Chang completed 29 of 49 passes for 416 yards. His four touchdowns tosses went to slotback Chad Owens, who had 13 catches for 283 yards.

The Warriors finished the regular season 7-5, meeting the bowl's eligibility requirement of a winning record.

They will play Alabama-Birmingham (7-4) on Christmas Eve at Aloha Stadium.

Last night, the Warriors trailed 21-0, 28-14 and, with 14:05 to play, 31-27.

But then Chang led them on an 80-yard scoring drive, capped when he scored on a 1-yard sneak.

He closed UH's scoring with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Owens.

The Spartans, though, wouldn't quit. They took the ensuing kickoff and drove for a score to pull within a field goal. Jason Teague's 1-yard run and Dave Rayner's PAT made it 41-38 with 1:31 to play.

Freshman linebacker C.J. Allen-Jones then recovered Michigan State's ensuing onside kick, and UH was able to run out the remaining time.

The Spartans held on for a 28-14 lead in an emotion-filled first half.

There were numerous shoving incidents, and a player from each team — strong-side defensive end Clifton Ryan of Michigan State and right tackle Jeremy Infererra of Hawai'i — were ejected for scuffling.

The Warriors, who opened in a nickel defense featuring cornerback Abraham Elimimian as a rover, had little success in slowing the Spartans' succession of runners. The Spartans had three scoring runs in the first half, and a possible fourth — DeAndra Cobb's 75-yard run — was negated by a holding penalty.

The Spartans took a 7-0 lead, driving 59 yards on four plays. The final 14 yards came when quarterback Drew Stanton rolled to his left, made an about-face to his right and lofted a pass to Eric Knott in the right flat. Knott dived over safety Landon Kafentzis, who was face-down at the 2.

The Spartans extended their lead to 14-0 in the first quarter on Jehuu Caulcrick's 2-yard run off tackle.

The Spartans then made it 21-0 on Teague's 1-yard run with 9:32 remaining in the first half.