Warriors get a fresh stack of chips

RENO, NEV. » Like most visitors to the "Biggest Little City in the World," the Hawaii football team arrived in search of a big payoff.

Although the Rainbow Warriors lost their first two games, the reset button has been pushed. Today’s game between Hawaii and Nevada is the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams.

"We’re excited for the opportunity ahead," quarterback Taylor Graham said, noting, "0-2 is tough. We’re not happy with it. We’re thankful conference play is here."

Nevada also is grateful for the do-over. The Wolf Pack are 1-2, with blowout road losses to UCLA and Florida State bracketing a victory over FCS member UC Davis. It could have been worse. UC Davis replaced second-ranked Oregon on the Pack’s schedule.

Then again, the Pack’s first three games were hurtful. Quarterback Cody Fajardo, who has a sprained knee, did not play against Florida State, and his availability is in question for today’s game. Backup quarterback Devin Combs suffered a season-ending ACL injury.

Freshman Tyler Stewart, who was 7-for-15 for 49 yards last week, reportedly received extended reps in this week’s practices.

"Obviously, Fajardo is a heck of a football player," UH coach Norm Chow said. "Obviously, he’s beat up a little bit. We’ll have to see."

The Warriors have their own offensive concerns.

They have converted 16 percent on third down, ranking 121st among 123 FBS schools. Their five third-down rushes netted minus-1 yard. They have completed four of 13 passes on third down for 47 yards. Two were intercepted.

Graham has struggled with his accuracy. His quarterback rating is 82.1, which is 110th in the FBS. The receivers also have dropped 11 passes in two games.

"There are plenty of coulda, woulda, shouldas," Graham said. "We don’t focus on that. The bottom line here is: Did we get the job done? The answer is, ‘No.’ We have to move on."

"We don’t want to have any more dropped passes," freshman receiver Keith Kirkwood said. "One dropped pass can change the whole game around. It could be on third down. We need the receivers to make big plays."

The Warriors will be relatively healthy. Running back Joey Iosefa, tight end Jordan Pu‘u-Robinson, and defensive tackle Kennedy Tulimasealii have been medically cleared to make their 2013 debuts. Free safety Marrell Jackson, linebacker Brenden Daley and safety Trayvon Henderson also have recovered from injuries.

Running back Faga Wily, a freshman who was UH’s No. 1 back the first two games, remained in Honolulu because of concussion-like symptoms.