With the loss to No. 17 Boise State, Hawaii once again loses its opportunity

The University of Hawaii football team once again missed an opportunity with a 28-7 loss to No. 17 Boise State on Saturday night.

Hawaii fell to 2-4 while Boise State improved to 5-1.

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In front of 13,467 spectators at the turnstile at the sold-out Clarence TC Ching Athletics Complex, Hawaii only trailed 13-7 in the fourth quarter.

In what could be the final conference meeting between the Bows and the Broncos before Boise State leaves for the Pac-12 in 2026, Heisman Trophy candidate Ashton Jeanty ran for 217 yards on 31 carries and a touchdown.

After Boise State took an early 3-0 lead, the star running back exploded for a 54-yard touchdown with 5:48 left in the first quarter, extending the lead to 10-0.

Hawaii had a chance to score early in the second quarter, but Kansei Matsuzawa's 40-yard field goal missed.

The Rainbow Warriors were resolute on defense and held the Broncos to another field goal.

Trailing 13-0, Hawaii erased the deficit with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Brayden Schager to Tylan Hines, cutting Boise's lead to 13-7 with 3:24 left in the first half, a score that led to the break.

After a scoreless third quarter for both teams, Hawaii appeared to force a Jeanty fumble of its own. After a lengthy review, the decision was reversed and Boise State scored on the next play with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Maddux Madsen to Jeanty and converted on the ensuing 2-point attempt to take a 21-7 lead with 12 minutes left to go.

Boise State's final score came on Hawaii's 44th on a fourth-and-1 in which Austin Bolt caught a play-action pass from Maddux Madsen for a touchdown with 3:39 left.

Jamih Otis had a game-high seven tackles for Hawaii, while Elijah Robinson had five tackles, including a sack. Meanwhile, Boise State's Jayden Virgin-Morgan had a team-high six tackles and 2.5 sacks.

Schager completed 21 of his 36 passes for 264 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. He also netted five yards despite being sacked eight times.

There was a 14-minute delay in the second quarter when an officer had an apparent medical emergency and left in an ambulance after getting up on his own.

Hawaii will next head to Washington State for a contest beginning October 19th at 9:30 a.m. HST. It will be broadcast live on the CW Network.

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