The pity party had a curfew.

Coach Nick Rolovich encouraged his players to absorb the pain and bitterness for 24 hours following an embarrassing 55-0 road loss to San Diego State last week. After that, the rallying cry was “Get over it.”

“I love the term, ‘San Diego State can’t beat us twice,’” Rolovich said of the emotional purge. “We had to get over it and get ready for another opportunity to get on the field together at home.”

The Rainbow Warriors’ season is in the balance entering today’s 2 p.m. game against Boise State at Aloha Stadium. At 4-6 overall and 3-3 in the Mountain West, the Warriors need to win the next three games for a winning regular season and accompanying berth in the Hawaii Bowl. There is a loophole that would allow for a 6-7 UH team to qualify for a postseason bowl, but that would require an absence of bowl-eligible teams and the proper alignment of stars.

UH slotback Dylan Collie said the players always believed they would contend for a bowl and did not consider Rolovich’s first season as head coach to be a rebuilding project.

“I know we believed it in the locker room, and that’s what matters the most,” Collie said. “But I don’t think anybody else believed that. Everyone wants to give Rolo a year to build. But that’s not what he wanted and that’s not what any of us wanted. We could care less what’s new. It’s the same field. It’s the same stadium. It’s the same place. We want to bring that culture back, bring the tradition back, and hope people will have our backs on that.”

The Warriors have focused this week on improving their defensive starts. They have allowed 11 touchdowns and two field goals in the first two drives of games — 20 possessions — this season. Meanwhile, Boise State has built a scoring advantage of 91-23 in the first quarter. The Broncos average 6.7 yards per first-down play.

Boise State’s Jeremy McNichols averages 135.1 rushing yards per game and has scored 16 of his 20 touchdowns on runs. The Broncos create running lanes either by spreading the formation or using two or three tight ends to wham-block defenders. Brett Rypien is the Mountain West’s leader in passing yards (2,578) and touchdown passes (18). Thomas Sperbeck averages 101.1 receiving yards per game, has rushed six times, and thrown three touchdown passes in as many attempts.

The Warriors are hopeful of energizing an offense that struggled for rhythm against San Diego State. Dru Brown, who was pulled for three second-half series, remains the starting quarterback.

“I don’t think my passion for the game is questioned; in fact, it’s the reason I’m here,” said Brown, who is 3-3 as a starter after transferring from College of San Mateo in June. “I wasn’t very happy after the (San Diego State) game, but I’m all right now, and I’m ready to go this week.”