RENO, Nev. — They had come nine games and 21,562 miles to get to this point only to struggle for the better part of four beyond-frustrating quarters on a crisp fall night.

Then, the University of Hawai'i football team faced 88 of the most forbidding yards it had seen all season, a scoreboard that read Nevada 26, UH 25, a rapidly-ticking clock with but 2 minutes, 16 seconds remaining, more than 20,000 voices allied against it and the fast-closing prospect of an end to its hopes of a Bowl Championship Series appearance.

"And, you know what?" quarterback Tyler Graunke related with deep conviction. "We believed every second."

In those agonizing final moments, the Warriors were led by Graunke, a quarterback who believed in his abilities even when an Aloha Stadium crowd had chanted for his replacement two months ago, and Dan Kelly, a kicker whose confidence Nevada couldn't rattle with timeouts.

Together, these Warriors kept their dream of an unbeaten regular season alive with a school-record 10th consecutive victory, 28-26, on Kelly's 45-yard field goal with 11.7 seconds remaining.

Graunke, starting in place of Colt Brennan, who suffered a concussion last week, guided the Warriors the final 61 yards in 13 plays and 2 minutes, 5 seconds to set up Kelly's kick.

Nevada called two timeouts to attempt to crack Kelly's concentration, including one the Nevada coach called at the last second. On that play, Kelly kicked the football through the uprights as the referee signaled the timeout and nullified the play.

The deciding field goal was, however, true and 10 yards more than what was needed, sending the ti-leaf waving Hawai'i partisans in a crowd of 22,437 into delirium and chants of "BCS! BCS!"

"Never a doubt," Kelly would say afterward. "I knew I had it."

So, for the third time this year the Warriors pulled out a last-gasp victory. Last night and in overtime wins at Louisiana Tech and San Jose State, the Warriors had trailed late in the fourth quarter but won nonetheless.

Each win was more improbable than the one before it and each tapping the growing faith in each other and mounting resolve that nothing will deter them from a perfect season.

"It is tremendous testimony to the kids," head coach June Jones marveled. "They really believe in each other, trust each other,"

And they picked each other up. "Colt was there for me (on the sideline) calming me down," Graunke said. "I owed it to him."

He also "owed" his offensive linemen who gave him time, a defense that got the ball back and his receivers who, time and again, not only got open but made challenging catches.

"They made clutch catches; they sacrificed their bodies," Graunke said.

But it wasn't just the players whose belief was tested. Jones showed considerable support for Graunke, who had struggled in relief at times this season. Although he employed Brennan for two plays — including the second one of the game — and got Inoke Funaki in for two early plays also, Jones also left the game — and the season — squarely in the hands of Graunke, a fourth-year junior.

Even when the Warriors failed to score a touchdown in the third quarter and were in danger of losing with their lowest scoring output in 23 games and you could almost hear an echo of the cries of "We Want Colt!" that had greeted Graunke in the Charleston Southern game, Jones stayed with Graunke with everything that was riding on it.

"Tyler did what he's practiced," Jones said. "We do the two-minute drill all the time (in practice) and he finally got a chance to do it (in a) game. He was patient, took what they gave him and kept moving (the ball) and got it done."

Graunke said it came down to a deep and abiding faith, both his and the team's. "Everybody has to believe," he said. "You have to believe until the very last second. That's the only way we win."

Ten consecutive victories and an upcoming showdown with five-time Western Athletic Conference champion Boise State on Friday says they've done a pretty good job of it.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.