UH will need something special to beat Boise St. By Ferd Lewis Advertiser Columnist

BOISE, Idaho —The University of Hawai'i football team wanted a victory over Boise State in the worst way last night.

Unfortunately, at times that was also how the Warriors seemed to go about trying to get it — in the worst way.

Three turnovers and three huge breakdowns in the kicking game ultimately doomed the 1-2 Warriors to their sixth consecutive loss to the Broncos, 41-34. And surely one of their most maddening, which is saying something in this seemingly beyond-cursed series.

For a team that had hoped to turn over a new leaf in this Western Athletic Conference opener against defending champion and arch-nemesis Boise State there were, well, just turnovers. For a team that needed to summon something close to perfection, the undoing was imperfection. It was enough to make a team as blue as Boise State's signature smurf turf.

The Warriors came back from a 24-6 second-quarter deficit — where announcers were urging the assembled 30,642 to celebrate the "Bronco win" at the official pizza chain afterward — to make a game of it, twice closing to seven points in the fourth quarter. "I won't lie, there was some anxiety there," admitted Boise tight end Derek Schouman, who scored two touchdowns.

But the Warriors made too much of a mess of it in key spots to cash in on what could have otherwise been Boise State's first loss at home in its WAC history (21 games over six seasons).

The 25th-ranked Broncos (4-0) might have a new head coach (Chris Petersen) and a largely rebuilt coaching staff after Dan Hawkins' departure to Colorado, but the modus operandi remains the same: The Broncos just don't beat themselves the way the Warriors and other conference contenders continually seem to. Four consecutive conference titles and a big step toward a fifth say the Broncos' secret is really no secret at all.

Nowhere, however, can that frustration be higher than with Hawai'i, which has seen Boise score 32 points off UH special teams breakdowns over the last six years.

"Our coaches always say that they call them 'special teams' for a reason," Schouman said. "And, against Hawai'i they sure have been."

After losing by a combined 93 points in their two previous visits to Bronco Stadium, this was one the Warriors could have, should have and probably would have won if not for the telltale breakdowns. After losing six consecutive games to nationally ranked teams, this was one that got away despite another stirring comeback.

Sort of like the snapper-holder disconnection in which three point-after opportunities went awry. One of them so badly collapsing that in the worst of deja vu episodes Boise's Orlando Scandrick got his second two-point return of a botched UH PAT in a little over 11 months.

Just how tough of a night it became was underlined by UH players high-fivin' themselves after the first successful PAT kick. And, it didn't come until 5 minutes, 6 seconds were gone in the third quarter. Unfortunately, the celebration was short-lived because on the next opportunity things broke down again.

"Not to take anything away from Boise State ... they don't make mistakes and we made mistakes, that's how we lost," said UH quarterback Colt Brennan, who threw an interception and coughed up a key fumble at the Boise State 45 with 10 minutes, 17 seconds left. "We have a tendency to hurt ourselves and that's exactly what we did out there today."

On primary election night in Hawai'i the returns on UH are in: the Warriors have narrowed the once huge gap between themselves and the conference powerhouse. But they have yet to close it. Blowouts are a thing of the past. Victories, however, are still somewhere over the horizon.

Now because of it, to get back in the WAC race the Warriors are going to require some help. OK, a lot of help. They are going to have to keep winning and hope someone else can do what they were unable to do last night and play spotlessly enough to beat Boise State.

One of these days UH is going to beat Boise State. But it is apparently going to take a near-perfect night to do it. And last night wasn't close to it.