One of the mantras for the University of Hawai 'i football team this week was head coach Greg McMackin's hopeful — and oft-repeated — reminder that, "turnovers come in bunches."

It was meant to inspire and encourage a Warrior team that had managed to force just three over the previous three games. It was intended to rally the Warriors from their tailspin.

But it is a sign of the times that even when McMackin is right, things can go painfully wrong for the Warriors.

Which is pretty much how it went last night in a game where the Warriors were buried 54-9 by their six turnovers (three fumbles and three interceptions) and Boise State's ability to recycle them into 30 points.

That and a concussion suffered by starting quarterback Bryant Moniz made for the latest in a series of long nights as the 2-5 Warriors lost for the fifth consecutive time and fourth in a row in the Western Athletic Conference.

The last time there was that confluence of events was the 0-12 season of 1998, a campaign that this one has unfortunately started to take on some of the characteristics of.

All that with a road date at Nevada (4-3), a 70-45 winner over Idaho yesterday, next up.

An indication of how tough things have become was that the biggest roar of the night for UH came in the third quarter when it received a safety after the Broncos snapped the ball over quarterback Kellen Moore's head and into the end zone.

The Aloha Stadium scoreboard flashed "two points" and the fans, with something to finally yell about, cheered with gusto.

The Boise State players, leading 44-2, exhibited curious surprise. Moore said, "that was interesting. But you get points (so) you have to be excited about that."

It was the loudest cheer of the night since many of the announced 33,961 on hand had already hit the exits by the time UH found the end zone with 9 minutes, 50 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter when Shane Austin passed 10 yards to Jon Medeiros for UH's only offensive points.

Meanwhile, in the Bronco Nation and around the WAC, there was plenty to cheer about in the lopsidedness of Boise State's victory.

The unbeaten Broncos came into the game fourth in the Bowl Championship Series rankings and, after two less-than-stellar performances against UC Davis and Tulsa, needed a convincing win to enhance their standing if not keep No. 8 Texas Christian from leapfrogging them with a marquee win at Brigham Young.

You could almost hear the sigh of relief around the rest of the WAC as the UH turnovers — and Broncos' points — mounted last night.

That's because if Boise State makes it to a BCS bowl each of the other eight WAC schools, including UH, stand to rake in a $500,000 windfall.

Sitting on the bottom of the WAC standings and without a turnover from Boise State last night, that might be the best thing UH takes from this game.