With showers providing the only sounds in a somber home locker room, members of the University of Hawai'i football team wondered how so many what-if possibilities left them with a what-now feeling.

"I'm as dumbfounded as anybody else in here," UH strongside linebacker Tanuvasa Moe said in the gloomy aftermath of yesterday's 27-13 loss to 22nd-ranked Fresno State before 23,157 at Aloha Stadium and a regional television audience.

The official summary listed the primary causes of the Warriors' demise as the Bulldogs' gritty defense and running back Wendell Mathis' 229 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

But the Warriors' fingerprints were all over this outcome, which dropped them to 3-5 overall and 3-3 in the Western Athletic Conference. They need to win their final four games to meet the NCAA bowl-eligible requirement of a winning regular season.

"We played hard and we did all of the things to give us a chance to win," said UH running back Nate Ilaoa, who endured a sprained right big toe to rush for 95 yards on 10 carries. "We couldn't cash in when we got close (to the end zone). That's tough. No matter if it's a close game or a blowout, a loss is a loss, and every loss hurts."

Nine of the Warriors' 10 possessions trespassed into FSU territory. But of the eight drives in the red zone — between the FSU 20 and end zone — the Warriors managed two field goals and Davone Bess' 15-yard scoring catch, one of his school-record 14 receptions.

"We drove all over them, but we couldn't execute when we got down to their goal line," said quarterback Colt Brennan, who completed 35 of 54 passes for 327 yards but was intercepted twice and sacked five times. "We couldn't put the ball into the end zone. It's so frustrating, so frustrating. It's our toughest loss of the year, by far."

The Warriors' opening drive resulted in two missed opportunities. On third-and-1 from the FSU 15, Brennan scrambled to his right and — just an unclipped toenail from the line of scrimmage and 5 yards of empty space in front — forced a pass into the end zone that was batted away.

"When I first came out of my rollout, I saw Davone breaking back," Brennan said. "It looked like he was going to be wide open. All of a sudden I saw the cornerback was over in the corner of the end zone (approaching Bess), and I stopped, and it kind of flustered my mind. I should have been smart enough to pick up the three yards and get the first down. I probably could have run for a touchdown if I wanted to. It was a total rookie mistake."

On the next play, UH faked a field-goal attempt, with holder Kurt Milne throwing incomplete.

After closing to 14-13 on Daniel Kelly's 39-yard field goal in the third quarter, the Warriors stopped the Bulldogs on the ensuing possession, forcing a punt. But defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville, who also coaches UH's punt-return team, called for the block. A second after Mike Lingua punted, he was flattened by an on-rushing Dane Porlas. The 15-yard penalty advanced the ball to the UH 45, and 10 plays later Mathis scored on a 3-yard run.

"I should have been smart enough to get away," Porlas said. "I thought I had a good angle. I thought I could get in there and block it. I messed up."

But Glanville took the blame, insisting: "I thought if we could score one time — kicking or defense — we could win the game. There's nobody to blame there but me. Nobody else knew it was coming. If you didn't like the call, I'm the guy to blame. Throw the dart at me. I'm the guy. Get in line."

Still, the Warriors had two more chances in the fourth quarter. After UH advanced to the FSU 8, Brennan, under heavy pressure, scrambled to his left, circled to his right and threw across the field, where linebacker Alan Goodwin intercepted in the end zone.

Later, still trailing 20-13, UH faced a fourth-and-goal from the FSU 6. Brennan tried to throw to Bess, who was running a crossing route in the end zone. Bess was bumped twice, and the pass was incomplete. "If they didn't hold me, it would be a touchdown," Bess said. "They took me off my route."

A penalty flag was thrown, but after consulting, the officials ruled that Brennan's pass was tipped near the line of scrimmage. Pass interference cannot be assessed on a tipped pass, the officials announced.

But Brennan argued the pass was not tipped. "I turned my wrist because I was trying to put the ball right there, and the ball came out kind of squiggly," Brennan said. "It didn't even touch one person (near the line of scrimmage). The refs totally missed the call right there."

Jones said: "They said it was tipped at the line of scrimmage, but if it's not tipped there, then the pass is good and they have to call the penalty. That (call) disappoints me."

Free safety Tyler Culver, who successfully argued FSU's case, said: "Oh, no, there was no holding on the play. Of course, I'm focusing on my assignment, and I don't see everything around me."

Instead, Culver praised the Bulldogs' switching red-zone defense that mixes coverages. "When we get backed up, we always say, 'It's time to turn up the dial,' " Culver said.

Cornerback Marcus McCauley said the Bulldogs spend the majority of every Wednesday practice working on red-zone schemes. "We pride ourselves on our red-zone play," McCauley said.

Brennan said the Bulldogs use the football version of a match-up zone, using one-on-on coverages on some receivers. "We couldn't figure it out down there," Brennan said. "They manned some guys, they zoned some guys."

Meanwhile, there was nothing fancy about the Bulldogs' offense. Paul Pinegar's 58-yard scoring pass to Jermaine Jamison came on a streak pattern. While Jamison raced downfield, Pinegar looked to another receiver, inducing cornerback Lamar Broadway to break stride, and then threw long. "When (Broadway) slowed down, I figured (Jamison) would go right by him, so I threw it out there," Pinegar said.

Mathis' runs, including the 78-yard sprint with 1:59 to play, were cutbacks off lead plays. "They weren't complicated plays," Mathis said. "The O-line made the blocks, and it was my job to do the rest."

Mathis, who began his NCAA career at UCLA, redshirted in 2003, missing the Bulldogs' previous trip to the Islands. "Once I came here, I inherited all of the past relationships Fresno State has had with Hawai'i in the Islands," noting how the Warriors had won the three previous meetings at Aloha Stadium. "It fell on my shoulders, because I'm part of the team. That's why this is a big win for our program."

Later, Mathis added: "We knew the road to the WAC championship goes through Hawai'i. We really wanted this one for all the games we played here and lost."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.