Hawaii’s offense and defense rocked, and in the end, it was a roll that secured a statement-making 50-45 football victory over Colorado State.

UH’s Cameron Lockridge was credited with the recovery of CSU’s onside kick with 17 seconds left to end the thrilla in Manoa.

“It was a hard-fought deal,” UH coach Todd Graham said. “It can never be easy, man. The bottom line? We got it done. We won.”

A Ching Complex crowd of 5,315 watched the final regular-season home game for 17 seniors — and the resurrection of the Rainbow Warriors’ offense. The Warriors had hit a three-game dry spell, leading to questions about their productivity and decision-making.

But all those concerns were answered in the largest output in Graham’s 20 games as UH head coach. His run-and-gun offense, which involves downhill running and vertical-pass routes, was successful in his four previous head coaching jobs. On Saturday, running back Dedrick Parson declared, “We’ve got a lot in store. That’s 50 (points) for all of you.”

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The defense actually accounted for one of the Warriors’ six touchdowns. Lockridge, who returned to the lineup last week after missing four games with a leg injury, scored on a 40-yard interception return. It was the Warriors’ fifth defensive touchdown of the season.

But linebacker Darius Muasau, who made 13 tackles, including two sacks, and forced three fumbles, said most of the night belonged to the offense. “Our offense is great,” Muasau said of the Warriors, who amassed 535 yards, an average of 6.8 yards per play. “They’ve got a bunch of weapons. They were able to put everything together.”

For this game, offensive coordinator Bo Graham returned to the coaches booth, where he had a panoramic view. Bo Graham, who was the run-game coordinator last year, had coached from the booth until the New Mexico Bowl. Todd Graham said the eventual intent was for Bo Graham, now the offensive coordinator, to return to the booth.

Whether the move was a factor or not, the offense heated up on a somewhat muggy evening. UH quarterback Chevan Cordeiro was 23-for-41 for a season-high 406 yards. He connected on scoring passes of 93 yards to Zion Bowens and 42 yards to Nick Mardner.

Bowens, who transferred from Long Beach City College last year, is one of the fastest Warriors. During a combine at the Air Force Academy, which he attended for a year, Bowens was clocked at 4.33 seconds over 40 yards. UH timed Bowens at a prorated 23 mph. But it took a better understanding of route concepts and defensive coverages for Bowens to receive extended play.

On the second-quarter touchdown, which increased UH’s lead to 22-10, Bowens caught a pass at the UH 30. Bowens then eluded two defenders to break away for the second-longest pass play in the program’s history.

“He’s a speedy receiver,” Cordeiro said. “He’ll pop on the home-run post. I just have to put it out there for him, and he’ll get it.”

Bowens finished with six catches for 172 yards.

“Proud of Zion,” Todd Graham said. “I thought he had a good night.”

UH’s first three drives stalled. But Matthew Shipley came through with the hat trick — field goals of 42, 43 and, with 4:03 left in the first quarter, 34 yards to put the Warriors ahead, 9-7.

After CSU’s Cayden Camper converted a 30-yard field goal, Cordeiro helped the Warriors regain the lead. From the CSU 15, Cordeiro rolled to his right, made a U-turn, out-raced the manhunt to the left edge and sprinted the rest of the way for the touchdown and a 16-10 lead the Warriors would not relinquish.

The advantage expanded to 36-10 when Cordeiro pierced a pass to Mardner between two defenders.

But the Rams refused to stop charging. They cut the deficit to 36-31 and 43-38. But each of those times, Parson responded with touchdown runs. The first covered 10 yards, the second 37.

“That’s just my O-line,” Parson said of the clear-out blocks on the left side. “And my seniors. I wanted to make sure the seniors came out with a win. I wanted to give my all for them.”

Todd Centeio’s 9-yard scoring pass to Gary Williams ended the scoring, and Lockridge’s ensuing recovery of the onside kick ended the drama.

UH’s defense had several lapses. Centeio threw for 527 yards and five touchdowns. Todd Graham said CSU’s rally might have been traced to fatigue. Graham said stud defender Khoury Bethley received IV treatments because of the humidity. CSU’s heralded tight end Trey McBride was held in check in the first half, but finished with six receptions for 89 yards.

But it was UH’s offense that set the pace.

“We were clicking today,” Cordeiro said.

Bo Graham added: “Finally scored some points. It was a good night.”

Bo Graham said previous problems stemmed from several factors. “Got to take care of the football,” he said, “and keeping our quarterback healthy, and just executing, man. That’s the biggest thing. We took care of the ball a little better tonight, and put ourselves in good position.”