Yes, I really did think Hawaii was going to beat Lamar by just a couple of touchdowns. And the Warriors did — outscoring the Cardinals by two or three TDs in EACH QUARTER, except the first. Turns out I used the wrong points of reference, those being some of UH’s losses and narrow wins against FCS teams in recent years.

Sure, in 2007 there were the Charleston Southerns and the Northern Colorados (UH starters in street clothes after halftime). But this 54-2 rout in Norm Chow’s home debut as head coach was more like what Dick Tomey’s and Bob Wagner’s teams used to consistently do to overmatched visitors from lower levels back in the ’70s and ’80s. When the Warriors began to pull away Saturday, it brought forth memories of blowouts like 65-0 over Prairie View in 1979 and 62-10 over Yale in 1987.

Same formula. Pound away on the ground, set up the pass. Stop the run, make the opponent’s offense one-dimensional. It’s what you do with superior personnel and depth. No need to get fancy.

And, then, the third ingredient, special teams. While all three phases dominated Lamar, the kicking game was the most spectacular — and pivotal, if you’re allowed to consider anything as such when the teams are separated by 52 points.

The UH special teams either set up or scored three of the Warriors’ first five touchdowns. There was a fumble recovery on a punt (Will Gregory). There was a blocked punt for a TD (John Hardy-Tuliau and Ne’Quan Phillips). There was a 95-yard kickoff return (Mike Edwards).

And it all seemed to happen at once. For the better part of the first half, it looked like the visitors from Beaumont, Texas, would give UH a game. Then Warriors special teams coach Chris "Demo" Demarest’s troops went into demolition mode.

UH quarterback Sean Schroeder marveled.

"I’ve never seen anything like that. Maybe in Pop Warner, maybe."

Lamar assistant Dennis McKnight lamented.

"They kicked our ass. What else are you gonna say?" Then the former UH special teams boss went on to say some more. "We made some bad decisions, they made some good plays and we didn’t. We couldn’t afford those, especially early in the game."

A lot of these same Warriors were on last year’s team that, to put it nicely, could not count special teams as a strength. What’s the difference?

"Execution, that’s all," Edwards said. "Coach Tomey (last year’s special teams coordinator) taught us some things, and now Coach Demarest has everyone buying in."

If you go to practice, you hear Demarest before you see him — kind of how McKnight was.

"I thought we could block a punt and we did," Demarest said. "I challenged Mike Edwards to return a touchdown and the kids to hold their blocks that much longer because he’s capable of some special returns."

If the Warriors need sobering, they only have to look back to the season opener, when they allowed a USC touchdown on the second-half kickoff, or the botched extra-point snap that led to Lamar’s only points. But for a short time, they can bask in Saturday’s near-perfect special teams performance.

"Was it a good night? Yes," Demarest said. "Is it the end all? Absolutely not."

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783.