hopes for each. 

Fixing it all began on the plane ride home from San Diego, continues through this week of practice and needs to start showing as soon as Saturday against Boise State.