Don’t let that last flurry or even the final score of 35-28 fool you. Don’t be tricked into thinking Hawaii lost to Colorado State because it couldn’t finish in the fourth quarter.

This loss, Hawaii’s seventh of the season with no wins, was courtesy of inexcusable mistakes early in the game.

Somehow, UH managed to go negative-14 on back-to-back forays into the red zone in the first quarter. No, not minus-14 yards … 14 POINTS, for the opponents.

"You can’t miss opportunities," coach Norm Chow said. "It’ll come back and get you, regardless."

Comparisons to the Bad News Bears came up twice in the first half — a guy on my Twitter feed and John Veneri on the radio broadcast. Poor John, a proud alumnus, a former player who deserved much better on homecoming night. As did the rest of you.

Yes, Hawaii bumbled this one away. But I have to take offense with comparing them to the Bad News Bears. It’s unfair … to the Bears.

The Bears were bereft of talent. But the team sponsored by Chico’s Bail Bonds eventually got redemption.

UH gives its loyalists hope, but no payoff. They don’t get to beat the Yankees at the end.

It doles out hope in small doses, but never enough, not yet anyway and time is running out. Five games left.

And that’s the part that’s frustrating … Hawaii makes plays, on both sides of the ball and special teams. They’ve got some guys with some skill, or at least raw talent. Much more so than last year, when they actually won a few games.

But the only thing they do consistently now is fritter away opportunity and then come up short.

I’ve preached patience with Coach Chow, but it’s getting difficult when you see only slight, gradual progress, and then you see it turned into the kind of ridiculous regression we saw against the Rams in the first half … and Colorado State is an inconsistent, mediocre team in an unremarkable conference that didn’t play that great itself Saturday.

When opportunity knocked, the Rainbows opened the door for the visitors.

Getting outmuscled on a touchdown pass in the end zone? Not good.

And before the heads even stop shaking, CSU has the ball across the Hawaii goal line.

Then UH gets to the red zone again, thanks to a long kickoff return. On third and 9 knowing this team’s history, you just hope they can stay in field-goal range. Oh, but here’s another new wrinkle, a fumble and a Rams defender taking it all the way back and CSU up 14-0 before the late arriving and early leaving crowd had even settled in.

It’s one thing to come out of the red zone with less than touchdowns … it’s insanity when two trips there result in two opponent TDs.

The fans deserve some kind of medal, sitting through that stuff. At least they got another spirited comeback attempt, not quite on the scale of the Fresno State game, but with the same result. Small consolation.

Those who left after the first half? Can’t say I blame them.