Hawaii Football: Warriors Focus on Positives and Remain Upbeat After Tough Loss

It's never easy to assess a valiant effort that falls short of its intended goal, and Hawaii's performance in a 40-32 loss to the Washington Huskies this past Saturday is no different.

In coming back from a 21-point first quarter deficit, there are some people who will look at the resilience the team showed in making the game competitive and others still will remember a number of costly mistakes that prevented them from winning.

"There's no reason for them to hang their head over a loss like this," Greg McMackin told hawaiinewsnow.com. "We were down 21-0 in the first quarter and they fought themselves all the way back to have a couple of chances to win the ballgame. All the way up to that onside kick which missed by inches.

"They got a jump on us but our guys didn't quit and fought them til the end, and we had a chance to win at the end."

But the mistakes were always there, the naysayers will respond; from Royce Pollard's first quarter gaffe when he fumbled on Washington's five-yard line, to the second blocked PAT that preceded an onside kick that failed to travel the requisite ten yards.

The team never had a chance to win, they'll scream.

Disappointment from their high expectations will resonate until a date to be determined. Some of them may rue the day if Hawaii heads into the final game of the season against BYU with an 11-1 record, only the Week 2 loss at Washington preventing them from playing for a possible BCS selection.

Others still will say it's because  of the loss to the Huskies and the lessons that were learned from it that led the Warriors to an 11-1 record and such a great season. And the arguments from both sides will be valid.

But no matter which point of view you hold, McMackin's following words are hard to disagree with.

"Right now none of us feel real good, and I know a lot of people back in Hawaii don't feel real good. (But) it can't be because of the effort, because anybody that doesn't respect the effort that this team put on really doesn't know football."

And another thing is certain to everyone involved. UNLV is next on Hawaii's schedule and they don't care about any of this.

The Warriors will need to put their best cleat forward this Saturday (4:00pm HST) at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas if they want to come home with a 2-1 record.

McMackin's positive outlook might help to accomplish that, although some people would prefer that his message were different.