The Hawai'i football team has a quarterback controversy, but not at the starter's position.

Head coach Greg McMackin made official what has been known: Inoke Funaki is the No. 1 quarterback. Funaki will start in Saturday's game against Louisiana Tech.

"Inoke just won a big game for us," McMackin said of the Warriors' 32-29 upset of Fresno State. "There is no quarterback controversy. Inoke is our quarterback. ... That's who's going to be our quarterback."

But McMackin opened the competition for the No. 2 job among Tyler Graunke, Greg Alexander and Brent Rausch.

Graunke started the third game, against Oregon State, but suffered a hand injury. In UH's next game, a 20-17 loss to San Jose State, Graunke played in only UH's final three possessions.

Funaki started against Fresno State the past weekend, and Alexander was designated as the No. 2 quarterback. Graunke was available on a need-to-play basis because the coaches did not believe his right (throwing) hand was fully healed.

For the Fresno game, the Warriors amended the run-and-shoot playbook to include rollouts, run-options and quarterback draws to fit Funaki's elusive running skills.

McMackin said the offense was expanded "so Inoke can utilize his qualities. That's what coaching is all about. It's not just fitting somebody into a square (hole)."

Funaki completed 17 of 25 passes for 170 yards. He was not intercepted. He threw two scoring passes, including a laser to Malcolm Lane on a post pattern.

"The touchdown he threw was a run-and-shoot play," McMackin said.

'TUA' IN GOOD POSITION

Antwan "Tua" Mahaley apparently has found a role as kick-blocker.

More importantly, he said, he found a more meaningful role.

"I thought I was here for football," said Mahaley, a fourth-year junior from California, "but I wasn't. I turned my life around my sophomore year. I started to go back to church. I realized I needed God in my life to be able to do anything."

He admittedly strayed during his first two years at UH. But too often, newcomers approached, saying they had heard about the party-going "Tua."

"I didn't want that reputation," he said. "I had to change my ways."

Along with Barrett Awai, a former Kamehameha Schools standout athlete, Mahaley revived the UH chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Mahaley helps lead team prayers after every practice.

"He's really dedicated his life to God," linebacker Adam Leonard said. "He helps keep me accountable in my walk with Christ. He's definitely turned his life around. He's definitely walked the walk."

Mahaley said: "I realized to be a leader, I had to represent by walking straight with God. I had to be a leader in that way, and not do the things I used to do."

Still, he said, "you can still have fun. Just because you're a Christian, it doesn't mean you can't have fun. Christians have fun all of the time."

Mahaley earned the nickname "Tua" from offensive tackle Laupepa Letuli's grandfather, who was a high priest in American Samoa. Mahaley, who is African-American and Native American, and Letuli have been friends since high school.

Mahaley was recruited as a receiver, but switched to defensive end last season. This season, he was asked to serve as a kick blocker. He is positioned behind defensive tackles Keala Watson and Josh Leonard.

Watson and Leonard are asked to create a push, moving the line of scrimmage a couple of yards. Then Mahaley, off a two- or three-step approach, jumps with both hands in the air. Mahaley is capable of a 33-inch vertical jump.

He said he tries to read the kicker. "When he starts to cock his foot back, I jump off of that," Mahaley said.

Mahaley blocked kicker Kevin Goessling's field-goal attempt in the final minute, forcing overtime.

"He only has one job, one opportunity to make a difference in a game," Adam Leonard said. "He clings to that, and it really showed. He really deserved that (block)."

'CLARIFICATION,' PLEASE

McMackin said he will ask the WAC for a "clarification" of some of the calls that went against the Warriors.

They were penalized 10 times, including a pass-interference call against Ryan Mouton in the fourth quarter and a running-into-the-kicker penalty against Calvin Roberts in overtime.

Roberts was penalized after Goessling's kick sailed wide left.

"When I came off the corner, the dude kind of pushed me in the back," Roberts said. "Then I dove on the ground. I thought (the kick) was no good from the beginning. I don't believe I touched him. But the ref called it. I was kind of shocked."

Goessling was awarded a second kick. He pulled that one wide right.

The Bulldogs were not penalized the entire game.

McMackin said league rules prohibit him from commenting on the quality of the officiating. But he said he had never been involved in a game in which a team was not penalized.

Of the pass-interference penalty, McMackin said, Mouton was coached to defend the play the way he did.

McMackin said he wants a clarification to determine whether he was interpreting the technique the same way.