Greg McMackin realizes something may be awry when his team is outscored 86-19 in the third quarters of its 10 games.

“;We ran a study on that,”; the Hawaii football coach said yesterday. “;We have to do a better job.”;

He had his assistants research; the results from the offense coaches came in yesterday, and indicated that turnovers are a source of the post-intermission woes.

Overall, the 4-6 Warriors are 117th out of 120 FBS teams with 28 turnovers. Saturday's opponent, San Jose State, is 62nd with 17 forced turnovers. The Spartans are just 1-8, but are at home, and forcing UH mistakes could make the difference. It did for them last year, when they came from behind to beat the Warriors 20-17. The Warriors led 17-7 at halftime, but fell victim to five second-half turnovers.

“;San Jose State always throws a new wrinkle in (after halftime) every week,”; McMackin said.

» I'm going chalk on the state high school football championships. Well-rested Kamehameha and Kahuku advance next week, with the No. 1 Red Raiders edging the Warriors in the title game, thanks to kicker Cameron Mercado.

'Iolani, also with the bye benefiting it greatly, rolls to a third-straight D-II crown, sparking more join-the-big-boys debate.

» Local recruiting for UH baseball is vastly improving. Campbell righty Charles Kaalekahi III is the real deal, judging from his performance last spring for the Sabers and the colleges (Arizona State, Long Beach State and UCLA) that he turned down to join the Rainbows.

Kaalekahi, power-hitting Kamehameha catcher Keanu Carmichael and 'Iolani lefty Jarrett Arakawa, head to Manoa after high school graduation next spring.

» Shane Victorino made the local media rounds yesterday, granting around 10 newspaper, magazine, TV and radio interviews.

The Philadelphia Phillies All-Star center fielder from Maui just got married to his long-time girlfriend Melissa last week, and hosts his Celebrity Golf Classic this Saturday. It benefits the Hawaii Children's Cancer Foundation.

Check Billy Hull's feature on Victorino this Sunday that includes inside stuff from the World Series that hasn't been reported elsewhere.

» The first half of Hawaii's game against Southern Utah on Sunday was the most entertaining 20 minutes of basketball I've seen at the Sheriff Center since 2000, when Vince Carter and the rest of the U.S. National Team dunked all over Canada, despite Steve Nash's stellar efforts.

It's a good thing for the injury-depleted Rainbows they have such a weak schedule. They should improve with each outing as guards Dwain Williams and Jeremy Lay continue to acclimate. Coach Bob Nash has so far lived up to his promise and let the 'Bows run a lot; I hope he doesn't slam the brakes after Tuesday morning's loss that included a little too much 1-on-1 play.

» Fine start for Wahine hoops under Dana Takahara-Dias. They've come a long way in a short time to win their opener—on the road.

» Never mind all of those poor fantasy football owners who lost because Maurice Jones-Drew stopped at the 1-yard line. What about those with Peyton Manning who needed a few more passing yards? Blame Bill Belichick for that, too. ... and, while we're at it, toss in the economy and global warming.

Reach Star-Bulletin sports columnist Dave Reardon at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), his “;Quick Reads”; blog at starbulletin.com, and twitter.com/davereardon.