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Two streaks ended with Hawaii’s win over Nevada at Aloha Stadium on Saturday.
The Rainbow Warriors snapped a nine-game Mountain West Conference losing streak with their first league win since a 37-34 last-second victory over UNLV on Nov. 22, 2014. UH lost to Fresno State the following week and went 0-8 in conference play last season. UH is now 5-28 in MWC games since joining the conference in 2012 and is 1-0 in conference play for the second time in five years of membership.
UH also halted Nevada’s five-game winning streak in the series in beating the Wolf Pack for the first time since Oct. 16, 2010. The Warriors upset No. 19 Nevada and quarterback Colin Kaepernick 27-21. Corey Paredes, who forced two Kaepernick fumbles that night, was UH’s honorary captain for the game. UH also cut Nevada’s lead in the all-time series to 12-9.
Ma remembered
Before taking the field, Hawaii and Nevada honored Marc Ma with a moment of silence.
Ma, an ‘Iolani graduate and Nevada defensive end, died in a paddle-board accident on Lake Tahoe in June.
The Wolf Pack players bowed their heads and raised a shaka during the tribute. Nevada will not issue No. 59 for the three years of eligibility Ma had remaining.
Kicks fail twice
When Hawaii called a timeout right before Nevada’s Brent Zuzo tried a 48-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the first half, it brought back memories of nine years ago, when the roles were reversed and the stakes were higher.
UH’s Dan Kelly made two field goals from 45 yards — one that was negated by a timeout called by Nevada, and one after that counted — with 11 seconds left to give Hawaii a 28-26 win in Reno that kept the Warriors’ unbeaten 2007 regular season alive.
This time, things didn’t work out for the visiting team’s kicker. Zuzo missed both attempts, and Hawaii went into intermission with a 17-3 lead.
Next: San Jose State
The Rainbow Warriors return to the site of the program’s last road win with a visit to San Jose State on Saturday.
UH posted the lone shutout of the Norm Chow era with a 13-0 win at Spartan Stadium on Nov. 15, 2014. UH has lost its last 10 games away from Aloha Stadium since. The road losing streak is tied for the third-longest in school history.
San Jose State won last year’s game 42-23 and enters the 39th meeting between the schools at 1-4 after dropping its MWC opener at New Mexico 48-41 on Saturday.
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