HONOLULU (AP) - The University of Hawaii football team was dealt a significant blow in its bid for bowl eligibility on Saturday night, losing 24-21 to Fresno State at Aloha Stadium.
The Warriors (5-6, 3-4 Western Athletic Conference), must win their final two games, at home against Tulane and Brigham Young, to earn a spot in the Hawaii Bowl.
"We know where we are now.
Article Photos
Hawaii’s Paipai Falemalu is unable to prevent Fresno State’s Robbie Rouse from scoring a touchdown in the second quarter of the Bulldogs’ 24-21 victory over the Warriors on Saturday.
AP photo
We need to win our next two ballgames," said UH coach Greg McMackin.
Shane Austin started at quarterback for the Warriors - Bryant Moniz suffered a broken leg last week against Nevada and is out for at least the rest of the regular season - but was taken out in the second quarter after completing six of 13 passes for 45 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
David Graves went the rest of the way, going 13-for-27 for 199 yards with a pair of touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for 33 yards and a score. The second touchdown throw put UH in front 21-17 in the third quarter. Graves was sacked four times.
"David Graves came in and did a real good job," McMackin said. "We knew we had to score points because they have a great offense. They had 17 points and we put David in and he put us ahead. I thought he did some really nice things. He's going to be our guy from here on out."
Early in the fourth quarter, Fresno State's Derek Carr hooked up with Josh Harper on a 43-yard scoring strike that proved to be the winner. Carr threw for 271 yards and two scores.
Robbie Rouse rushed for a season-high 176 yards for Fresno State (4-7, 3-3), which scored on its first three drives.
"Their offense is outstanding," McMackin said. "Carr is outstanding. Their receivers are outstanding. They've scored against everybody."
The Bulldogs are averaging 29.0 points and 411.0 yards of offense per game.
"Except for a couple games this season, every game has been like this. We just couldn't make the plays at the end to win them," said Fresno State coach Pat Hill. "This has been one of those years where our youth has sometimes committed problems for us at the end. It's hard to win over here."
In the closing minutes, the Warriors drove to the Bulldogs' 35-yard line, but Graves' fourth-down pass as time expired fell incomplete.
"It's great just to see them happy," Hill said. "It was important for us to get a win."
Kaniela Tuipulotu of Lahaina had two tackles for UH, and Andrew Faaumu, also of Lahaina, made his eighth start of the season on the offensive line.
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Fresno St. ..... 10 ..... 7 ....... 0 ..... 7-24
Hawaii ............. 0 ..... 7 ..... 14 ..... 0-21
First Quarter
Fre-Saunders 44 pass from Carr (Goessling kick), 13:44.
Fre-FG Goessling 32, 5:38.
Second Quarter
Fre-Rouse 1 run (Goessling kick), 12:26.
Haw-Graves 6 run (Chun kick), 1:00.
Third Quarter
Haw-Pollard 24 pass from Graves (Chun kick), 11:54.
Haw-Stutzmann 69 pass from Graves (Chun kick), 6:28.
Fourth Quarter
Fre-Harper 43 pass from Carr (Goessling kick), 14:23.
A-28,907.
........................................ Fre ........... Haw
First downs ....................... 24 ............. 17
Rushes-yards ............ 47-217 ........ 19-62
Passing .......................... 271 ............ 244
Comp-Att-Int ............ 19-29-0 ..... 19-40-0
Return Yards ...................... 0 ............... 6
Punts-Avg. ................. 3-38.7 ....... 5-44.4
Fumbles-Lost .................. 3-0 ........... 1-0
Penalties-Yards ............. 9-78 ......... 4-30
Time of Possession ..... 38:15 ....... 21:45
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Fresno St., Rouse 37-176, Carr 6-37, M.Knox 2-6, Saunders 1-0, Harper 1-(minus 2). Hawaii, Graves 11-33, Iosefa 4-21, Jackson 4-8.
PASSING-Fresno St., Carr 19-29-0-271. Hawaii, Graves 13-27-0-199, Austin 6-13-0-45.
RECEIVING-Fresno St., Rouse 6-51, Wylie 5-59, Harper 3-84, Saunders 3-67, Evans 2-10. Hawaii, Stutzmann 8-136, Ostrowski 6-48, Pollard 3-50, Davis 1-9, Iosefa 1-1.
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WAC STANDINGS
| Conference | Overall | |||||||
| W | L | PF | PA | W | L | PF | PA | |
| La. Tech | 5 | 1 | 177 | 141 | 7 | 4 | 323 | 270 |
| Nevada | 4 | 1 | 172 | 138 | 6 | 4 | 322 | 279 |
| Utah St. | 3 | 2 | 156 | 161 | 5 | 5 | 369 | 301 |
| Fresno St. | 3 | 3 | 207 | 200 | 4 | 7 | 319 | 395 |
| Hawaii | 3 | 4 | 212 | 203 | 5 | 6 | 354 | 314 |
| NMSU | 2 | 3 | 171 | 196 | 4 | 7 | 298 | 410 |
| SJSU | 2 | 4 | 166 | 172 | 4 | 7 | 267 | 340 |
| Idaho | 1 | 5 | 147 | 197 | 2 | 9 | 240 | 343 |
Saturday's Results
San Jose St. 27, Navy 24
Louisiana Tech 24, Nevada 20
Utah St. 49, Idaho 42, 2OT
BYU 42, New Mexico St. 7
Fresno St. 24, Hawaii 21
Saturday, Nov. 26 (HST)
Nevada at Utah St., 9 a.m.
NMSU at La. Tech, 11 a.m.
SJSU at Fresno St., 3 p.m.
Tulane at Hawaii, 6 p.m.
