HOUSTON » OK, so here’s the positive spin: The University of Hawaii football team is still undefeated. As coach Norm Chow told the Rainbow Warriors after yet another loss of a winnable game, they are 0-0 in the conference.

Now, here’s the reality: UH is 1-4. Its only victory is against a team from a lower level of competition, and it barely won that one.

It’s like last year when Hawaii went 1-11, except this time the offense is finding ways to lose games where the defense turns in a winning performance — the opposite of 2013.

Things were so bad against Rice that UH ran a successful quarterback sneak for a yard. The only problem is it was first-and-10, not fourth-and-1.

Will Hawaii compete in the Mountain West? Probably, it has heart. Will it win? Not if the offense doesn’t start doing its part and give the defense a chance to rest once in a while.

"Absolutely, there’s no doubt in my mind the defense was lighting it up, they’ve done it all year long," quarterback Ikaika Woolsey said. "Our job is to get it done and sustain drives after the defense gets us the ball."

It’s gotten to that. We’re not even talking about scoring points … just moving the chains a little more often might help. UH managed just three first downs in the fourth quarter when the weary defense finally caved in.

Chow acknowledges he can ask no more of his valiant defense. Even the toughest, most well-conditioned athletes have endurance breaking points — physical and mental.

Scott Harding — whose punts are often Hawaii’s most dangerous threat — knows it too. "As an offense we have to keep the ball more to protect the defense," he said.

Defensive tackle Moses Samia said the defense just has to remain focused no matter how many turnovers and three-and-outs are squandered.

"We just were not doing our assignments on defense (in the fourth quarter). Mentally down at crunch time. Just mental fatigue," he said.

Samia is being too hard on himself and his cohorts. Once again the defense did all it could to keep Hawaii in the game, and once again the offense frittered it away.

Hawaii scored after only one of three Owls turnovers that gave it the ball on the Rice side of the field.

After Harding’s punt was muffed, UH drove to the Rice 15, but a fake field goal came up way short of the 13 yards needed for a first down.

Later, Benny Fonua’s interception putting the ball at the Rice 31 went for naught as the offense sputtered at the 20 and Tyler Hadden missed a 38-yard field-goal try.

Apparently, a change at quarterback wouldn’t have helped matters, at least in Chow’s estimation. Apparently, Taylor Graham couldn’t have done better than absorb seven sacks and produce just 261 yards in total offense.

Maybe that’s true, considering Hawaii’s receivers not named Scott Harding have major problems getting open, and Graham isn’t as mobile as Woolsey.

We know it’s not a one-man game. But a lot of Hawaii fans would like to see what Graham can do, at least for a couple of series.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. Read his blog at staradvertiser.com/quickreads.