It's so easy to forget that aesthetics are only part of athletics - and not the most important.

Forget frittering away a 16-point halftime lead. Forget about all the rushing yards allowed.

As my favorite caveman tells Billie Jean King, “;Take a gander at the, uh, SCOREBOARD!”;

In this case though, the last laugh went to the underdogs, not the Bulldogs.

Was Hawaii's 32-29 win over Fresno State sloppy and ugly?

Oh, yeah.

Does it signify immediate future success for the Warriors?

Not necessarily.

Whether this game goes down in UH lore as a bizarre oddity during a junk season or an epiphany on the way to another Hawaii Bowl is all on the Warriors now. A team that loses the ball six times one week and then takes it away a half dozen the next is just too unpredictable. The only label we can apply so far is big heart, because that's what it took to bounce back after losing at home to San Jose State and beat a nationally ranked outfit on the road.

Let's talk about those turnovers. They seem like giveaways when your team is on the wrong end. But they are actually takeaways, whether by great defensive play or superb scheming.

When Inoke Funaki threw that pass right at San Jose State's Coye Francies last week, did anyone ask himself this: Why was he there, right in front of the receiver? Remember June Jones' mantra, assignment and alignment. That's coaching, scheming ... if it's not, you've got a much bigger problem, because it would mean Funaki intentionally threw the ball to an opposing player - and that's about as likely as a caveman beating Billie Jean King in tennis.

Some turnovers look lucky. Yeah, the fumble on the kickoff Saturday shot right into Jayson Rego's hands like a Jake Ingram longsnap. But was Tyson Kafentzis' crushing hit that knocked the ball out lucky, too?

Tipped passes at the line of scrimmage going into defenders hands, same thing.

These are great plays and calls made by defenders and coordinators more than they are sloppy offensive miscues - this was as true when UH was on the wrong end of it against Florida, Oregon State and San Jose as it was Saturday.

They're takeaways, not giveaways.

Not that you can't do things to cut down on them. Here's something very basic but easy to forget: Conservative play-calling equals fewer turnovers. Fewer turnovers equals more wins. In this tumultuous season, what is the one constant? The games in which Hawaii has forced at least one turnover are the wins.

Now, for those of you asking, “;What happened to my run-and-shoot?”; Would you prefer to be entertained by pretty pass plays, or do you want to be entertained by wins?

I like the idea of calling this run-and-shoot, rollout, spread option brew of an attack the North Shore Offense, since it's customized for Funaki. We'll learn in the coming weeks if it's a jury-rigged contraption that will fall apart as soon as one piece of duct tape loosens, or something the Warriors can really build on.

Yes, questions remain to be addressed.

Yes, an ugly win. Doubtful, though, that anyone wants to trade it for a pretty loss.