SEATTLE — There was delicious irony that Hawai'i head coach Greg McMackin, in this country's coffee capital, downed two cans of decaffeinated cola to celebrate last night's 38-20 victory over Washington State.

"I was really thirsty," said an exhausted McMackin, leaning against the wall in the basement lobby at Qwest Field. "It was such a great effort by the team. So many people played a part in this win. This was a special night."

The Warriors' first road victory over a BCS opponent was for an often-criticized offense. Yesterday, the Warriors rolled up 626 yards — their most since the 2006 Hawai'i Bowl — and could have amassed more if not for four lost fumbles in the red zone. Greg Alexander completed 26 of 36 passes for a career-best 453 yards and three touchdowns.

The outcome was for the Warriors' reputation, a line-in-the-turf statement that is not always measured by conference affiliation.

"Look at my face," UH center John Estes said of the blood-stained scrapes caused by the Pac-10 defensive lineman. "I got my helmet ripped off, like, 10 times. ... There's a reason why they can't win a game, (why) they don't want to play us (in 2011). It is what it is."

And this was for a defense that wanted to prove that the state symbol should be a Warrior.

In an emotional pregame speech, linebacker Blaze Soares implored his teammates to play with controlled rage.

"We're Warriors, and we want to be known as the hardest-hitting defense in the country," Soares said. "Game by game, we want to prove that. It's a bold statement, but I think we have talent to do it."

Soares added: "We wanted to go out there and play for the people of Hawai'i. We know our economy is very bad. We play 60 minutes of football, and that's when our fans' problems go away. They're focused on UH football. We have to go out there and make our fans happy for 60 minutes, and not let them think about real-life problems. We want them to go out and have fun watching us play."

Indeed, the Warriors were enjoying themselves. They raced to a 35-0 lead with 10:05 left in the first half, thanks to a rejuvenated offense. And the Warriors forced seven turnovers — four fumbles and three picks — to sabotage the Cougars' no-huddle offense.

McMackin, who has the verbose gene, issued a one-word theme for the game: Attack.

"That was his order," said safety Spencer Smith, who made an interception, deflected a pass that safety Mana Silva grabbed in mid-flight and floored a Cougar receiver. "We followed his order and attacked."

McMackin said: "I wanted our guys to know we weren't coming over to try and eke out a win, like we did last year (in a victory over Washington State at Aloha Stadium). We were going to attack their tail and go after them. I know we're a team that can attack on all three sides of the ball. That's our personality."

In a hotel conference room transformed into a war room, McMackin, offensive coordinator Ron Lee and quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich studied video of last year's game between the teams. This past week, McMackin decided to turn over the play-calling duties to Rolovich, a former UH standout quarterback.

"It really helped to watch the film with Mack and Ron," Rolovich said. "They really helped me out. It was good to bounce things off of Ron, as far as situations go."

Thing is, history repeated itself. The Cougars have multiple defenses. But they chose to open with the exact same scheme as they did in last year's meeting. With their best pass-rusher — defensive end Kevin Kooyman — on crutches because of a knee injury, the Cougars went with a three-man front. They aligned their two safeties and a nickelback in a three-deep zone.

That left at least two of the Warriors' four receivers to face single coverage. It also opened the inside lanes, near the hashmarks.

With time to throw and creases for the receivers, the Warriors activated the flight plan.

"We came out, and we came out fast," said left slotback Greg Salas, who finished with seven receptions for 195 yards and a touchdown. "We were hungry."

The Warriors took six plays to go 80 yards and seize a 7-0 lead. The final 23 yards came on Alexander's strike to wide-open wideout Rodney Bradley at the end of a post pattern.

On their next possession, Alexander completed a swing pass to Salas in the left flat. Salas darted toward the goal line, stretching across the threshold of the end zone before a defender slapped away the football.

"I knew once I went over the plane, it was a touchdown," Salas said. "It didn't matter if I fumbled. The ground can't cause a fumble. I knew it was a touchdown as soon as I stretched."

The Warriors' next drive stalled, but they only ceded possession for about two seconds. Brandon Jones muffed Alex Dunnachie's punt, and UH freshman Michael Wadsworth recovered at the WSU 32. Three plays later, running back Leon Wright-Jackson took the handoff and scored on a 2-yard run for a 21-0 lead.

A football lifetime ago, Wright-Jackson, a Washington native, was listed as one of the top 25 prospects in the country. He played at Nebraska for a year, then transferred to begin what turned into an injury-prone UH career. Last week, Wright-Jackson blew a touchdown opportunity, when he cut inside instead of running down an empty lane.

"I know, I know, I was overthinking on that one," Wright-Jackson said of last week's mistake. Running backs coach Brian Smith "told me to relax and run like I know I can. I have to stop thinking so much. Reacting did me well today."

The Warriors made it 28-0 on Bradley's second touchdown. He ran a switch pattern, in which he cut across the middle. But he miscalculated, and instead of turning 15 yards, he cut at 10 yards — right into the path of two defenders.

"After I caught the ball, I was surprised I was still standing," said Bradley, who managed to elude both would-be tacklers. He then sprinted between two safeties to complete a 73-yard touchdown play.

"When I realized I was still up, I kept going," Bradley said.

Hawai'i extended the lead to 35-0 on Alex Green's 44-yard run. The Warriors called a "33," which translates to a counter run with right tackle Laupepa Letuli and right guard Raphael Ieru pulling to the left.

What sold the play was Green's stutter-step, causing a linebacker to zig while Green zagged.

"I saw he was back on his heels, and I went," Green said.

As a high school senior, Green was recruited by Washington State. He went to a junior college before transferring to UH in July.

"It was good to get them," Green said.

The Cougars could not catch up, not even after establishing a running game in the second half. The Cougars are in a spiral that began three seasons ago. They only have one All-America candidate — their mascot, Butch T. Cougar, who is a Capital One Mascot Challenge finalist.

To compensate for injuries and inexperience, they employ a no-huddle offense that features stretch plays, bootlegs and play-action throws. Thing is, the Warriors use a no-huddle defense.

"They would call a play, and then we would call a play, and then they would call an audible and then we would have to call an audible," middle linebacker R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane said.

Kiesel-Kauhane, who made UH's on-field defensive calls, moved from outside linebacker on Monday.

"There are so many teams that run a no-huddle, it doesn't bother us any more," McMackin said. "If they bring in other people, we have enough time to bring in other people."

While the Cougars found second-half success hitting a designated receiver on a hot route, they struggled when the blitzing Warriors shut down Option One. The Warriors deflected seven passes and made six backfield tackles.

"We were in the right place at the right time," said Smith, UH's strong safety. "And we attacked."

The Warriors were without defensive end Fetaiagogo Fonoti (hyperextended left kneecap), but received an energetic pass rush from ends Liko Satele, Paipai Falemalu, Elliott Purcell and Jake Heun.

"It was fun," Falemalu said. "Our seniors hyped us up. Rocky (Savaiigaea), Blaze and R.J. told us to go out there with an attitude and hit hard."

Smith added: "Blaze was right. He wanted us to hit hard and play hard for Hawai'i. That's why 'Hawai'i' is on the front of our jerseys. When we win, the Islands are happy. When we lose, the Islands are sad. I think everyone is happy now."