Lamar coach Ray Woodard has done well starting a program from scratch two years ago.

But it’s clear after Saturday night the Cardinals aren’t ready for the rigors of the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Lamar, a member of the Football Championship Subdivision’s Southland Conference, dropped to 1-2 overall and 0-2 against FBS schools this season with a 54-2 loss to Hawaii at Aloha Stadium.

Lamar started the year with a 40-0 drubbing at the hands of Sun Belt Conference member Louisiana-Lafayette and has been outscored by 92 points in its first two games against FBS teams since restarting the football program in 2010 after a 21-year hiatus.

"We’re going to be a better football team than if I hadn’t done this if we handle it right, we’re mature about it and can handle it like we did the Lafayette game," Woodard said.

The third-year head coach led the Cardinals to a 4-7 overall record in 2011 with two wins in their first season in the Southland Conference and is 10-15 overall in his first 25 games.

Playing the likes of Northwestern State and Southeastern Louisiana is a far cry from traveling 4,300 miles to Hawaii to play a Mountain West Conference team.

UH held Lamar to 79 total yards in the first half alone and allowed just 44 total rushing yards for the game on 28 carries.

The Cardinals’ special-teams unit, coached by former UH assistant Dennis McKnight, fared even worse, allowing a 95-yard kickoff return for a score and a blocked punt that was returned for another touchdown.

Lamar also allowed the game’s opening touchdown on the first play following a muffed punt that gave UH the ball on the Cardinals’ 16.

The final blow came in the fourth quarter after the Warriors scored to go up 48-0. Kick returner Mike Venson dropped a kickoff near the sideline that dribbled out of bounds on the 2-yard line.

"It wasn’t just one guy — it was a collection of errors," Woodard said. "I think we gave up 28 points on special teams … we didn’t help ourselves much tonight."

McKnight, who coached twice under former UH head coach June Jones in 1999-2000 and 2006-07, echoed Woodard’s thoughts.

"We talked about playing this like a fight and couldn’t take any shots early," said McKnight, who is also in charge of the Cardinals’ offensive line. "When you show a chink in your armor on special teams and (Hawaii) makes plays, it’s hard to bounce back from that."

Despite the many mistakes, McKnight, who was a member of the 2007 UH staff that went to the Sugar Bowl, said his only complaint about returning was that it was too short.

"It’s hard to leave a place like this and then come back knowing you can only be here for a few days," he said. "The memories are too many — too much — with so many people here that it makes it hard to leave so soon."