San Jose State hangs on late to deal devastating loss to Hawai’i

HONOLULU – No more magic in Mānoa.

Despite posting a season-high 438 yards, the University of Hawai’i football team’s nightmare start to the season continued on Saturday night as they fell 20-16 against San Jose State (3-2, 1-0 Mountain West) inside Clarence T.C. Ching Complex.

“Pretty tough game for our guys,” head coach Timmy Chang said after the Rainbow Warriors lost their sixth straight game against the Spartans. “My heart aches for those guys.”

Hawai’i (1-4, 0-3 Mountain West) got plenty of production offensively, out-gaining SJSU by 114 yards, but once again failed to capitalize in the red zone. In two trips inside the Spartans’ 20-yard line, UH turned the ball over on downs in the first half and opted for three points when facing a 4th-and-5 from the SJSU 6 in the late third quarter.

QB Micah Alejado posted his second game with 300 or more passing yards this season, tallying 338 yards and a touchdown through the air for the Rainbow Warriors. The sophomore signal caller also tossed two interceptions, one in each half, that led directly to 10 points for San Jose State.

“That was a bad thing from me,” Alejado said of his turnovers. “The second interception killed us. I think that’s where it turned the game for us. Bad interception by me, just stepped up, overthrew the guy. Tried to get a little more on it just because the hole was tight, and it ended up sailing on me … It put our defense in a bad situation.”

The Hawai’i offense failed to score any points throughout the first half for the first time this season while the defense allowed a pair of touchdowns to the Spartans before the halftime break.

The game’s opening score came in the second quarter after SJSU’s Jayden Robertson stepped in front of an Alejado pass intended for Nick Delgadillo and set up the Spartans offense at the Rainbow Warrior 20-yard line.

Former UH QB Luke Weaver wasted little time helping his new squad capitalize on the mistake, finding TE Kamaehu Kopa-Kaawalauole three plays later for a 10-yard score as Hawai’i DB Matagi Thompson missed an interception of his own by a millisecond.

“I’ve got to have that interception,” said Thompson while emphasizing how the defense needs to make the most of their opportunities. The senior safety led UH with eight tackles in the loss, tying his career high.

After being held completely scoreless in the first quarter, Weaver and company added on again on the next second quarter drive with a 73-yard, seven-play scoring march to open up a 14-0 lead before halftime.

Hawai’i finally found some offensive life to begin the third frame with help from a beautiful 49-yard Alejado bomb to WR Devin Alves, but a pair of false start penalties combined with a holding call afterwards forced the hosts to settle for a field goal as Sean Olvera-Harle hit from a career-best 44 yards out.

Re-energized by points, the Hawai’i defense promptly forced a three-and-out from the San Jose State offense and got the ball back for the offense two minutes later.

Hawai’i marched down the field again, this time with the help of two personal foul penalties against the Spartans, but failed to find paydirt as Micah Alejado’s 3rd-and-7 scramble from the SJSU 8 got stopped after two yards and brought out Olvera-Harle for a 24-yard chip shot to make it a one-possession game.

The Rainbow Warriors continued to ride the wave of momentum as the defense forced another punt on the next Spartans drive. Alejado hit Alves two plays later for a 58-yard catch-and-run score, bringing Hawai’i within a point with 3:20 left to play in the third quarter.

San Jose State’s offense finally got a jolt just before the end of the third frame with a pair of big completions from Weaver, who hit WR Cooper Hoch for a 20-yard gain before connecting with WR Carson Clark on a 43-yard shot that put the Spartans inside the Hawai’i 10-yard line.

Despite the two long completions, the Hawai’i defense held strong with the help of Julian Smith’s second sack of the night and forced the Spartans to settle for a 24-yard field goal of their own to keep it a 17-13 game entering the fourth quarter.

Hawai’i added on another 44-yard field goal from Olvera-Harle just after the final 15 minutes had started, bringing the margin back within a point.

The Rainbow Warriors got the ball back with 7:48 to play after SJSU kicker Trajan Sinatra sent a 41-yard field goal try wide right, needing any type of score to take the team’s first lead in any conference game so far this season.

Unfortunately, another false start and a drop quickly set back the offense and Alejado sailed a third-down throw over Alves for his second interception of the night to give great starting field position to the Spartans with 6:46 remaining and a one-point lead.

SJSU rolled the dice twice on what would end up as their final drive, going for (and converting) a pair of fourth downs to keep the clock rolling before tacking on a 30-yard field goal with 1:17 left to play to make it a four-point game, forcing the Rainbow Warriors to need a touchdown to win.

Hawai’i worked the ball to the San Jose State 37-yard line for a “Hail Mary” attempt despite some disastrous decisions during the under-two-minute drill, but Alejado’s heave into the end zone was batted away and fell to the turf as the Rainbow Warrior second half comeback dropped just short.

Undisciplined play had a big hand in the continued offensive failure to find the end zone as the Rainbow Warriors committed a season-high 12 penalties for 85 yards, 11 of which were by the UH offense.

“It comes down to discipline,” Chang said of the penalties. “[Flags are] never good and that’s something that continues to happen. In one possession games, in these types of situations, [penalties] come back to haunt you.”

The Hawai’i defense also failed to force a turnover for the fourth time in five games, but did post a season-best seven tackles-for-loss. The Rainbow Warriors are 0-6 since the start of the 2025 season when failing to take the ball away.

Luke Weaver enjoyed his trip back to the islands with his new squad, leading the San Jose State offense with a pair of touchdown passes and 248 yards through the air while completing 68% of his attempts and not turning the ball over at all.

Senior RB Jabari Bates tacked on 74 rushing yards across 27 carries and added another 39 yards receiving on two catches for the Spartans. Freshman WR Carson Clark led the receiving corps with five snags for 74 yards and a touchdown.

In a season that started with whispers of a potential Mountain West championship appearance, Hawai’i now faces an uphill climb towards any potential bowl eligibility. The Rainbow Warriors will need five wins in the final seven games and still have a trip to Arizona State next weekend and a pair of home matchups with conference favorites New Mexico and North Dakota State still ahead.

“It’s one day at a time,” Chang said of how the team would attack the remainder of the schedule. “You clean up these little things, regardless of who’s in there, who’s playing, it comes down to execution [and] discipline.”

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