SAN JOSE, Calif. >> As the University of Hawaii football team prepared to depart for Saturday’s game against San Jose State at CEFCU Stadium, head coach Nick Rolovich handed each player a container of Capri Sun juice drink.

The message was inspirational and metaphorical: bring the juice to the Mountain West Conference game.

“It was a way to pump us up,” said defensive tackle Kory Rasmussen, whose Rainbow Warriors defeated the Spartans 34-17 for their first road victory since 2014. The Warriors are 2-0 in the Mountain West for the first time in their five-year membership.

“That was Coach Rolo doing his thing,” defensive end Makani Kema-Kaleiwahea said. “He has his ways, his mysterious ways of pumping us up. I thought that was awesome. Before the game, everyone was drinking it. We definitely had the juice.”

Quarterback Dru Brown, making his second NCAA start and playing 12 miles from his family home in Los Gatos, was 24-for-33 for 287 yards and two touchdowns. He also turned a now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t fake into a bootleg that went 62 yards for a touchdown.

“It was a ‘Sunshine’ day,” said slotback Dylan Collie, who caught a 24-yard scoring pass from the quarterback known as “Sunshine.”

Collie said Brown, who has not been intercepted in his two starts, is “a great football player, an all-around leader and, more importantly, he has a lot of confidence. He’s a confident kid, and it brings out the best in us.”

The Warriors also received a boost from a defense that stood up after being bullied by the Spartans’ power running game the first two series. The Spartans averaged 12.8 yards on their first seven carries before being stopped on third-and-1 and settling for Bryce Crawford’s 20-yard field goal.

The Spartans then went 85 yards in 12 plays to take a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.

“I had to hold on to my ass,” UH defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa said. “I thought, ‘Damn, they’re fast.’ The first two drives, they went up and down the field like we were Swiss cheese.”

And then the Warriors had enough. The front seven clogged the running lanes and then chased quarterback Kenny Potter, who was playing on a sore knee and ankle. Potter was harassed into three interceptions — one each by safety Trayvon Henderson and cornerbacks Jalen Rogers and Jamal Mayo.

“This week, we did a lot of high-point drills,” Rogers said of jumping for high passes, “and I guess it paid off.”

The Warriors sacked Potter six times, and produced 11 minus-yardage plays.

“Our guys settled down,” Lempa said. “They understood what they were supposed to do and they did it. They played well. They played aggressively.”

The Warriors also had to make an offensive adjustment. They had planned a sequel to the previous week’s 344 rushing yards. But offensive coordinator Brian Smith did the math: There were more defenders than blockers in the tackle box, and the Spartans were in man-to-man pass coverages. With the Spartans keying on running back Diocemy Saint Juste, who averaged 1.0 yard per rush in the first half, Smith called for more passing.

Collie was wide open on a delayed corner route that he and Brown synchronized after practices last week. “As soon as I saw the coverage and I saw Dru bail (out of the pocket), I knew I had to keep my head down, and he was going to let (the pass) go, and that’s exactly what he did,” Collie said. “It worked out.”

Brown said: “It was a good scheme. I made my read, I made my throw, and Dylan did the rest.”

Later, the Warriors faced a fourth-and-1 situation on their 38. Running back Steven Lakalaka, the short-yardage specialist, was summoned. Rolovich gave approval to Brown to give the ball to Lakalaka, as the Spartans expected, or to fake the handoff and run the other direction on a bootleg.

“You’ve got to trust your players,” Rolovich said.

Brown pulled back the football from Lakalaka, who was running to his left, and then sprinted on a keeper around the right side and into open space.

“I definitely got tired at the end,” said Brown, whose 62-yard touchdown broke a 10-all tie with 8:20 left in the second quarter. “I definitely felt them reel me in. It was a long run. I’m happy I made it into the end zone.”

But the enthusiasm was tempered when Brown was penalized for excessive celebration when he high-fived a Pop Warner player in the end zone.

“I didn’t even know that was a rule,” Brown said. “It’s definitely something I’ll try not to do anymore.”

The Warriors were assessed a 15-yard penalty, and the tee was placed on the 20 for the ensuing penalty.

On UH’s final play of the first half, wideout Ammon Barker was similarly penalized after his 39-yard catch for the first touchdown of his UH career.

“We don’t need these stupid penalties,” Rolovich said. “We’ve got to start acting like we’ve been here before and know how to win.”

While satisfied with Brown’s overall play, Rolovich still expressed disappointment in yet another lost fumble by the sophomore quarterback, this one parlayed into 19-yard return for a touchdown to close the Spartans within 24-17 in the third quarter. Brown lost a fumble the previous week.

“We’ve been telling him about that stupid fumble,” Rolovich said. “I told him it was coming, and it came. … Maybe this will be a lesson he gets. If he wants to keep doing it, we’ll make another change.”

Brown said not securing the football tightly is “a habit I have to break. There’s no excuse. It’s something I’ve been able to get away with my whole life. Guys are a lot faster, a lot bigger (in Division I than in junior college or high school). … If I just have it tucked, I won’t fumble, and I’ll take a sack, and that’s not a house call, that’s not a touchdown in their favor. I don’t think it’s me trying to do too much. It’s the way I hold the ball. I can’t be doing that anymore.”

But the defense did not allow another point the rest of the way. Lakalaka’s 30-yard touchdown run and Rigo Sanchez’s 35-yard field goal ended the suspense.

“It was a little bit of a gut check in the second half,” Rolovich said, “and that was good for this team. That’s good growth for this team.”

FIRST QUARTER

SAN JOSE STATE

>> Bryce Crawford 20 field goal.

>> Drive: 9 plays, 86 yards, 5:01 elapsed time. Time: 9:59. Score: San Jose State 3, Hawaii 0

HAWAII

>> Rigo Sanchez 24 field goal.

>> Drive: 13 plays, 69 yards, 4:52 elapsed time. Time: 5:07. Score: San Jose State 3, Hawaii 3

SECOND QUARTER

SAN JOSE STATE

>> Justin Holmes 8 pass from Kenny Potter. Crawford kick.

>> Drive: 12 plays, 85 yards, 5:06 elapsed time. Time: 14:57. Score: San Jose State 10, Hawaii 3

HAWAII

>> Dylan Collie 24 pass from Dru Brown. Sanchez kick.

>> Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:11 elapsed time. Time: 12:46. Score: San Jose State 10, Hawaii 10

HAWAII

>> Brown 62 run. Sanchez kick.

>> Drive: 4 plays, 71 yards, 1:45 elapsed time. Time: 8:20. Score: Hawaii 17, San Jose State 10

HAWAII

>> Ammon Barker 39 pass from Brown. Sanchez kick.

>> Drive: 5 plays, 77 yards, 0:51 elapsed time. Time: 0:26. Score: Hawaii 24, San Jose State 10

THIRD QUARTER

SAN JOSE STATE

>> Frank Ginda 19 fumble return. Crawford kick.

>> Time: 4:16. Score: Hawaii 24, San Jose State 17

FOURTH QUARTER

HAWAII

>> Steven Lakalaka 30 run. Sanchez kick.

>> Drive: 4 plays, 44 yards, 2:00 elapsed time. Time: 12:53. Score: Hawaii 31, San Jose State 17

HAWAII

>> Sanchez 35 field goal.

>> Drive: 57 plays, 42 yards, 3:18 elapsed time. Time: 07:04. Score: Hawaii 34, San Jose State 17

TEAM STATISTICS

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Hawaii, D.Brown 6-54, Saint Juste 16-38, Lakalaka 4-36, Harris 3-29, Ursua 1-4, (Team) 1-(minus 17). San Jose St., Roberson 19-91, Crawley 3-39, Cooper 7-30, Hartley 1-18, (Team) 1-(minus 1), Love 1-(minus 4), Potter 8-(minus 9).

PASSING–Hawaii, D.Brown 24-33-0-287. San Jose St., Potter 16-30-3-160, Love 2-3-0-15.

RECEIVING–Hawaii, Kemp 6-69, Ursua 5-52, Collie 4-54, Timoteo 3-28, ‘Unga 2-41, Barker 2-38, Camanse-Stevens 1-6, Saint Juste 1-(minus 1). San Jose St., Hartley 4-41, Crawley 4-38, Holmes 4-37, Freeman 3-51, Roberson 3-8.

MISSED FIELD GOALS–San Jose St., Crawford 50.