Shaken, not deterred

In the aftermath of the “most disappointing loss” of his career, head coach Greg McMackin vowed to correct the Hawaii football team’s “self-inflicted” problems incurred during Saturday’s 40-20 loss to Nevada-Las Vegas.

McMackin said the improvements might involve changes in personnel.

“We have a very disappointed football team,” McMackin said during his weekly Monday news conference. “I know the fans are disappointed, too. We’re going to regroup and we’re going to be a good football team. Most of the things are correctable, and we can get them corrected. Some things we just have to get better at right now.” McMackin acknowledged that four lost fumbles — including three in a row early in the third quarter — and defensive penalties on three third-down passes provided a momentum boost for the Rebels.

“They were enough to psych up the other team, (which) was waiting to be psyched up,” McMackin said. “And we played right into it.”

McMackin expressed disappointment in what he termed “self-inflicted” mistakes. He cited the breakdowns in defending the perimeter, containing the opposing quarterback on bootlegs, protecting UH quarterback Bryant Moniz, and finishing off plays. The Warriors entered knowing they had to focus on UNLV’s Phillip Payne, a 6-foot-3 wideout with a 38-inch vertical jump. Payne had two scoring receptions, and made a leaping catch on third down.

“The coverage (by the defensive backs) is outstanding, but now when the ball is thrown, we’ve got to make the play,” McMackin said. “I don’t care if he’s a 6-4 leaper, we’ve got to make the play, and we’ll do that. We’re going to work really hard on that this week. But that’s what we weren’t doing. We had (Payne) covered, and they were in the right position. They just have to make the play.”

McMackin said there have been discussions about lineup changes.

“When somebody has a bad play, I look at myself first,” McMackin said, “and then I talk to the coordinator, and make sure he’s teaching it the same way I want it taught. Then (I) go to the position coach to make sure it’s done correctly, and then (I) go to the player. … If the player doesn’t improve, then we get another player.”

He added: “We want our best players on the field. We left (more than 60) guys back here (because of travel-roster limits), so there’s no reason to practice if you have no chance to compete. Competition makes us a lot better.”