If recent history means anything, starting the season 1-2 might not be a bad thing for the University of Hawaii football team.

This is the seventh time in the past nine years that UH won just one of its first three games. But every time, the Warriors finished the regular season with a winning record. Hawaii teams starting 1-2 since 2003 went 43-19 in the remaining games for a .694 winning percentage.

You can go back to 2001 for another 1-2 start. That’s when Timmy Chang got hurt and UH’s current offensive coordinator, Nick Rolovich, took over at quarterback. The Warriors got better each week and reeled off five wins in a row, headed to a 9-3 record with an offense that scored 52, 52 and 72 points in its final three games.

As then-Star-Bulletin columnist Kalani Simpson often reminded us, at some point Rolo “saw the light” with the run-and-shoot offense and everything fell into place.

And that is one of the keys to Hawaii recovering from its debacle in Las Vegas when the Warriors host UC Davis on Saturday — improved offensive efficiency. Quarterback Bryant Moniz, though shaky at times, has already seen the light. But an inexperienced and injury-plagued supporting cast is still trying to figure it out.

The defense and special teams were supposed to hold the fort until the offense clicked. That went the way of a bad double down in blackjack; what appeared to be clear advantages for UH turned sour early and often against the Rebels. The Warriors failed in all three phases.

WHAT DO we know about UC Davis? Its record is also 1-2. The win is against San Diego, which the Aggies handled 31-3 last week. They are fairly balanced on offense with an experienced line and quarterback.

It won’t be like the UNLV game, where we saw the oddity of the home team’s strong play quieting a crowd of visiting fans larger than that supporting the home team. It’s hard to imagine Hawaii fans showing up in big numbers at Aloha Stadium on Saturday. Unfortunately for the UH athletic department’s bottom line, what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas, and a lot of folks who call themselves UH fans tell me they’re taking a timeout. I did see the other side of that the day after the game, as many UH supporters continued to wear Warriors gear around Sin City despite nursing massive bad football hangovers.

The folks I feel for are the mainland Hawaii fans who went to that game; for most, it’s the only time they get to see their team this season, some maybe ever, and that’s what they got. “This was very disappointing for so many of us,” said Jeff Cabanlit, a Hawaii ex-pat from Pearl City who lives in the Los Angeles area. “UH football is a source of pride for us. But they weren’t on that night.”

ESPECIALLY WITH the weakened state of the WAC, a winning season is still possible — but only if enough of the problem areas are shored up soon. Of course, Hawaii must first take care of business this Saturday against a lower-tier opponent.

The prognosis for UH teams starting 1-3 is much worse than for those getting out of the gate at 1-2.