It rained, and emotions poured.

“Did you see the defense?” University of Hawaii quarterback Max Wittek said following Tuesday’s football practice. “They were fired up all practice. It’s the kind of stuff we need. We don’t need to do anything crazy or special. There’s no one thing. It’s just guys showing up and getting fired up. It’s just emotion. You gotta love it.”

The Rainbow Warriors approach Saturday’s game against Air Force without a safety net. The Warriors, who are 2-6 overall and 0-4 in the Mountain West Conference, need to win their final five regular-season games to avert their fifth consecutive losing season.

Pressure?

“Absolutely,” slotback Dylan Collie said. “But what’s being a good athlete without some pressure? This is where you truly find out who you are as an athlete. If we don’t perform, we don’t perform, and that’s on us. We gave up a lot of games. We have an opportunity to bounce back.”

Last week, Lance Williams, a linebacker and co-captain, gave a fiery pep talk during a players-only meeting. On Tuesday, the torch was passed to Harold Moleni, a senior tight end.

Moleni spoke about “how he couldn’t sleep last night, how it was weighing on him that he’s only got five weeks left as a senior,” Collie recalled. “He doesn’t want to go out on the bottom. When we play for the seniors, like Coach (Norm) Chow has always told us to, yeah, we’re going to have that enthusiastic practice, even in this weather.”

After extensive pre-practice stretching, Wittek went out and competed with the first-team offense. Wittek has incurred ailments to both knees and a foot.

“If I’m able to walk onto the field, I’ll play,” said Wittek, who threw for a career-high 291 yards in a 30-20 loss to Nevada this past Saturday.

But Wittek added: “You’ve got to win the game. It’s nice to play better, but it’s better to win the game.”

Two ailing wideouts — Marcus Kemp and Quinton Pedroza — both practiced on Tuesday. Defensve tackle Ka‘au Gifford was helped onto a cart after suffering an apparent leg injury. When razzed by teammates, Gifford responded that he was seeking ice packs. Gifford returned to practice and parlayed a turnover into a sprint the other way on the practice’s final play. Gifford declared himself physically fit after the practice.

“There are times when it’s going to be hard,” Williams said. “That’s the thing with football. Either you love the game or you like the game. I love this game. I come out every morning, hyping these guys and getting everybody ready. As you can see, practice was exciting. That’s the magic of football. Are you a quitter? What are you going to do, as a man, when challenges like this (come) around? You’ve got to stay positive and work hard.”