Hawaii football team aware of what needs to be done

It is fitting that the University of Hawaii football team’s bowl hopes rest on starting a hot streak in Las Vegas this weekend.

After a 17-10 loss to San Diego State, the Rainbow Warriors likely will need to win their three remaining regular-season games to become bowl eligible. The Warriors are 4-6 overall and 1-4 in the Mountain West entering this Saturday’s road game against UNLV at Allegiant Stadium.

While a .500 record is the minimum bowl requirement, there are exceptions if there are not enough qualifying teams to fill the 41 bowls, including the two College Football Playoff semifinals. If there are enough bowl-eligible teams, a 6-7 UH team would not be able to trump 6-6, 7-6, or 7-5 teams, a UH official confirmed.

“We’ve got UNLV next,” quarterback Chevan Cordeiro said. “We’ve got to win three games to go to a bowl game. That’s what we’re focused on right now. We’ve got to win out for our seniors.”

Running back/receiver Calvin Turner said: “We all know we’ve got to win the last three games to go to a bowl game. That’s the goal right now. A lot of us are seniors and we want to play that extra game and try to get a (bowl) ring this year like we did last year.”

This week’s will focus will be on improving in several areas:

>> Offense: The base offense’s goals are to play with tempo while establishing the run to set up play-action passes. But in consecutive losses to Utah State and San Diego State, the Warriors averaged 66.5 plays and held possession for 25 minutes, 46 seconds per game.

The running game also has slowed. Not counting sacks, the Warriors are averaging 75.5 rushing yards and 3.5 yards per carry the past two games.

Against SDSU, the Warriors averaged 3.6 yards on first down. On the first play of each series, the Warriors averaged 3.9 yards per carry and 8.0 yards per throw. Their lone touchdown came on a one-play drive — Cordeiro’s 19-yard pass to Turner on a crossing route.

>> Special teams: It has been a series of Whac-A-Mole circumstances as the Warriors pound out one problem only to have another arise. After 12 seasons without yielding a blocked punt, three have been rejected this year. UH solved that with an adjusted protection scheme. The Warriors have mishandled six returns — two on kickoffs, four on punts — but played clean in that area against SDSU. But then the Warriors were burned when Aztec holder Jack Downing ran 13 yards for a touchdown on a fake field-goal attempt. “To be misaligned on something like that is inexcusable,” head coach Todd Graham said. “That was a tough play.” It appeared UH had only had 10 defenders on the field.

>> On the road: The Warriors are 1-4 on the mainland this year, but two of the losses were against Pac-12 teams and the other two were at 4,505-foot and 4,534-foot elevation. Las Vegas is approximately a mild 2,000 feet above sea level.

UH should receive a boost from fan support. UH distributed its full allotment of tickets weeks ago. UH alumnus and former Warrior tennis player Tom Kitaguchi also has secured a section for UH supporters. The Warriors also have come up with what they believe will be an effective travel plan. They will practice on campus on Thursday morning, then department that afternoon. They will return on Sunday on a 1:50 a.m. flight from Las Vegas.