Louisiana Tech can sum up its 24-14 loss to Hawaii last night in two words—blown opportunities.

The list is long:

» Kicker Brad Oestriecher's 33-yard field-goal attempt that would have given the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead sailed wide right.

» Later in the first quarter, Patrick Jackson's carry from the Hawaii 1 turned wrong when he decided—while inches from the end zone—to extend his arms toward the goal line. That's when Hawaii linebacker Brashton Satele knocked away the ball and UH teammate John Fonoti recovered. Instead of tying the score at 7, LaTech still trailed.

» Early in the second quarter, Oestriecher's 53-yard field-goal attempt was blocked by Keala Watson, keeping the visitors off the board once again.

» Late in the first half, Phillip Livas' electrifying 39-yard kickoff return went sour when UH's R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane ripped the ball away near the sideline and Desmond Thomas pounced on it at the LaTech 46. Three plays later, Hawaii extended its lead to 21-7.

All of those miscues came in the first half, burying LaTech's hopes of finally beating the Warriors in Hawaii. It also didn't help the Bulldogs' cause when senior southpaw quarterback Taylor Bennett threw an interception in UH territory to stall the team's first drive of the second half.

“;That was fundamentally unsound what he did,”; said LaTech coach Derek Dooley, referring to Jackson's fumble near the goal line. “;You can't do that and win football games.”;

“;I was trying to get it over the goal line,”; Jackson said. “;I switched hands (with the ball) and it worked against us. They (the Warriors) earned that. It's real frustrating coming into a hostile environment against a team like Hawaii and then give them the ball too many times.”;

Missed chances have been a problem all year for the Bulldogs (2-3, 0-2), who are last in the Western Athletic Conference in red-zone offense. Going into the game, they had scored just three touchdowns and kicked three field goals in 10 chances inside the opponent's 20.

Late in the third quarter, LaTech's misfortunes continued as Bennett threw his second interception—the wounded-duck variety—while being chased and eventually flattened by Hawaii linebacker Solomon Elimimian. The interception came right after Allen Gilbert's block of a punt by UH's Tim Grasso in Warriors territory.

“;Bad decisions by our quarterback,”; Dooley said. “;He made two bad throws and that really made it tough for us. We had just blocked that punt and we were trying to take a shot and cut it to 10. We are just not playing smart football.

“;You can't win when you're minus three (4-1) in turnovers. That was the difference in the game.”;