Returning home might work better

Hawaii head football coach Greg McMackin acknowledged the road to success should not require a one-week stay.

The Warriors went 0-2 on the recent road trip in which they remained on the mainland between the games against Washington on Sept. 10 and Nevada-Las Vegas on Saturday.

“We were there too long, I think,” McMackin said of the eight-night stay in Las Vegas. “I don’t want to do that again.”

In each of McMackin’s four seasons as UH head coach, the Warriors have had back-to-back road games. They stayed on the mainland each time, including the past three years in Las Vegas, during which they went 0-3 on the second leg.

McMackin said the Warriors explored the possibility of returning to Honolulu after the Washington game in Seattle. UH athletic director Jim Donovan has said it would have cost up to $100,000 extra for the team to return between road games.

Instead, after the Washington game, the Warriors took a charter flight to Las Vegas, arriving that evening.

In Las Vegas, the Warriors kept busy with practices, meetings and study hall. They also had a bowling tournament and an excursion to watch the movie “Warrior.” McMackin said his preference is not to play consecutive road games. He said remaining on the road is “not scheduling for success, I promise you that.”

But McMackin said there were no behavioral problems.

“I defy any team to go over there three years in a row and have a camp in the middle of Vegas and not have any problems,” McMackin said. “We’ve got great kids. They worked on their academics. There were no problems.”

Ostrowski update

A second round of X-rays Monday did not show any fractures or significant damage to slotback Miah Ostrowski’s strained right foot.

Ostrowski suffered the injury on UH’s final offensive play against Washington. X-rays taken that day were negative for fractures. But Ostrowski did not play against UNLV.

“It’s all good,” Ostrowski said. “Now I want to see if I can strengthen my ankle and my foot. I really want to play this week. I don’t like sitting around the sideline. I’ll do everything I can to come back this week.”

Defensive tackle Haku Correa was on crutches and wearing a medical boot Tuesday because of an injured ankle. He said he suffered torn ligaments.

Unlucky bounce on punt

Punt returner Scott Harding said it was an “unlucky” bounce that caused a fumble early in the UNLV game. The Rebels recovered, leading to a field goal and a lead they would not relinquish.

After the opening drive stalled, the Rebels punted.

“It was short,” Harding said. “I was going too fast to get out of the way, and it took a bad bounce. It hit the ground first, then it hit me, then it fell pretty much into the (UNLV) guy’s hands.”

Harding likened it to a shortstop being caught on a bad-hop grounder.

Harding said he adhered to the Warriors’ one-snapand-clear code.

“That’s one thing I’ve learned,” Harding said. “You have to get over things pretty quickly, especially with that job. You only get one go at it. You have to move on.”