MĀNOA — Same shortcomings, different week.
The University of Hawai‘i football team squandered another valiant defensive effort and produced another inconsistent offensive performance en route to a 21-13 loss to North Dakota State, its bowl eligibility hopes washed away in the Mānoa mist at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex on Saturday night.
Hawai‘i fell to 3-7 overall and 2-5 in Mountain West play. Meanwhile, NDSU improved to 8-2 overall and 5-2 in Mountain West games, its conference championship hopes still alive.
Prior to Saturday's game, a moment of silence and cheer for late former Hawai‘i head coach June Jones was held. The Rainbow Warriors had not hosted a home game since the Oct. 29 passing of Jones. From 1999 to 2007 when Jones was the head coach, Hawai‘i had one of the top offenses and passing attacks in the country behind Jones' interpretation of the run-and-shoot offense.
The tributes UH played for Jones throughout the night only amplified the distance between the glory days of Hawai‘i football and the product the Rainbow Warriors put out on the field offensively on Saturday night. Quarterback Micah Alejado completed 31 of 47 passes for 231 yards and two costly interceptions that led directly to Bison touchdowns.
North Dakota State got the scoring started after Alejado was intercepted at the UH 11, setting up a 7-yard Mekhi Collins touchdown reception from Nathan Hayes with 4:20 left in the first quarter.
The 'Bows stayed scoreless until a 17-yard DeVon Rice fake reverse on fourth-and-3 got UH on the board with four seconds remaining in the first half.
UH had two trips in the North Dakota State red zone in the third quarter, both trips ending on Sean Olvera-Harle field goals.
The Bison took the lead for good with 8:34 remaining on its only full touchdown drive of the day, a 16-play, 77-yard drive ended with DJ Scott's 1-yard run.
On the ensuing possession, Alejado was intercepted by North Dakota State linebacker Ray James Jr., who returned it 49 yards for a Bison touchdown with 6:27 left.
With no timeouts and one last chance to attempt to tie the game, Alejado was sacked on fourth down at the UH 29 and stayed on the ground for an extended period of time. After further review, it was determined that a previous call should have granted Hawai‘i an extra down, causing confusion to those at the stadium who hadn't left yet. Alejado, unable to enter the game due to an injury timeout on the previous play, yielded to backup quarterback Bjorn Jurgensen on fourth-and-19 on the UH 29. After pulling the ball on a play action pass, Jurgensen ran out of bounds after a six yard gain, causing even more confusion. The Bison were able to take one knee and secure victory after the turnover on downs.
Following the game, Hawai‘i head coach Timmy Chang stepped up to the podium and took an extra second to lift his head up after the latest hard loss.
"Hard fought on both ends. ... It's pretty tough for our guys right now, understanding that there's a goal, possibility and chance of us being together for a longer period of time. So, that's a tough situation for us," Chang said of his team missing out on bowl eligibility.
The confusion that came from Hawai‘i's final offensive play stemmed from Alejado getting flagged for intentional grounding on first down earlier in the possession. Officials skipped second down and went straight to third down. When Hawai‘i thought it turned it over on downs, officials caught their mistake and granted the Rainbow Warriors an extra down.
"We did not see it. None of our staff saw it. None of the referees caught it. So, tough situation," Chang said. "As the game goes on, in that situation, you're looking for the next call. You're wondering what the [play] call is going to be. Going from first to third, rather than being second, it's a tough deal."
However, by the time Jurgensen trotted out to the field for the last gasp effort, Chang thought everyone was on the same page.
"Bjorn, I believe, understood it was fourth down," Chang said. "He has to get the ball out of his hands, and he felt bad after the game."
Hawai‘i has two games remaining on its regular season schedule. Next for the Rainbow Warriors is a road contest at Nevada on Nov. 21 for a 5:30 p.m. HST kickoff.
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
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