Hawai’i falls apart in fourth against North Dakota State as bowl hopes end

HONOLULU – Sometimes there are rainbows, other times there is just rain.

A stormy 2026 season continued for the University of Hawai’i football team on Saturday night as the Rainbow Warriors fell in the first ever meeting against North Dakota State, 21-13, inside Clarence T.C. Ching Complex.

After winning back-to-back road games, Hawai’i (3-7, 2-5 Mountain West) saw long shot bowl odds go out the window against the Bison after blowing a fourth quarter lead for the second straight home game.

“Pretty tough for our guys right now, just understanding that their bowl possibility and chances of us being together for a longer period of time is setting in,” head coach Timmy Chang said after the game.

The loss was another personification of a hexed season for the Rainbow Warriors, wasting a strong defensive performance due to self-inflicted errors and mindboggling end-of-game management.

Sophomore QB Micah Alejado completed 31-of-47 passes for 231 yards but threw multiple interceptions in the same game for the second time this season. Both turnovers turned into touchdowns for NDSU, tossing one that set up the Bison at the Hawai’i 11-yard line during the opening quarter and another that resulted in a 49-yard pick-six in the final frame.

The UH defense did its part by holding the Bison to a season-low 183 yards of total offense, just 97 of which came through the air. Hawai’i also forced NDSU to punt seven times, the most in a single game all season for the visitors from Fargo.

Unfortunately, the Rainbow Warriors couldn’t make up for the two turnovers from the offense as the defense failed to force a takeaway for the sixth time this season. Hawai’i fell to 0-6 on the year when the defense is unable to secure any turnovers.

“Our identity as a defense is fast and physical and that’s what we showed tonight,” senior defensive back Elijah Palmer said when asked about the unit’s performance. “We’ve got to do better in the takeaway department [and] give our offense better field position and do more things in order to put them in a successful position as well.”

North Dakota State (8-2, 5-2 Mountain West) struck first after picking off Alejado with five minutes left in the opening quarter, needing just two plays to find the end zone as fifth-year wide receiver Mekhi Collins hauled in a 7-yard touchdown to capitalize on the takeaway.

The Hawai’i defense had a strong first half showing otherwise, forcing four punts and a turnover on downs across the other five drives by the Bison offense. North Dakota State stymied the Rainbow Warrior attack until the final drive of the opening half, allowing a seven-play, 59-yard scoring drive that was capped off by DeVon Rice’s eighth touchdown of the season to see the score knotted up entering the break, 7-7.

Hawai’i saw the momentum of the Rice scoring rush roll into the third quarter, taking a 13-7 lead into the fourth frame after the defense forced two more punts and allowed NDSU to gain 38 total yards in the period. The Rainbow Warriors reached the red zone twice in the third, but the offense sputtered inside the opposing 20-yard line both times and UH decided to settle for a pair of short field goals from Sean Olvera-Harle.

Hawai’i kicker Sean Olvera-Harle lines up for one of his two field goals from the third quarter against North Dakota State. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

North Dakota State responded with a 16-play, 77-yard scoring drive that soaked up over eight minutes of game clock to snatch a 14-13 lead with 8:34 left to play. It was the longest drive by total plays and duration given up by the Hawai’i defense this season.

Alejado and the offense followed it up with a disastrous drive, taking two minutes off the clock before the sophomore signal caller tossed one into the outstretched arms of NDSU third-year linebacker Ray James Jr., who returned the pick 49 yards to the house to put the Bison up 21-13 in the blink of an eye.

“I think the third quarter was ours,” Chang said when asked about the tale of two quarters after halftime. “We ended up giving up the lead in that [fourth] quarter and then we threw a pick-six … Any time you do that, even the turnover in the first quarter, just being backed up in the situation, we put our defense in a tough position. I look at it as 14 points on the offense and we have to be better.”

The Hawai’i offense rebounded to work the ball all the way down to the 25-yard line of the Bison with just over four minutes to play but failed to convert on third-and-10 and fourth-and-10 after calling for their second timeout of the half.

The defense actually got the ball back one more time for UH with 2:31 remaining, forcing a three-and-out from the NDSU offense.

After starting from their own 27, Hawai’i moved the chains once before the Bison pass rush wreaked havoc. Under heavy pressure, Alejado tried to throw away a first down pass after scrambling backwards but couldn’t get the ball back to the line of scrimmage and was called for intentional grounding.

The penalty caused some confusion on the field as the down markers moved to third down instead of second down on each sideline. Hawai’i needed 26 yards after the penalty to move the chains and originally seemed to have one less play to pick it up.

After an eight-yard dash by Cam Barfield on the true second down snap, the down markers read fourth down with 18 yards to go and under a minute to play. Alejado was sacked and injured on the true third down play, but the confusion caused everyone on the field to believe a turnover on downs had occurred.

After a review, officials returned the ball to Hawai’i for a fourth down play with 42 seconds left. Since Alejado had stayed down injured at the end of the previous play, the sophomore quarterback had to sit out for one snap before he would be allowed back on the field, which forced backup quarterback Bjorn Jurgensen in for the biggest play of the night for Hawai’i.

Facing fourth-and-18, Jurgensen faked a handoff and looked down the field before tucking the ball and running out of bounds for a six-yard gain, turning the ball over on downs in the process.

“It was tough for Bjorn to be in that situation, just coming out for one play,” Chang said of the chaotic end. “I think it just got caught up in the moment … None of our staff saw [the down marker mistake], none of the referees caught it, so tough situation.”

Chang indicated that Jurgensen and the offense understood the situation after the long timeout by the officials to figure out the downs.

“He has to get the ball out of his hands,” Chang continued about Jurgensen on the final play. “He felt bad after the game.”

Hawai’i was held to season lows almost across the board on offense, putting up just 262 total yards, 31 total rushing yards and gaining 17 total first downs in the loss. The Rainbow Warriors also gave up five sacks, tied for the most in a single game this season.

After each tallying at least 10 carries in each of the previous two games, dynamic running back duo DeVon Rice and Cam Barfield combined for 12 total carries against North Dakota State. Rice had a season-low four rushing attempts for 26 yards while Barfield gained 26 yards on the ground across eight carries.

Following the team’s seventh loss of the season, Hawai’i will not be able to automatically qualify for a bid to a bowl game in 2026.

With two games left, Chang said the focus turns to sending the senior class out on a high note with a pair of wins to close out the season.

“I expect our guys to go hard and go win,” Chang said of the final two games on the schedule. “Big game up in Nevada. I know they’re still playing for bowl eligibility, and we were playing for bowl eligibility until that fourth quarter. I expect us to go up there and go play hard and come back down here and send the seniors off correctly with two wins.”

Hawai’i will travel to the continent next weekend for the final road game of the 2026 campaign, taking on a Nevada team that needs to win the final two games of the season themselves to qualify for bowl eligibility. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. HT and the game can be found and watched on FS1.

HAWAI’I FOOTBALL COVERAGE ON HSRN IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY