ASSOCIATED PRESS Nevada players tackled UH kick returner A.J. Martinez during Saturday's game in Reno, which the Warriors lost 38-28.

UH hunts for lost momentum

The Warriors can’t finish with a winning season, but can learn how to win again

The Hawaii football team returned from its last road game of the season yesterday ready to make another sprint to the finish line with three home games -- even though there is no prize this time in the form of a bowl game.

After UH's 38-28 loss at Nevada, Hawaii is 3-6 and a winning season is a mathematical impossibility.

"We have our last three games at home and we have to make something happen," coach June Jones said.

The last time UH had a losing record this deep into its football schedule, the Warriors faced the possibility of a one-win season, just two years after going 0-12 and one year after a 9-4 resurgence in 1999, June Jones' first season as UH coach.

Following a 45-27 loss at Fresno State on Nov. 4, 2000, Hawaii was 1-7 and a double reverse after the biggest turnaround in college football history looked like a distinct possibility.

But Hawaii, with true freshman Tim Chang at quarterback, beat Nevada and Louisiana Tech. It finished 3-9 after losses against Wisconsin and UNLV, but the Warriors regained their confidence and began work on the foundation for four winning seasons in a row beginning in 2001.

The streak ends this year. UH has games remaining against Utah State, Wisconsin and San Diego State.

Hawaii has a history of strong finishing kicks, with a 23-10 record (.697) in November and December in Jones' first six seasons, compared to just 48-30 (.615) in the earlier months.

The question is if the youthful Warriors can bounce back and set the stage for 2006 while helping the senior class go out on a positive note -- and regaining some of the fans that have not been showing up at Aloha Stadium this season. The crowd has been smaller with each home game after a sellout when UH opened against USC. It will be a challenge to draw at least 20,000 for Saturday's game against Utah State, which is 2-6 and 1-4 in the WAC.

One motivation for the Warriors in their final WAC game Saturday is to avoid their first losing league season since 2000.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Nevada running back B.J. Mitchell rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns against Hawaii on Saturday.

Freshman kicker Dan Kelly suffered another blocked extra-point attempt, his fourth blocked kick of the season.

Also, Khevin Peoples tackled Nevada punt returner Kevin Stanley before the ball got to him, and then Peoples made a late hit on another punt. The two penalties cost the Warriors 15 yards each; the second gave Nevada the ball on UH's 38 with 2:56 left in the first half and led to a 30-yard touchdown run by B.J. Mitchell to give Nevada a 17-14 lead -- which it would keep.

Moving up: UH receiver Davone Bess is second in the nation in catches per game with 8.4.

Bess, who caught 12 passes for a career-high 171 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, is 10th nationally with 104.22 receiving yards per game.

Quarterback Colt Brennan is second in the country in total offense with 365.2 yards per game and 14th in passing efficiency with a 153.8 rating.

Hawaii Bowl possibilities: The WAC could be represented in the Hawaii Bowl by Fresno State, Boise State, Louisiana Tech or Nevada, depending if the WAC is able to get more bowl tie-ins. Right now, the league has only the Hawaii Bowl and the MPC Computers Bowl in Boise.

The Conference USA representative possibilities include Central Florida, UTEP, Tulsa and Southern Miss.

The Hawaii Bowl must average at least 25,000 in attendance (turnstile) for three years starting with last year in order to maintain its NCAA accreditation. Last year's Hawaii-UAB game drew 38,322.