A second straight week of reunions for Timmy Chang did not result in a second straight victory for the Hawaii football team.

The Rainbow Warriors’ offense stalled in the second half as UH could not make a 10-point halftime lead on Colorado State stand up in a 17-13 loss at Canvas Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

What You Need To Know

  • The Hawaii football team dropped to 0-4 on the mainland this season after it could not hold a late lead at Colorado State in a 17-13 loss on Saturday afternoon in Fort Collins, Colo.

  • UH, behind quarterback Brayden Schager, moved the ball effectively in the first half when it rung up 219 yards and enjoyed a 13-3 lead, but it managed just 38 yards and no points after halftime

  • Head coach Timmy Chang faced his mentor Jay Norvell, his boss for the last five years at Nevada, whom Chang followed to CSU for a month before taking the UH job

  • Linebacker Logan Taylor had a career game in relief of injured Isaiah Tufaga with 16 total tackles including 1.5 for loss

Chang’s mentor and former boss at Nevada for the last five years, Jay Norvell, picked up the win over his protégé when Avery Morrow’s second touchdown of the day gave the Rams the lead with 1:28 left.

UH quarterback Brayden Schager, who moved the ball effectively in the first half, lost his rhythm after the break and after three short completions to running back Dedrick Parson on the team’s final drive, threw a ball over the middle that was intercepted by CSU defensive back Ayden Hector to seal the outcome.

For UH (2-6, 1-2 Mountain West), it was the second straight conference road game that it held a late lead, only to falter. Schager’s untimely pick was the only turnover of the game.

CSU (2-5, 2-1), in a full rebuild under first-year coach Norvell, entered the day 0-3 at its home venue set at 5,000 feet of elevation. But the Rams’ air raid offense generated 209 yards on the ground, including 147 by the power back Morrow, who scored from 1 and 10 yards among his 26 carries.

UH had held its previous two MWC opponents to under 100 yards rushing, including at home against Nevada last week for Chang's first win over an FBS program.

Norvell directed his team, featuring 10 Wolf Pack players who followed him to CSU, to go for it on fourth down repeatedly. The Rams, after coming up empty on two such instances in the first half, finished 3-for-6 on them.

Chang had followed Norvell from Reno to Fort Collins for about a month and helped several players there before the head UH job opened in January.

UH and CSU engaged in a shootout under different head coaches and quarterbacks in Honolulu last year, won 50-45 by the Rainbow Warriors. It was a stark contrast a year later as points came at a premium Saturday. Schager finished 18-for-29 for 173 yards and a touchdown, but just 32 yards came after halftime as he went 4-for-10 and did not look to throw deep.

UH, sporting its all-black uniforms to CSU's all-whites, got a Matthew Shipley 27-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive and in the second quarter claimed a 10-3 lead on Schager’s perfect 6-for-6 drive, capped with a 1-yard toss to tight end Caleb Phillips, who beat his man to the front right pylon.

Twice in the first half, CSU went for it on fourth down in UH territory and came up empty. On the first, Malik Hausman made a touchdown-saving tackle of Morrow, who burst 67 yards to the UH 2. From there, Morrow was turned back twice at the goal line and Clay Millen went incomplete twice, with Peter Manuma deflecting his pass in the end zone incomplete on fourth down.

UH parlayed the second of CSU’s turnovers on downs into a 60-yard drive over the last 1:26 of the half, capped with a rapid field-goal setup in the final 15 seconds of the period for a 23-yard chip shot for Shipley and a 13-3 halftime lead.

That would be the last UH score of the game as UH generated just 38 yards of offense after intermission and punted four times.

The Rams went for it on fourth down again on their first drive of the second half. This time the Rams got it from Morrow from 1 yard out, aided by a UH offside call, to get within 13-10.

UH had to punt, and the Rams succeeded on fourth down again to keep its drive going at midfield. But CSU went for it again on the drive and this time the UH interior defense held in its red zone.

From there, the teams exchanged five straight punts until crunch time.

Millen found receiver Tory Horton on fourth and 3 to the UH 20 with three minutes left. It set up Morrow’s tough run for the go-ahead score with 1:28 left.

UH missed linebacker Isaiah Tufaga and defensive back Meki Pei, offensive lineman Stephan Bernal-Wednt and receiver Koali Nishigaya with injuries.

Veteran Solo Vaipulu saw some of his first action of the season on the O-line. Linebacker Logan Taylor stepped into a larger role and had nine first-half tackles, including two for loss, and finished with 16.

UH heads home to host Wyoming (4-3, 2-1) on Saturday at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii.