MĀNOA — For weeks, the University of Hawai‘i football team eagerly awaited Micah Alejado's return to the field. The team's starting quarterback showed his prowess in glimpses prior to Saturday but missed two straight games due to a right ankle injury.
On Saturday, Alejado was unable to shake the rust off until it was too late. The redshirt freshman was sacked four times and threw three interceptions in a 23-21 loss to Fresno State.
In what was the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams, Hawai‘i dropped to 3-2 while Fresno State improved to 4-1. Alejado, who didn't throw an interception in his senior year of high school in 2023 or his true freshman season of college in 2024, went 28-for-47 with 219 yards and an uncharacteristic three picks.
Hawai‘i ultimately could not take advantage of a stellar defensive performance, as well as another showcase of kicker Kansei Matsuzawa's abilities. The UH defense was responsible for two scores, while Matsuzawa remained perfect in 2025 with a pair of field goals.
Following the loss, a solemn Alejado took to the podium in the postgame press conference and held himself accountable.
"It's tough," he said. "Just going about the game and the defense playing their butts off and just not being able to perform for the offense. It's obviously tough. But the game of life in general, you gotta keep going, keep pushing. Wake up tomorrow and go watch the film."
Despite having a proven backup quarterback in Luke Weaver, Hawai‘i head coach Timmy Chang decided to stick with Alejado for the duration of the game, believing it would be more beneficial to have Alejado regain his bearings on the field rather than the sideline.
When asked if Alejado's struggles on Saturday were due to rust, injury, or some combination, Chang offered that "the game, more than physically, it's mental. You want to stay sharp, you want to stay in your zone, and that's kind of where you're at your best. You got to find that zone.
"So, for Micah, coming off a big Stanford win, and then playing Arizona not 100% and then sitting for two weeks, he's gonna get back in the groove. He's gonna find himself, he's gonna find his rhythm, and we gotta help him with that. ... We can all help him, from the coaching to the guys around him."
A near-capacity crowd of 12,466 at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex watched Hawai‘i hold a 9-7 lead at halftime, with its defense doing all the scoring in the first two quarters. The Rainbow Warriors took a 2-0 lead on a De'Jon Benton forced fumble with 7:20 remaining in the second quarter. Then with 1:47 left in the first half, UH linebacker Jamih Otis returned a fumble 37 yards for a touchdown to extend the team's lead to 9-7.
"When I had the ball in my hands, I had to score," recalled Otis, who finished with five tackles, including one for loss, and a quarterback hurry.
"We can't really ask much more from an offensive standpoint for the defense to do anymore," Alejado said. "We just gotta be better on the offensive side of the ball and start complimenting them throughout the season. It's a long season ahead of us, so work back and get better."
Fresno State got on the board with 38 seconds left in the first quarter on Richie Anderson's 13-yard pass from E.J. Warner. The Bulldogs had chances to take an early lead against the Rainbow Warriors, but kicker Dylan Lynch missed kicks of 43 and 26 yards in the first half.
A 40-yard Kansei Matsuzawa field goal extended Hawai‘i's lead to 12-7 in the third quarter. It also upped his season totals to 12-for-12 on field goals and 9-for-9 on extra points for the 2025 season.
The Bulldogs took their first lead of the game on a 65-yard pass from Warner to Kamron Beachem, which set up a 1-yard rushing score by Bryson Donelson with 5:47 left in the third quarter. The ensuing two-point conversion was no good, giving Fresno State a momentary 13-12 edge over UH.
Hawai‘i took the lead back on a 52-yard Kansei Matsuzawa field goal with 2:32 left in the third quarter. Matsuzawa set a new career-high while remaining perfect on the season. But it also proved to be the last time Hawai‘i would hold a lead on Saturday night.
A 27-yard Dylan Lynch field goal put Fresno State in the lead for good with 9:54 left. On the ensuing Hawai‘i possession, Alejado threw his third interception of the game, a pick K'Vion Thunderbird returned 59 yards for a touchdown.
In its final possession, Hawai‘i got the touchdown it needed on a 10-yard pass from Alejado to Blaze Kamoku with 10 seconds left, but the requisite 2-point attempt to send the game to overtime went through Brandon White's hands. Fresno State then recovered the ensuing onside kick and knelt to make the victory official.
"Our guys fought their heart out all the way to the last whistle. There's no quit in them," Chang said. "You're building and you're developing in that room, and that's what I'm most proud of. (Fresno State) made a couple more plays than us, and that's the way the game of football goes."
The Rainbow Warriors will next take the field on Sept. 27 at Air Force in a game that will be televised on FS1 with a 10 a.m. HST kickoff.
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
