In the past few months, the Broncos lost head coach Pokey Allen as he continues his bout with cancer; they weren't sure senior quarterback Tony Hilde would return after a brush with the law last spring and talented wide receiver Greg Thomas recently was ruled ineligible when it was learned he enrolled at a junior college six years ago.

To cloud things further, Boise State is in the midst of a difficult three-year transition from Division I-AA to Division I-A. Interim head coach Tom Mason said yesterday his team is playing with only 61 scholarship athletes.

"We can only sign 25 at a time and last year we lost 23 seniors, so we really added only two from where we were in Division I-AA," Mason said after his team touched down at Honolulu International Airport yesterday morning.

"You figure you're going to lose some through attrition, so we're not even at Division I-AA levels right now. My thing is hey, we got dealt the hand, so we're going to have to play it."

The Broncos brought 56 players on the trip with only 48 of those on scholarship. This team is so young, just six seniors start on both sides of the football.

That would be a difficult task for an experienced head coach like Allen. You can imagine what Mason has been going through over the past several weeks.

"We didn't know what was going to happen until we started double days," Mason said. "I was the defensive coordinator coaching sophomore linebackers the day it happened.

"So it's been a little bit of a tough transition not only for the players, but the coaches, too. The first week or so, I was not prepared from an administrative standpoint to handle things.

"It probably took me three weeks to get everything straightened out from an organizational standpoint. At noon on that Tuesday, Pokey said 'we're going to announce you as the head coach at 5. You take it and go with it, and do the best you can do.' "

Mason has done a solid job so far. The Broncos are 1-2 with a win over Portland State, and losses to Central Michigan and Eastern Washington.

In a few weeks, Mason embarks on the Big West Conference trails for the first time. But before that, he has two tough nonconference tests, against Hawaii tomorrow and against Arizona State the first week in October.

"I think Hawaii will play hard and play us tough, especially coming off that loss in Wyoming," Mason said. "This is also the longest road trip we've ever taken.

"But we need to play nonconference games like this one and with Arizona State to help prepare us for the next level."

The Broncos are led by Hilde, who has completed 52 of 86 passes this year for 661 yards and six touchdowns.

He had to overcome some personal problems last spring that resulted in him pleading no contest to a pair of police charges.

Hilde's class work suffered accordingly, forcing him to work hard in the summer to get his grades back in order. He also had to do some community service work.

After the big win over Portland State, Boise lost top receiver Thomas when it was discovered he had used up his eligibility.

Because the school didn't know about it, university officials are confident the NCAA won't impose any sanctions, but it's a big loss.

With Thomas gone, receiver Ryan Ikebe becomes a bigger threat. He leads the team in catches with 18 for 221 yards and three touchdowns. Reggie Ethridge is the top rusher with 281 yards and one score.

"A key for us will be to stay healthy because with our lack of numbers, we don't have a lot of depth," Mason said.

Teams: Boise State Broncos at Hawaii Rainbows

When: Saturday, 7:07 p.m., Aloha Stadium.

Weekend update: Boise State lost to Eastern Washington, 27-21, onSaturday when Maurice Perigo scored on a 28-yard interception return with 4:52 remaining. Boise State, was held to 43 yards rushing in the first half.

Facts & figures: Boise State, which bolted the Division I-AA Big Sky Conference to join the Division I-A Big West this season, is 1-2.