If you tuned in late, you probably thought ESPN accidentally switched to a Madden simulation.
Hawaii and Air Force went full fireworks show on Saturday afternoon at Falcon Stadium — 79 total points, 1,000+ combined yards, and a fourth quarter that looked more like a pinball machine than a football game. When the smoke finally cleared, the Rainbow Warriors walked out of Colorado with a 44–35 win, a shiny Kuter Trophy, and maybe the best offensive statement yet in the Timmy Chang era.
After a quiet night against Fresno State last week, Micah Alejado responded like a man personally offended by box scores. The sophomore quarterback went 35-of-47 for 457 yards and three touchdowns, a stat line that looks like it belongs in the old Run-and-Shoot glory days.
Alejado dissected Air Force’s secondary with surgical precision, finding ten different receivers and playing keep-away from a Falcons team that usually does that to everyone else. Air Force came in ranked fourth nationally in time of possession — but Hawaii flipped the script and won the ball-control battle by nearly 15 minutes. That’s not a typo. The team known for tempo and vertical bombs just milked a 24-play, 80-yard drive that chewed over 12 minutes of clock in the second quarter. The drive ended with a 31-yard Kansei Matsuzawa field goal, and by halftime, Hawaii led 17–7.
This wasn’t just the offense we expected from a Chang-coached squad — it was the best version yet. The 535 total yards were the most in his tenure, and more importantly, it looked easy. Rhythm throws, smart decisions, and zero turnovers. Hawaii didn’t just beat Air Force; they dismantled the Falcons’ identity.
The fourth quarter? Absolute chaos.
The teams combined for 41 points in the final frame — 24 of them in the last six minutes. Touchdowns were dropping faster than notifications after a Taylor Swift sighting at an NFL game. Air Force would score, blink, and Hawaii would punch right back.
After Hawaii built a 31–14 lead early in the quarter thanks to Cam Barfield’s 27-yard scamper (set up by Matagi Thompson’s first career interception), the Falcons went no-huddle turbo mode. Quarterback Liam Szarka was ridiculous: 10-of-12 passing for 278 yards and three touchdowns, plus 139 yards rushing. He looked like a one-man Air Raid with a pilot’s license. But every time he threatened a comeback, Hawaii matched him blow for blow.
The dagger came with five minutes left, when Jackson Harris torched Air Force’s secondary for a 74-yard house call — his second score of the day. That play felt like the exclamation mark on a breakout performance for Harris, who finished with seven catches, 144 yards, and two TDs, all career highs.
And just to make sure there was no late chaos, Matsuzawa — the automatic assassin — nailed a 25-yard field goal with 34 seconds left, pushing his season mark to 16-of-16. For context, that’s not just perfect — that’s a new Hawaii and Mountain West record for consecutive field goals to start a year. Someone get this man a NIL deal with Zippy’s already.
While Air Force piled up 494 total yards — their best offensive showing of the year — they ran into a Hawaii team that was just more efficient. The Rainbow Warriors:
That’s the kind of clean, clinical football that wins championships — or at least makes your offensive coordinator sleep well for a week.
Even the defense, which bent plenty, found ways to stand tall when it mattered. Thompson’s interception flipped momentum, and the front seven held up just enough against Szarka’s 139-yard scrambling chaos to make those late field goals matter.
For all the jokes about “The Timmy Chang Era,” this might’ve been the first game that actually felt like one. The offense looked like the modern evolution of the Run-and-Shoot: high-volume passing, yes, but with composure and efficiency baked in. Alejado is growing into a legitimate Mountain West problem — calm under pressure, willing to check down when needed, and deadly accurate when he goes deep.
And maybe the most impressive part? The time of possession flip. Hawaii controlled tempo like Air Force usually does, stringing together marathon drives that drained the clock and the Falcons’ morale. You could almost hear the frustration in the stadium when Hawaii’s 12-minute drive bled away an entire quarter.
This was also a program win — a game where everything Chang has preached (discipline, pace, balance) finally showed up on tape. The Rainbow Warriors didn’t just outscore Air Force; they out-executed them in every phase.
At 4–2 overall and 1–1 in the Mountain West, Hawaii now enters its bye week with swagger and legitimacy. The Kuter Trophy stays in Honolulu, and the “maybe they’re figuring it out” whispers just got a lot louder. For a team that’s been rebuilding under Chang, this was proof of concept.
Air Force, on the other hand, drops to 1–3 and remains winless in conference play. The Falcons’ triple-option-adjacent system looked potent but inconsistent — explosive in spurts, but unable to sustain drives when Hawaii refused to give them the ball for long stretches. Szarka is clearly a future star, but the defense got shredded by an offense that, frankly, looked more prepared and better conditioned.
This wasn’t a fluke — it was a statement. Hawaii finally looks like the dangerous, modern offense fans have been waiting for. Alejado’s confidence is rising by the week, Harris just introduced himself to the conference as a legit WR1, and Matsuzawa might be the most automatic kicker west of the Rockies.
As for Air Force? They learned what happens when someone steals their playbook and uses it against them.
The Rainbow Warriors now get a bye before hosting Utah State on October 11 at the Ching Complex. Expect the island to be buzzing — because if this version of Hawaii sticks around, the rest of the Mountain West might need to call for air support.
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