ASSOCIATED PRESS Hawaii's Kenny Patton tried to defend Nevada receiver Caleb Spencer, a Kamehameha alumnus, during yesterday's game.

Bye-bye, bowl

Hawaii has no shot at a winning record or postseason eligibility after yesterday’s loss

RENO, Nev. » Hawaii brought a shotgun to a pistol fight yesterday. In an Old West gun battle, the Warriors would've had the clear advantage. But not in a college football game at Mackay Stadium, where Nevada's new-fangled formation and time-tested concepts -- controlling the ball by running it and not turning it over -- led to a 38-28 victory that knocked UH out of any chance for a winning season.

Of course, there were other factors. The Warriors' run-and-shoot offense misfired in key situations, and Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan was sacked five times. Also, UH turned the ball over twice in the fourth quarter and its defense wilted as the game went on.

Nevada's B.J. Mitchell rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns.

"To become great, you must control the ball," said Mitchell, who operates out of a one-back formation with quarterback Jeff Rowe 4 yards behind the center and Mitchell 3 behind him. Ault dubbed it "The Pistol."

A week after five turnovers against Boise State, the Pack had none yesterday.

"That was at the top of my goal sheet," Rowe said.

Takeaways and giveaways were also on UH safety Lamar Broadway's mind.

"Turnovers," he said when asked why UH lost. "We have to force them and not make them."

The Warriors (3-6, 3-4 Western Athletic Conference) are guaranteed their first non-winning season since 2000, when Hawaii went 3-9. The Wolf Pack (5-3, 4-1) remained on track for a bowl berth and can even dream about a three-way tie for the league championship with Fresno State and Boise State.

Nevada could end up in the Dec. 24 Hawaii Bowl -- the game UH has played in every postseason since its 2002 inception -- since the Warriors have no chance of qualifying for it now.

That would be fine with Kamehameha graduate Caleb Spencer, who caught two touchdown passes for the Pack, including a spectacular one-handed 14-yard grab.

"I've been dreaming of that, praying for that," Spencer said.

The Warriors, though, can only hope for a 6-6 mark at best if they sweep Utah State, Wisconsin and San Diego State.

"We have to play for pride now," said freshman linebacker Solomon Elimimian, who had a game-high 10 tackles. "Anyone who doesn't play hard now is a coward, and we don't have cowards."

Bravery had less to do with yesterday's outcome than execution.

"Turnovers at the end of the game really caught up with us," Hawaii coach June Jones said. "We had many opportunities early that we didn't take advantage of."

ASSOCIATED PRESS Hawaii's Ross Dickerson reeled in a pass from Colt Brennan ahead of Nevada's Joe Garcia.

Nevada turned a UH fumble and interception into 14 points and a 38-21 lead with 8:07 left to play.

Defensive end Erics Clark knocked the ball out of Nate Ilaoa's hands, and Ezra Butler recovered for Nevada at the Hawaii 38.

Mitchell scored his second TD on a 6-yard run, pumping the Pack's lead up to 31-21.

"The key to beat Hawaii is to run the football," Ault said. "Somewhere along the line you better be able to run the ball."

Picking it off helps, too.

Cornerback Joe Garcia intercepted Brennan on the next series, giving Nevada the ball on the Hawaii 43. Rowe's 2-yard scoring run all but guaranteed the Wolf Pack's third home win in three tries against Hawaii.

The real clincher was Nevada's controlling the ball for the final 6 minutes, 46 seconds of the game after UH had closed to within 10 points on Brennan's 24-yard touchdown pass to Davone Bess.

Bess caught 12 passes for a career-high 171 yards in the first 3 1/2 quarters, but he and Brennan couldn't do anything after that other than watch Nevada eat up the rest of the clock.

Ross Dickerson caught five passes for 110 yards and a touchdown, but nothing after halftime.

Once again, the Hawaii defense was plagued by missed tackles.

"We didn't tackle well in the second half," defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said. "We had numerous opportunities, and we missed 'em."

ASSOCIATED PRESS Nevada's Roosevelt Cooks, left, and Ezra Butler sacked Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan in the second quarter.

"Anytime I see daylight, I get big eyes," Mitchell said.

Outside linebacker Kila Kamakawiwo'ole said the Warriors were usually in the right place to make a play, but didn't always complete the job.

"We just didn't wrap up. We had a problem wrapping up on (Mitchell)," he said.

Normally dependable receiver Ryan Grice-Mullen also had a problem with finishing a play -- a sure touchdown.

Grice-Mullen scored on a 22-yard strike by Brennan to make it 24-21, Nevada, midway through the third quarter.

Brennan found him again on the next possession, behind the Pack secondary on third down. But Grice-Mullen let the ball fall through his hands at around the 10-yard line, and UH was forced to punt from the Nevada 45.

"That's football," Brennan said. "Ryan's done so many great things, I can only smile and say we'll get it next time."

Kamakawiwo'ole, a man who never gets rattled, knows life goes on, too.

But he's a senior, so the impact yesterday's loss has on the rest of the season hits him harder.

"The emotion is really low right now," said Kamakawiwo'ole, who had two of UH's four sacks. "We had a tough season. Close games we should've won. Boise State, Fresno State. We were this close."