Perhaps the most rewarding thing for the University of Hawaii football team Saturday night wasn’t just that it won a game … but, rather, how it won.

It was a synergistic and gutsy effort from all corners and one in which the Rainbow Warriors seemed in just one game to perhaps convert themselves from a team that did not know how to win into one that finds ways to do so.

Could that be drawing too much from one victory? Perhaps. But turning points often come suddenly for college football teams.

And for UH in its first two years under Norm Chow momentum has been hard to come by, making these uncharted waters. The Rainbow Warriors did not beat a fellow Mountain West or even FCS opponent until very late in the season in 2012 and 2013 — so, if Hawaii did indeed find itself as a team, it was too late to see what might come of it, what it might do with some confidence.

This is bold new territory for UH under Chow, to have something to build upon in early October.

It was almost viewed as a joke by all but the firmest true believers last week after the loss to Rice. But it was a fact that UH was still undefeated in the Mountain West after a 1-4 preseason.

After the 38-28 win over Wyoming it’s still true today, and at least until Saturday, when the Rainbow Warriors visit San Diego State.

Vegas isn’t much impressed with UH, installing the Aztecs as 91⁄2-point favorites in Sunday’s opening line.

There are several reasons for that, the least of which being SDSU’s 24-14 victory at New Mexico on Saturday.

The Aztecs are 3-3, including 2-0 at home. And Hawaii has lost its last 15 in a row on the road, including a 52-14 pasting at SDSU in 2012. The Warriors took themselves out of that one with three first-half turnovers.

Last year at home, Hawaii led San Diego State in the third quarter, but a series of mistakes cost UH the game in overtime.

One of the reasons UH beat Wyoming was the Cowboys had to prepare for two quarterbacks. While pretty much everyone in the islands who cared to know realized Taylor Graham was going to start, Wyoming did not have that intel and spent some of its practice time prepping for Ikaika Woolsey, who had started the previous five games.

But when Graham went down with a foot injury after the first half, the Cowboys had a hard time wrangling the elusive Woolsey anyway. And Woolsey said he benefited from a half of watching the Wyoming defensive schemes from the sideline.

Also, Woolsey rediscovered the passing accuracy he had in the first half of the season opener against Washington and his toughness was on full display.

But San Diego State won’t have to worry about prepping for more than one QB; with Graham out, Woolsey is UH’s only experienced quarterback available — and his performance in the second half Saturday would’ve probably regained him the starting spot, anyway.

Especially with No. 2 Steven Lakalaka suffering what could be a concussion Saturday, this would be a great time for the return of big back Joey Iosefa from the ankle injury he incurred in the second game of the season. But, now, with Diocemy Sainte Juste going for 135 yards against Wyoming, the UH offensive line has helped three different rushers to the century mark. Can you say "common denominator"?

Things finally opened up for the Hawaii offense Saturday. That at least partly stemmed from pounding away with the run game for a while early and establishing control of the line of scrimmage — it is something for which Chow has been roundly criticized for trying in the past, as much for its ineffectiveness as its soporific qualities. But this time it paid off.

UH may have a harder time establishing things against an SDSU defense allowing just 130.8 rushing yards per game. And UH’s defense will be tested by Donnell Pumphrey, who has already rushed for 807 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Reach Star-Advertiser sports columnist Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com, his “Quick Reads” blog at staradvertiser.com and twitter.com/davereardon.