Is this rock-bottom? If not, it’s close as Warriors take ‘a step back’ in loss

Is it rock-bottom at the quarry yet?

If not, it’s pretty close.

There were few positives for fans to take away from the University of Hawaii’s 35-0 loss to San Jose State on Saturday. Any delusions for a winning season and a bowl bid were dashed, decisively.

The Warriors are 2-7 after their fourth loss in a row, all in conference. They’re 0-4 in the Mountain West, and that makes some games on the back end that looked pretty winnable before the season not so much now.

Even Nevada, where UH plays next, has won two in a row. The Wolf Pack were the one Mountain West team considered by most prognosticators to have less hope than the Warriors going into the season.

One of the burning questions heading into the San Jose State game was if former Warriors captain and now Spartans quarterback Chevan Cordeiro would be booed at the Ching Complex because he transferred.

We didn’t hear any negativity directed his way. That’s probably because fans remembered why Cordeiro and so many of the team’s other best players left, that being the toxicity brought on by the previous coaching regime.

Regardless, this had to sting pretty bad, especially for those who were reminded by Cordeiro’s performance Saturday of his winning ways with the Warriors.

Something is very wrong when UH gets crushed by a team led by Cordeiro and a guy named Brennan. Brent is a cousin of UH legend Colt Brennan, and the San Jose State coach was also once a member of the Hawaii staff.

At least it was a happy homecoming for those two. It also was for Spartans kicker Kyler Halvorsen, another former Warrior.

Standard operating procedure is that when scheduling a homecoming opponent, you pick one you have a good chance of beating. Of course, this can be problematic if you’re in what we will kindly call a rebuilding phase.

“Maybe it could’ve been Albany,” coach Timmy Chang said, when asked if he has input in choosing the homecoming opponent, and would have preferred it not be a team quarterbacked by a former Warriors star.

This loss was brutal, and the usually upbeat Chang could not deny it.

“We didn’t execute on offense,” he said.

“On defense we fought.”

The Warriors did do that — on first and second downs. But the Spartans converted on third down nine of 10 times while building a 21-0 first half lead.

UH was badly beaten on both sides of the ball.

“On offense we just didn’t get it going,” Chang said. “Those two interceptions, the receiver saw one thing, and the quarterback saw something else. … We definitely took a step back. … there’s been some growing pains and a learning curve to this (run-and-shoot) offense.”

He added that he isn’t contemplating a change behind center.

“Brayden Schager is our quarterback,” Chang said.

Part of the problem is a running game that has been MIA all season. It was so bad Saturday that Matthew Shipley was the leading rusher — with 17 yards on a fake punt. With 15 yards added on for a late hit putting the ball at the Spartans 33, UH had a brief glimmer of hope, trailing 21-0 midway through the third quarter.

But that opportunity was frittered away quickly when Jay’Vion Cole intercepted Schager in the end zone and returned it 51 yards, sending the momentum back the Spartans’ way as quickly as they’d lost it. After that, everyone knew it was over.

After nine games this season, UH’s most exciting runs have been by a defensive lineman, an offensive lineman and, now, a punter.

The occasional positive oddity keeps things interesting during a tough season, and can even serve as a turning point. But, given a choice, Hawaii fans would prefer some good old sacks by defensive linemen, interceptions by defensive backs, and touchdowns by running backs and receivers that lead to some wins down the stretch — or at least indications that the team is headed in the right direction.