Stops were made, eventually. Fumbles happened, then un-happened. A sure chance at a pick came and went.
When it came down to it, the Hawaii defense kept missing the one big play it needed to get off the field and buy more time for quarterback David Graves to orchestrate a comeback. Fresno State’s domination of possession contributed heavily to a 24-21 defeat of UH on Saturday night at Aloha Stadium.
Fresno State controlled the ball for most of the game — 38:15 to UH’s 21:45 — sapping the life out of the crowd and the UH sideline for minutes at a time, particularly in the first half, when the Bulldogs scored on their first three possessions.
Bulldogs running back Robbie Rouse wore down the defense to the tune of 176 yards on a whopping 37 carries. He accounted for nearly half of FSU’s 76 offensive plays and a sizable chunk of the visitors’ 488 yards of total offense.
"They hit their creases, the running back ran hard downhill," senior lineman Kaniela Tuipulotu said. "He’s a shifty little back, so when he has a crease, he hits them hard. They just played a good game. They came out here, they wanted it, we wanted it, but they just made one more play than us."
Most notably, a whiff on an interception chance of FSU quarterback Derek Carr at the start of the fourth quarter allowed the deciding score of the game. Safety John Hardy-Tuliau, who made a great pass breakup at the goal line in the first half, had the first crack at Carr’s pass as the safety crossed the middle at high speed.
The ball passed through Hardy-Tuliau’s hands and into those of receiver Josh Harper for a 43-yard score. It was reminiscent of opportunities squandered in UH’s loss to Utah State two weeks prior.
Though it was the only score the defense allowed in the second half, it was crippling.
"How many times have we been there for an interception and it goes through our hands?" lamented UH coach Greg McMackin afterward. "We gotta make those plays."
Fatigue was apparent by the end as Rouse continued to elude tackles in the backfield and eat up yards and clock.
The Bulldogs fumbled three times, but recovered all three balls.
"That’s always a heartbreaker for us," Tuipulotu said of the near chances. "But we fought through it. We came back, we made another stop after that. Kept fighting. Hats off to them, they made the plays when they needed it and kept their offense on the field."
And yet, the defense almost did enough to salvage the night. UH halted Fresno on fourth and 5 in Warriors territory with less than 7 minutes left. Then, with the game on the line and Fresno facing third and 11 near midfield, Rouse was stopped short and Graves and the offense had one last chance with 2:18 on the clock.
"First half, they kept cutting back on us. We didn’t really see it that much (in preparation)," linebacker Art Laurel said. "But in the second half we talked about it and were able to play some defense."
But time ran out on UH.
