LAS CRUCES, N.M. >> As the lights at Aggie Memorial Stadium dimmed, several University of Hawaii football coaches gazed at the sky rockets illuminating the Southwest night.

The postgame show was an encore after New Mexico State provided the offensive fireworks in Saturday’s 45-26 victory.

“This one is going to sting for a little bit,” said UH head coach Timmy Chang, whose Rainbow Warriors fell to 1-4. “We’ve got to self-evaluate. I’ve got to look at myself. The coaches have to look at themselves. The players have to look at themselves. We’ve got to get better.”

The Warriors unveiled their retro offense that featured several elements of the read-and-attack, run-and-shoot schemes from their glory days. But the Warriors could not match the Aggies’ ground game.

The Aggies entered averaging 8.0 points and 107.0 rushing yards. But they ran for 357 yards and five touchdowns. The Aggies had produced only three rushing touchdowns in their first four games, all losses.

In those four games, the Aggies showed three-, four- and five-receiver sets. But those tactics were not true to head coach Jerry Kill’s old-school, grind-’em-out style. The Aggies’ ground game — set up with motions and jet sweeps — was intended to zag when defenses expected a zig.

The Aggies, who raced to a 35-10 halftime lead, were able to deliver Kill his first victory as NMSU head coach. Kill, who conquered two bouts of cancer and lives with adult epilepsy, was healthy enough to accept the NMSU job this year. He had 23 years of head-coaching experience before joining the Aggies.

“This old man is going to enjoy the win,” said Kill, 61. “But we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

>> RELATED: Hawaii’s new-look offense shows promise

The Warriors had a long charter flight home to contemplate their first loss in 10 meetings between the former Western Athletic Conference football teams. The Warriors joined the Mountain West as football-only members in 2012. The Aggies, who compete as an independent, become all-sports members of Conference USA in July.

“We need to take it on the chin,” said UH tight end Caleb Phillips, who caught eight passes for a career-high 138 yards. “Give us 24 hours to think about it, and we’ll regroup come Monday.”

UH safety Meki Pei, who made six tackles, said: “It’s part of the game. It sucks to lose, especially this way. There’s nothing we can do now. We lost. It is what it is. It’s in the past already. We have to focus on what’s coming up.”

The Warriors have a bye this coming weekend, then go on the road again to play San Diego State.

The Warriors managed two touchdowns in the second half, including their first scoring pass of the season. But it was not enough against the Aggies, who scored 35 of the game’s first 45 points.

“It came down to making tackles,” UH defensive line coach Eti Ena said. “We let too many points happen in the first half. The second half it wasn’t too much. But we can’t spot a team 35 points.”

The Aggies set the tone with a surprising rushing attack. NMSU scored on its first three possessions to wipe out UH’s early 7-0 lead. All three of those touchdowns came on rushes. The Aggies’ first three drives netted 190 rushing yards. They had 268 yards on 27 carries at the intermission.

The Aggies went straight at the Warriors’ six-man front — four down linemen and two linebackers — with their first three TDs on runs up the middle. Star Thomas scored on a 27-yard run, quarterback Gavin Frakes found pay dirt on a 20-yard keeper, and Jamoni Jones scored from 3 yards out, the first of his two touchdowns.

The Aggies closed the first-half scoring when Frakes, on second-and-goal from the UH, kept the ball on a read-option play, then tossed to a wide-open Thomaz Whitford. A tight end who was one of the Aggies’ most clutch receivers last year, Whitford had been targeted only once in the first four games.

The Warriors, in their revised spread attack, drove 75 yards for a touchdown on their opening drive. Dedrick Parson scored from a yard out to make it 7-0.

But the Warriors had difficulty cashing in on opportunities the rest of the half. On third-and-goal at the NMSU 5, quarterback Brayden Schager overthrew Jalen Walthall in the end zone. The Warriors settled for Matthew Shipley’s 23-yard field goal to close to 21-10.

Later, on third-and-1, hybrid Malachi McLean stopped running back Tylan Hines for no gain, forcing a punt.

On fourth-and-3 from the NMSU 28, Schager’s lead pass was just out of slotback James Phillips’ reach.

Of the missed opportunities, Chang said, “I tell you what, ain’t that football, right? You would hope everything would go your way. But I thought our guys fought. In some places, we’ve got to get better. We’ll look at it, and we’ll get better. Those guys will continue to get better.”

Schager, who started the opener against Vanderbilt, suffered a deep contusion in the second game against Western Kentucky. He was declared fully healed last week, and started on Saturday. In the new offense, Schager displayed elusiveness on scrambles and the awareness to step into the protection to make throws. Schager was 22-for-39 for 261 yards. He also completed UH’s first touchdown pass of the season.

“I thought our guys did some good things,” Schager said. “The O-line played great all night. They gave me protection,. The run game was great. It comes down to me making throws. … We had guys open in good spots. I’ve just got to hit them. Those are throws I can make in my sleep, but I didn’t do it tonight. I’ve got to get better. I’ve got to make those.”