In the final segment of each practice, the Hawaii football players run gassers — 55-yard, sideline-to-sideline sprints.

Each time, Cole McDonald, who once covered 100 meters in 10.8 seconds in high school, tries to be the first across the line.

“It’s just a mind-set,” McDonald said of developing stamina for upcoming games. “You have to be mentally locked in, and you have to be physically prepared. You might as well do it in practice and put in the extra work so when it comes to game time, you’re not as tired or unfocused.”

The sprints were useful in Saturday’s marathon — the Rainbow Warriors’ five-overtime, 44-41 road victory over San Jose State. Although the teams entered on different paths — the Warriors had won four of their first five, the Spartans lost their first three — UH coach Nick Rolovich predicted a close outcome.

“First off, you look at the film and you know they’re a good team,” Rolovich said. “And then being up there (in CEFCU Stadium), it’s always close up there.”

On Saturday, the Warriors ran 99 plays during the 4-hour, 4-minute game. It was their most offensive snaps since Oct. 12, 2007, when they ran 101 plays in an overtime victory, also in San Jose.

Rolovich noted the Spartans had showed resiliency in losses to the Pac-12’s Washington State and Oregon. They also had a bye the previous week.

“They were hungry for a win,” Rolovich said. “They needed a win right there. We knew they would play hard. They played hard against Oregon. They played hard against Washington State (a week) after losing to (UC) Davis. All the signs pointed to a tough game.”

Rolovich said UH’s postgame reviews will show “some interesting situational philosophical decisions.” But he said he was impressed with how co-captains J.R. Hensley, Jahlani Tavai, Zeno Choi and Noah Borden prepared teammates for the overtime.

“The captains were ready,” Rolovich said.

The attention to detail has been evident in the way the Warriors have traveled this season. They have played road games in three different time zones and under diverse conditions.

“It comes down to a team’s personality and accountability to each other,” Rolovich said. “I thought they’ve been focused.”

Rolovich said each team develops a collective personality. This season, there are six new assistant coaches and 40 first-time Warriors.

“The residue of last year’s (3-9) season, I think, was something we weren’t shy about talking about, especially with this staff,” Rolovich said. “I said, ‘listen, we’ve got to get these guys going in the right direction.’ I think the staff really took that to heart. They kind of corralled their groups, and just not worrying about the stuff that didn’t matter.”

Asked to describe this team’s personality, Rolovich said, “I don’t know what the adjective is, but I know they care about each other and they don’t want to let each other down.”