LOGAN, Utah — In analyzing the rubble from the implosion that was the Hawai'i football team's stunning 30-14 loss to Utah State, the most telling segment came in the final minute.

UH's Malcolm Lane was about to complete a kickoff return for a touchdown when, at the "Welcome" mat of the end zone, he lost his grip on the football. Utah State recovered the bouncing ball, triggering the countdown to an against-all-oddsmakers outcome and ensuing celebration.

"It's the sickest feeling," Lane said.

Lane's unforced error had no bearing on the final score, but it was symbolic of a game in which little — except misfortune — went the Warriors' way.

"It was a team loss," running back David Farmer said. "It wasn't one play that decided it. It was a series of unfortunate events."

Credit Utah State and elusive receiver-turned-quarterback Diondre Borel for a gritty performance that provided a stay of persecution for embattled head coach Brent Guy. The Aggies (2-7, 2-3 in the Western Athletic Conference) had never won more than three games in each of Guy's first three seasons as head coach.

Borel threw two scoring passes, and he broke away for a 61-yard run to set up a decisive fourth-quarter field goal that sabotaged the Warriors' frenetic comeback attempt.

"I must have hit him eight or nine times, and he took every one," defensive end David Veikune said. "You've got to respect that. He's not that big. He's a skinny guy, but he can take a hit."

The Warriors also absorbed hits, directed by shots straight to their UnderArmour cleats.

"We killed ourselves," said wideout Greg Salas, who dropped three passes. "We shot ourselves in the foot."

In all, the Warriors had five drops, including slotback Michael Washington's in the end zone, when the Aggies led 20-7 early in the fourth quarter. The Warriors came away empty on that red-zone possession.

For the Warriors, the red zone (the area between an opponent's 20 and the end zone) was a stop sign. The Warriors failed to score in four of five red-zone possessions.

The first was on the opening drive that saw the Warriors march to a first-and-goal from the USU 3. Running back Daniel Libre was stopped for no gain. Farmer's draw advanced the ball to just inside the 1. But on third down, Farmer took the handoff and was tripped up for a 1-yard loss.

Should Greg Alexander, making his second start at quarterback, tried to take it in on third down?

"The running back is a better runner than he is," head coach Greg McMackin said. "I didn't see anything wrong (with the call). We've been running that play and having success."

UH then intentionally took a delay-of-game penalty to give kicker Dan Kelly a better angle for a field goal. Kelly's 26-yard attempt was deflected by Paul Igboeli.

In the second quarter, the Warriors had the ball at the USU 20. Ryan Mouton, aligned in the slot, caught a swing pass but slipped on the SportsTurf. On the next play, on third down, quarterback Inoke Funaki was sacked for an 11-yard loss. Kelly's second field-goal attempt — this one from 49 yards — also was blocked.

In the opening drive of the second half, trailing 13-7, the Warriors advanced to the 4. Alexander rolled to his left and pitched ahead to Libre, who could not hold on to the football. No whistle was blown, indicating it was a fumble, and the Aggies recovered.

Television replays indicated it the pitch was forward, which should have been interpreted as an incomplete pass. McMackin said he did not hear enough confirmation to challenge the ruling.

"I thought it was forward, for sure," Libre said. "Either way, I should have caught it. I looked at the defense too long. I take full responsibility for it."

The red-zone meltdowns cost the Warriors a potential 28 points.

"I don't know if it was (the after-effects of) Halloween or I don't know what," McMackin said. "I've never been involved in a game like this. I'm very disappointed."

Alexander said: "I don't know about the Halloween effect. It was the we-didn't-execute effect. If we don't execute, we're not going to win. That's what it comes down to. When we're in the red zone, we have to come away with points, whether it's 3 or 7. We have to come up with something out of it."

Most troubling is the Aggies chose a vanilla design for their defensive scheme. They rushed four down linemen, and their secondary was in a keep-everything-in-front umbrella coverage. "It wasn't anything we hadn't seen," Alexander said.

The Warriors were successful on timing plays — quick outs — but had difficulty when trying to throw deep. Nine penalties and three slips placed the Warriors in several difficult down-and-distance situations. That's when the Aggies rushed three and dropped eight into pass coverage.

All of which could have been conquered if the Warriors had managed to find a way to solve the Spin Doctor — Borel. If this were chasemaster, Borel would never be "It."

He repeatedly dodged pass rushes. Even a 2-yard sack was considered an achievement when he eluded two would-be tacklers 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

A turning point came in the second quarter, after Kelly's second miss, ending a possession that started when UH intercepted Sean Setzer's only pass of the game. It was pre-arranged for Setzer to play at least a series.

Utah State took over at its 38. Borel then noticed that the Warriors were in a cover-2 defense — the safeties were in deep coverage, each assigned a half of the width of the field.

"The safety (Desmond Thomas) was on the hash," Borel said. "He was pretty far away from the go route. ... I told (right wideout Nnamdi Gwacham) before we called the play, 'Get ready.' "

In this defensive coverage, cornerback Jameel Dowling can jam the receiver — bump him early in the route — to cause a detour in the straight-ahead lane. That allows Thomas to pick up Gwacham.

But Dowling also has the option of playing the run. With Borel trying to elude on-rushing Veikune, Dowling decided to focus on stopping Borel's potential scramble. With Gwacham's route not impeded, Borel launched a pass just as he was floored by Veikune.

Gwacham, who was wide open, made the reception and, with Thomas in pursuit, raced into the end zone to complete a 62-yard touchdown play and give the Aggies a 10-0 lead.

"The defense stepped up on the route and left me wide open," Gwacham said.

McMackin said: "All we had to do was get a jam on him, and (Borel) can't throw the thing, and we've got a sack."

After UH closed to 20-14 on Alexander's first touchdown of the season — a 9-yard run — Borel ran a quarterback draw up the middle. Because the linebackers had blitzed, after Borel broke through the tackle box, there was nothing but artificial turf in front. Borel ran 61 yards before being tackled by cornerback Calvin Roberts. That play led to Peter Caldwell's third field goal.

"Ten guys can do it, but if the 11th guy is not in the right gap, it could all fall apart," UH outside linebacker Adam Leonard said. "Each of us had one of those plays."

Even on special teams.

Lane believed he was going to score a touchdown when he took the kickoff and raced along the left sideline.

With three Aggies in pursuit, Lane said, "I didn't want anybody to push me out (of bounds). I was right by the sideline. I wanted to dive into the end zone. I was putting the ball up to dive into the end zone, and it flew out. This was a crazy game."

In reflecting on the Warriors' self destruction, Lane said: "They wanted it more than us. They came out and played harder than we did. They played a hell of a game. They capitalized and made big plays when they needed to make big plays, and we didn't make big plays when we needed to make big plays. That's what hurt us."

Farmer said: "I would not say the better team won. I'm sure if we came out tomorrow and got a do-over, it would be a different story. It's the way it goes."

Standing outside the UH locker room after the game, McMackin said, "right now they're really down. It's a down staff and its a down team."

McMackin said he regrets the seniors will not have a 10-victory season. The Warriors are 4-5 overall and 3-3 in the WAC. They need to win three of their next four games to finish with a winning regular season and earn the accompanying berth in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl.

The Warriors will remain on the Mainland, staying in El Paso in preparation for Saturday's game against New Mexico State.

"Now," McMackin said of New Mexico State, "it's going to be a tougher ballgame. It's going to be a tougher week."