HONOLULU – It didn’t have to be perfect. Heck, it didn’t have to be pretty.

But it needed to be a win.

The University of Hawai’i football team bounced back from a slow start to the 2026 season on Saturday night, using contributions from all three phases to hold off New Mexico State for a 29-19 victory inside Clarence T.C. Ching Complex and remain perfect all-time in the islands against the Aggies.

Sophomore QB Micah Alejado tallied his first 300-yard game of the year and sixth of his career, completing 33-of-45 passes for 346 yards in the win as the offense found a way to score in all four quarters on the way to posting season highs in points, yards and first downs.

“What you saw out there was the Run-N-Shoot,” Alejado said of the offensive success. “Guys being on their Ps and Qs and coming out being ready to play. We found out a lot about ourselves these past two weeks and I think that’s the result you get … When your back is against the wall, you have to figure out what you’re going to do.”

Micah Alejado rolls to his left while escaping a defender during Hawai’i’s 29-19 victory over New Mexico State. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Tama Uiliata and Audric Harris had breakout performances for the Rainbow Warriors as each wideout eclipsed the century mark in yards for the first time in their careers.

After being held without a catch last weekend and getting three total targets, Uiliata led the team with a career-high 10 receptions and 107 yards on 11 targets while also tossing a 7-yard touchdown to TE Frank Abreu late in the fourth quarter to help seal the win for Hawai’i.

“I think [Uiliata] is one of the best Waipahu football players that ever came out of that high school,” head coach Timmy Chang said after the sophomore’s big performance. “We fully trust him in all these positions because that’s what we saw when we recruited him … Tama is just a special player and we’re lucky he chose Hawai’i to be his home.”

Harris also had his best game of his college career, racking up multiple long receptions on the way to a 105-yard night on four catches in his first collegiate start. Reunited with his high school QB in Alejado, the transfer from Washington recorded the longest offensive play of the season for the Rainbow Warriors in the opening quarter as he took an Alejado pass 55 yards to set up a score.

WR Audric Harris celebrates after a big catch-and-run. | Photo credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

The defense set the tone early for the Rainbow Warriors, forcing a fumble on the game’s opening drive as Wynden Ho’ohuli punched the ball out and Jamih Otis hopped on top of it to secure the team’s first forced turnover of the season.

It was one of three turnovers by the New Mexico State offense, also seeing QB Trey Hedden toss a pair of interceptions after halftime as the Aggies failed to score a point on offense after the midway break.

The early takeaway by Hawai’i quickly turned into points as Alejado and the offense scored a touchdown on their game-opening drive for the first time this year. Alejado went 5-of-5 on the scoring drive, passing for 50 yards before RB DeVon Rice scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 7-yard scamper to the front right pylon.

“I think the biggest thing for the coaches was just re-evaluating and being very detailed in what we were doing out there,” Chang said. “We can give [our guys] a chance to execute. That’s what I think happened on the first drive was more execution happening consistently.”

Hawai’i added on four minutes later as the defense forced a quick punt and the offense glided back into the redzone before settling for a 32-yard field goal from Sean Olvera-Harle, giving a 9-0 lead to the Rainbow Warriors before the first quarter ended.

It didn’t stop there for the hosts after forcing another fast punt, taking the first possession of the second quarter back to paydirt as Rice hurdled a defender to cap off an 11-yard scoring run and 6-play, 71-yard scoring drive that made it a 16-0 lead for Hawai’i.

The defense bent briefly in the second quarter, allowing the Aggies to get on the board after a pair of third down conversions kept a possession alive. Senior RB James Jones capped off the scoring drive with a two-yard push, capitalizing on a defensive pass interference call against the Rainbow Warriors in the redzone.

New Mexico State drew within a field goal with just over a minute left in the first half after a beautiful throw from Hedden dropped directly into WR TK King’s hands for a 33-yard touchdown, bringing a slight level of uneasiness to the 11,807 fans taking in the game at T.C. Ching Complex.

Hawai’i did not flinch, buckling down to drive the field and tack on another three points before the break as Olvera-Harle hit on a career-long 42-yard field goal to send his team into the locker room with a 19-13 lead.

After Titan Lacaden returned the third quarter’s opening kickoff 69 yards to set up the offense inside NMSU territory, it looked like the Rainbow Warriors might roll over the Aggies.

The visitors had other plans, hammering Alejado on a third-down scramble to force a fumble that was scooped up for an 84-yard score by Aggies DB De’Marcus Peters to tie the game at 19.

QB Micah Alejado stays down in pain after getting his helmet knocked off and fumbling at the start of the 3rd quarter. | Photo credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Hawai’i again responded as a banged-up Alejado trotted back onto the field and shook off the hit (and fumble) to lead a go-ahead scoring drive that ended in Olvera-Harle’s third made field goal of the night, giving the Rainbow Warriors a 22-19 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

DB Jaylon Edmond gave UH a boost to finish out the third quarter with his first interception as a Rainbow Warrior and the defense stepped up again at the start of the fourth as they forced a turnover-on-downs out at midfield.

Buoyed by the sturdy performance from the defense, Hawai’i’s offense bought some breathing room after starting in plus territory. After getting into the redzone and being faced with a 4th-and-5 decision, Chang and the Rainbow Warriors rolled the dice and went for the kill shot.

Coming out of a timeout by NMSU, Chang reached deep in the playbook and dialed up a direct snap to Uiliata, who rolled to his right and delivered UH’s lone touchdown pass of the night to Frank Abreu to put the Rainbow Warriors up by 10 with 5:41 left to play.

Chang pointed to analytics for his decision to go for a touchdown on fourth down rather than kicking a short field goal.

“Three points doesn’t really do anything for you,” Chang said about not kicking while up by three points with under six minutes to play. “A decision like that, you go for it [and] get it, we’re in a good position … and if you don’t get it, at least you’ve got them pinned down in that area, try to make it a long field to score.”

It didn’t matter anyway as LB Jamih Otis jumped another Hedden pass on the next drive for his second career interception, allowing Hawai’i to waste NMSU’s timeouts and drain the majority of the clock on the way to the team’s first win of the season.

Hedden finished the night completing 19-of-35 passes for 256 yards and one touchdown while tossing two interceptions. RB James Jones had the best showing for the Aggies, tallying 13 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown while forcing his own fair share of broken tackles throughout the loss.

DeVon Rice finished the night with 16 carries for 59 yards and two rushing touchdowns, becoming the first UH running back to have multiple rushing scores in the same game since Dedrick Parson had three against Nevada in 2022.

Kai Kai Carvalho also turned in a big night at the office as the redshirt freshman received his first career start, totaling nine catches for 82 yards in the victory for the Rainbow Warriors.

Hawai’i now gets a chance to reset as the team enters a bye week for the first time this season, soaking in the win for an extra weekend before heading to Wyoming on September 26 to close out the first month of the season against the Cowboys.

“We’ll get these guys all healed up [and then] we’ve got a tough game ahead of us,” Chang closed out saying in his postgame press conference before the bye.

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