ASSOCIATED PRESS Boise State's Kyle Gingg hit Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan during the first half of the Broncos' victory over the Warriors in Boise, Idaho.

Broncos boot Warriors

The Warriors come closer, but mistakes keep them from winning in Boise for the first time

BOISE, Idaho » It was almost equal parts recurring nightmare and spirited comeback. Ultimately for Hawaii, it was another oh-so-close loss aided by further review that left the Warriors kicking themselves.

Dogged by its own mistakes and Boise State's efficiency, the UH football team stubbed its collective toe again on the blue turf last night.

Ian Johnson rushed for 178 yards, and UH was betrayed once again by its special teams in 25th-ranked BSU's 41-34 victory. A sellout crowd of 30,642 watched on a nearly balmy night at Bronco Stadium as BSU beat UH for the fifth season in a row.

Hawaii lost its WAC season opener despite five touchdown passes by Colt Brennan, including three to Jason Rivers.

"They have an offense that can score from anywhere, so we knew we had to keep the pressure on," Brennan said. "We just made too many mistakes. Our defense did some good things for us, but we just didn't get it done overall."

UH fell to 1-2 overall, while four-time league champion Boise State went to 4-0 and 1-0 in the WAC with its third victory over UH without a loss here.

"It's disappointing," Hawaii coach June Jones said. "But they're a good football team."

Not that the Broncos were error-free: They suffered from numerous dropped passes and were penalized nine times for 90 yards, compared to four for 23 for UH. But the Warriors' mistakes were game and heart breakers.

So were two instant-replay reviews that went against the Warriors late in the game while they were trying to battle back.

But it might not have come to that if UH hadn't botched a field-goal try and two point-after-touchdown attempts, both on bad snaps.

"I don't even know what to say. ... I practice as hard as I can. Snap, snap, snap," said UH snapper Jake Ingram. "It's not like I was nervous in the game, or I felt pressured. There was no bad thoughts. I feel bad I let everyone down."

GREG KELLER / IDAHO PRESS-TRIBUNE Hawaii receiver Jason Rivers dropped a pass as Boise State's Quinton Jones defended in the first quarter of yesterday's game in Boise, Idaho.

Scandrick was the same player to return a blocked PAT for a score on the decisive play of BSU's 44-41 win last year at Aloha Stadium.

"Every year (against Boise State) it's been special teams," said Milne, a senior who is also UH's punter. "Returns, field position, blocked kicks. I really honestly don't think it's what they do. We do it to ourselves."

Boise State took a 15-0 lead on Johnson's first of two TDs and Jared Zabransky's 6-yard scoring pass to Legedu Naanee, giving it 84 unanswered points on the blue turf going back to Hawaii's 69-3 loss here in 2004.

"A couple of years ago we came in here and we didn't do too good," Rivers said. "This year we got down, but our guys showed pride."

Touchdown passes to Rivers from Brennan of 26 and 11 yards kept the Warriors in the game this time, and Boise State's halftime lead was 27-14.

Following the break, Brennan found Davone Bess for an 18-yard scoring pass after Johnson ran in from 8 yards out, and Boise State led 34-21.

The Broncos had a chance to go up by 20 and put the game away late in the third quarter, with first and goal at the UH 10.

But after a holding penalty, a sack by Mike Lafaele and a tackle for loss by Karl Noa (who had 10 tackles) of Zabransky, BSU faced third and 32. On the next play, Kenny Patton picked off Zabransky's pass in the end zone and returned it to the Hawaii 19.

The Warriors then drove steadily downfield, scoring when Brennan hit Bess for a 14-yard TD on fourth and 5, and BSU's lead was cut to 34-27.

UH failed again on the ensuing PAT, with a bad snap skidding by Milne. Kicker Dan Kelly picked up the ball and threw a pass that fell to the ground nowhere near anyone.

Hawaii forced BSU to punt, and the Warriors offense had the ball at the Broncos 48 after a roughing call, setting up the final turning point of the game.

JOE JASZEWSKI / IDAHO STATESMAN Boise State's Jerard Rabb pulled down a 24-yard reception in front of Hawaii's A.J. Martinez in the first quarter.

"It's too bad," Jones said. "That's life. If you don't win the turnover battle on the road, you give it away on the road, you don't give yourself a chance."

For the third time in three games this season, Hawaii turned it over more than its opponent. UH lost two fumbles and an interception, while the Warriors got just the one pick by Patton.

"I thought they threw up three interceptions in the first half and we didn't get any. Both games (Boise State and Alabama) we should be making interceptions on bad balls, ducks," defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said.

The Warriors allowed a season-high 515 yards, and Johnson netted more yards against UH himself on the ground than Alabama and UNLV combined.

"He's the real deal," Jones said. "He's better than what I thought he was. I thought he was just a fast guy."

Johnson got the tough yards, too, carrying eight times in a row on the next series before Zabransky found tight end Derek Schouman for an 18-yard touchdown and a 41-27 lead with time running out.

On Johnson's fifth carry of the drive, Noa appeared to recover a fumble by him. But a replay review reversed the call. The official determined that Johnson lost control of the ball after he hit the ground.

"You never leave it up to the referees," said UH safety Leonard Peters, who had a game-high 13 tackles. "You got to win the game on your own. We should've got a couple calls, but it should never come down to that."

Brennan hit Rivers for an 8-yard TD with 2:59 left, but Brennan's junior-college teammate Jerard Rabb recovered the onside kick and BSU ran out the clock.

The teams combined for 991 yards.

"We always have interesting games with Hawaii," BSU coach Chris Petersen said. "They usually are high scoring, but I thought it would be more of a defensive struggle."