SAN DIEGO » This was a game Hawaii could have won. Really, I’m serious.

Maybe you think that’s crazy if you didn’t watch it and only know the final score against San Diego State at Qualcomm Stadium on Saturday. It was 52-14, by the way.

Yes, ugly. As ugly as 49-10, 69-24 or 47-0? Hey, they’re all disappointing and frustrating in their own way. But in the USC, Nevada and BYU games that weren’t really games very long you knew it was over pretty early into it.

This one was different because — although the score doesn’t indicate it — San Diego State didn’t overwhelm Hawaii physically. What it mostly did was take advantage of UH’s mistakes, especially the big ones.

Those who believe there’s no chance the Norm Chow rebuilding project can work will say this latest lopsided loss is just more proof he shouldn’t have been hired to run this team.

But if you watched the game, you may recall that Hawaii was great early in the second half. The offense put together a solid TD drive and the defense got two three and outs to open the third quarter. The touchdown made it 35-14, Aztecs.

Too bad for UH when you consider that much of the first-half damage was self-inflicted. And we’re talking about San Diego State … 2-3 San Diego State. Rebuilding San Diego State. Defensively challenged San Diego State.

IF NOT FOR just three big first-half mistakes by UH, the score could very well have been tied at 21 after the Warriors pounded the ground on that 78-yard drive. Then anything’s possible, right?

But the Warriors helped the Aztecs build that lead with fumbles leaving San Diego State needing just a few yards for paydirt. It cashed in both times.

And there was also the drop of a probable touchdown pass on fourth down at the SDSU 28.

"It’s frustrating for me being a senior and a guy (others) look up to," said senior receiver Miah Ostrowski, who was wide open at about the 10-yard line with a clear path to the end zone when he dropped the ball. "To not make plays when it’s there for us is frustrating."

Ostrowski is a co-captain. So is Mike Edwards, who fumbled the kickoff after San Diego State’s first TD at Hawaii’s 18, leading to another Aztecs touchdown five plays later. And Billy Ray Stutzmann, who lost the ball at his own 20 with a little more than a minute left in the half, is also an experienced starter.

There are hundreds of mistakes in football games, these were just some of the most apparent and decisive. Of course you can’t get perfection from anyone, even team leaders who have helped the team to wins the year before.

"That’s kind of the disappointing thing," Chow said. "You can expect a mistake by a young guy, but not by some of the guys who are making them."

They don’t make those errors and it’s a different game. One Hawaii could win.

"No one says we don’t make mistakes," Edwards said. "But critical mistakes like that. We can’t do it. We have to continue to strive and limit our mistakes. I’m gonna get on the film tonight. The scoreboard might not say it, but we know what we’re doing as a team."

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