After the celebrative din had begun to recede, the fireworks were concluding and the crowds thinning out from the University of Hawai'i's 39-27 milestone victory over Boise State Saturday night, a visitor from Idaho surveyed the soldout scene at Aloha Stadium and concluded:

"It looks like they just won the Fiesta Bowl."

That it did.

And that's something of a concern since there is still one game separating the 11-0 Warriors from an undefeated regular season and the promised land of the Fiesta, Sugar or, indeed, any Bowl Championship Series berth.

There remains the not inconsiderable matter of Washington and the regular-season finale Saturday night at Aloha Stadium. The Husky team, much improved of late, that handed Boise State (10-2) its only loss, 24-10, prior to Saturday night.

That is where not only will head coach June Jones' football team will be put to the test but the "one snap and clear" mantra he has long preached.

When Jones arrived at UH in 1999 he immediately set about imparting the idea that after a play is over, be it of good or bad result, it is forgotten, wiped clean from the memory. The operative principle is that somebody who has just made a big sack enjoys the moment but doesn't let it intrude into focusing on and executing the next play. Likewise a defensive back who has just been burned for a long gain shakes off the disappointment and comes back ready to make a better play on the next one.

It has worked to varying degrees over the years and needs to work again this of all weeks for the Warriors to really have a chance to get into much less win a Fiesta — or any other — BCS bowl.

The school's first outright Western Athletic Conference championship in football has been realized, the Boise "jinx" exorcised and the unbeaten season extended. The two-year win streak stands at 12. All deserving of a hearty pat on the back for the Warriors and necessitating fan revelry to be sure.

But there is a cutoff point at which attention needs to return to what lies ahead for UH rather than immediately behind. There comes a juncture when the big picture is paramount. Let the celebrative hangover from the Boise State victory linger too long and this season of opportunity closes its regular season with a thud rather than a blast.

The Warriors have put themselves in position to achieve so much that it would be a shame to lose the focus they've maintained for months now and miss out on all they have given themselves a shot at. One snap and clear meets its sternest test this week.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.