SAN JOSE, Calif. » Style points, few, but it’s a win, on the road, against a 10-point favorite … and for a team, coaching staff and fan base that really needed one. I will even go as far as to say deserving.

Hawaii’s football problems of the past several seasons have not been all Norm Chow’s fault, nor that of his staff, nor "lack of execution" (translation: talent) of the players. Some of them have been balls bouncing the wrong way, not getting a break here and there. Not all close losses are because of lacking an edge or bad coaching decisions. Many are, but some are just plain old bad luck.

The previous two weeks obviously don’t fit that category. UH was pushed around by Utah State and Colorado State, showing that Hawaii has a long way to go before it can be taken seriously as a Mountain West contender. And Saturday’s win, as gritty as it is, doesn’t really do anything to instill confidence in the fairly large segment of fans that has made up its mind and believes Chow should be pau, regardless if UH can win out or not.

His detractors will point to the stats instead of the scoreboard.

"We got pounded yardage-wise," Chow said. "But we won the game. That’s all that matters."

Unfortunately, for many that isn’t true. Numbers are more important to them than the letters W and L, numbers like 462 and 240, the total offense for San Jose State and Hawaii, respectively. They conveniently forget or discount things like turnovers and special teams.

It also wasn’t true the last time UH won on the road, in 2011. When it was suggested that any win on the road is a good win at that time, lots of people disagreed. No! A last-minute field goal to escape 16-14 from a place called the Kibbiedome was unacceptable.

The Spartans were bad at getting things done Saturday, worse than Idaho on that day three years ago. Yes, they had some bad breaks, but they also put on a clinic of how not to send out your seniors in their final home game.

The Rainbow Warriors hopefully took notes, with their Aloha Stadium adios coming up against UNLV.

"(The win is) both relief and excitement," said linebacker T.J. Taimatuia, who led UH with 11 tackles. "The tables finally turned. It can be hard to get out of a slump. Now we look forward to finishing strong."

We’re going to hear a lot this week about Ikaika Woolsey "managing the game" at quarterback, and that’s OK, and it really felt good to see him win in the area where he grew up. He’s dealt with the losing with poise, like his predecessor, Sean Schroeder. He handled Saturday’s victory that way, too. "One thing we really want to do is build off this and win on senior night," the sophomore said. "We have to win on senior night."

While it seems strange to toast the defense after it allowed so many yards, the number that really matters — for right now — is 0, the first shutout since 2005. As defensive coordinator Kevin Clune said, UH was "terrible on third down, but great in the red zone."

There was something fitting about former starting cornerback Dee Maggitt making the tackle at the 3-yard line as the clock ran out to preserve the shutout. "They got to our red zone a lot," he said. "But when the ball’s in the red zone it’s not over yet."

Neither is the season, and the 2014 Rainbow Warriors can continue to try to salvage some pride for two more weeks.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.