The first change was prompted because of UH's breakdowns on a field-goal attempt and two PATs against Boise State, leading to a seven-point swing — the final margin.

Two of Jake Ingram's long snaps skipped to Milne; a third slipped through Milne's grasp.

"I should have handled them," Milne said. "They weren't bad snaps."

UH coach June Jones agreed, and promoted Funaki from backup holder. Milne will remain as the punter.

"I'm disappointed we didn't get the ball down," Jones said.

The Warriors had not had a problem with the snap-to-hold connection since last October, when Ingram became the long-snapper. But Milne, as the punter, dropped a snap in the season-opener against Alabama, resulting in a safety. Coupled with Saturday's problems, Jones said, "we decided to look for somebody else (to hold)."

In Jones' first six seasons as UH head coach, a quarterback always served as holder. "Quarterbacks have the best hands," said Jones, a former NFL quarterback, "and they're the best golfers."

Last year, Milne began moonlighting as the holder. "In the NFL, the punter always held because they had more time to work with the snapper," Jones said.

UH spends the first 15 minutes of every two-hour practice working on punts and placekicks. The kickers, punters and Ingram spend the rest of the time working on their own. Jones said he will give Funaki extra time to work with Ingram.

Following Saturday's game, Grice-Mullins was on crutches. Jones told reporters Grice-Mullins would miss a "couple" of weeks. But Grice-Mullins said the injury "is pretty much a basic sprain," and he has not ruled out playing against Eastern Illinois on Saturday. "Hopefully, I can make it back," he said. "I'm taking it day by day."

If Grice-Mullins can't play, the chain reaction might lead to Lane abandoning plans to redshirt. Lane has been impressive on the scout team, portraying UNLV quarterback Rocky Hinds two weeks ago and Boise State receiver Jerard Rabb last week.

Asked why Lane would be activated, Jones said: "Our whole purpose is to win games, and he's a good player."

Kafentzis suffered a sprained ankle during a pre-game drill when he landed awkwardly after being lifted by inside linebacker Brad Kalilimoku. Kafentzis started, but could not last longer than two plays.

That opened the way for Noa, who moved from defensive end during spring practice. Noa, who is 6 feet 4 and 240 pounds, amassed 10 tackles, once chasing down quarterback Jared Zabransky.

"Not many players can do that," defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said. "He also ran down the running back."

Noa said: "I got more comfortable with (playing linebacker) over camp. It's a matter of getting out there. But I hope Tyson gets better. I pray for a quick recovery. May God be with him. I hope to God he gets better."

FLIGHT PLANS GO AWRY

Adding inconvenience to insult to injury, the Warriors arrived in Honolulu at 4 p.m. yesterday — 13 1/2 hours after their original ETA.

The Warriors arrived at Boise International Airport at 11 Saturday night for yesterday's scheduled 12:30 a.m. charter flight to Honolulu.

Because of mechanical problems, the charter did not arrive from Oakland, Calif., a hub for Aloha Airlines' domestic flights. A second charter was sent, but just after takeoff, a bird flew into the plane's engine, forcing a return to Oakland.

A third charter was to be sent, but just before takeoff, it was learned the pilot was nearing the limit on hours he could work during that time period. Aloha Airlines could not schedule a new crew until noon Pacific time.

After waiting in the airport for six hours, the Warriors returned to the hotel they had stayed the previous two nights. Because of restrictions on carry-on liquids and off-work hours, the Warriors were without food and bottled water for most of the time they were at the airport.

"We sat in the airport for as long as it would have taken us to fly home," Milne said.

The delay forced the Warriors to change their plans. Instead of reviewing videos of the game yesterday afternoon, the coaches had to wait until 9 last night.

Jones also canceled this morning's conditioning session, telling the players they could train on their own.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.