To a man several University of Hawaii football players insisted that it “wasn’t just one series” that doomed them to Saturday night’s numbing 41-38 loss to Nevada-Las Vegas.

Perhaps, but the opening series spoke eloquently about where the Rainbow Warriors are and, more importantly, where they aren’t at this point in the season.

Before many in the largest home crowd since the 2014 opener, 28,729, found their seats, the ‘Bows were going backward.

Backward on the field at Aloha Stadium and backpedaling, too, in the hopes to make a bowl game turnaround in a season now half gone.

The first 1 minute and 44 seconds told us UH still isn’t ready to win the close ones it needs to get where it wants to go this season.

After Paul Harris had raced the opening kickoff a season-high 75 yards to the UNLV 25-yard line UH went in reverse. A run play went for a loss of a yard and the first pass fell incomplete. Then, quarterback Dru Brown, for the first time this month, looked like the inexperienced sophomore he is. He turned a sack into a debilitating 19-yard loss, by running backward in the attempt to elude pursuit, taking the ‘Bows out of field-goal position in the process.

“That’s not the way to start a football game,” coach Nick Rolovich said afterward.

For the next 3 hours and 34 minutes right up through a funeral-like march to the locker room at the end, the ‘Bows would have reason to rue squandering that opportunity.

There would be other plays — and non-plays — that contributed to ending their modest but heartening two-game winning streak, of course. There would be foibles a plenty and tons of disappointment to apportion.

“There were probably more (turning point) plays in this game than the previous six games,” Rolovich would say afterward. “There were a lot of plays we could have made. We have to swallow that pill,” Rolovich said.

Indeed, there was a 45-yard punt return by John Ursua nullified by a holding call. There was a death-knell fumble by Brown with 2 minute, 56 seconds to help set up the game-winning 28-yard field goal by Evan Pantels with 49 seconds remaining. His fourth game with a lost fumble.

And there were several dropped passes, ill-timed second-half penalties and a lingering ability to stop the run.

All of which kept UH from putting the Rebels (3-4) in the rearview mirror. Instead, six times the game would be tied before UNLV took advantage and grabbed the victory, its first after six consecutive road losses.

But that first series under the full moon in the Halawa sky was most ominous for the Rainbow Warriors.

“Our goal is still to get to a bowl,” Harris said later, hopefully.

Except now it has become a decidedly uphill task for the 3-4 (2-1 Mountain West) ‘Bows, who must now win four of their remaining six games, three of them on the road, to gain bowl eligibility.

Rolovich said “I apologize to all the fans that came out. That place began to rock.” He said, “That was a helluva crowd. It was pride-rocking, too bad we couldn’t give them a win.”

That will come when they learn how to hang onto the close ones.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.