WEST POINT, N.Y. >> The University of Hawaii football team traveled 4,950 miles to get to the U.S. Military Academy but dropped from the unbeaten ranks because it couldn’t go just 11 more yards Saturday.

A fourth-and-8 Cole McDonald pass that was intended for Cedric Byrd was broken up in the end zone by linebacker Cole Christiansen with 54 seconds remaining to seal Army’s 28-21 victory and keep these Rainbow Warriors from becoming only the second UH team in 30 years to get off to a 4-0 start.

But what nagged at the ’Bows afterward was the knowledge that it never should have come down to the make-or-break pass at the end. What will likely keep them company on the 10-hour plane ride home today is how one of the nation’s most productive offenses this season inexplicably sputtered and struggled for much of the sunny afternoon along the Hudson River.

“Shoot, I don’t know how we stopped them,” Army coach Jeff Monken said graciously afterward. “I don’t know how anybody stops them.”

But the Rainbow Warriors knew.

They were fully cognizant that, despite the pressure applied by America’s Team, this loss was largely self-inflicted.

It was three dropped passes, some overthrown ones, misreads, untimely penalties, missed blocks and the inability to convert on third down (one of seven) and fourth down (0-2) plays that doomed UH to its first loss to the Black Knights (2-1) in the four-game series.

“It is frustrating,” McDonald said. “It sucks, but you can’t say ‘I coulda or we shoulda.’ The game is final. So, those are things we’re going to have to clean up if we want to be a high (performance) offense.”

Last year the ’Bows would have celebrated 362 yards of total offense accomplished without any turnovers. But this year they have set the bar much higher. Three victories, all of them built upon outpourings of 43 points or more and heavy early leads, have given them loftier expectations and raised ambitions.

And for the fourth game this season they looked ready to meet those standards, driving 75 yards in five plays on their first possession to score on McDonald’s 12-yard pass to John Ursua.

It was so swift, so smoothly executed that it looked a lot like business as usual for the quick-starting, high-octane ’Bows. The crowd of 31,133 at Michie Stadium, many of whom were still clogged at the entrances when it unfolded, seemed worried by the prospect.

Monken was.

“Not many people are going to be able to slow them down,” he said.

But then the offense that made sure UH had never trailed in the first three games largely went somnolent and scored just once more until midway through the fourth quarter. It punted four times — three of them on three-and-outs, and failed to convert a fourth-and-5 at the Army 29-yard line. Three sacks, a delay of game penalty, a holding call and a false start contributed to the slowdown.

“We kinda stunk it up a little bit with a lack of execution,” coach Nick Rolovich said.

“Our defense gave us chances, but we didn’t do enough with them,” Ursua said.

It played right into the hands of the Black Knights, whose time-consuming triple option helped deny the ’Bows opportunities to score.

“We’re a better offensive team than this,” Rolovich sighed afterward.

But, ultimately, after having come so far for the opportunity on national television, the ’Bows were unable to display it.

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