Hawaii needed four yards on its first third-down attempt on Saturday.

It came up with five.

The Rainbow Warriors needed 10 to extend a drive later in the first quarter. They hit a pass for 11.

When they needed six in the second they got seven. Needed 12, they got 14. Situation called for 10, they gained 11. Had to have 15, they got 15.

“Boy that’s hard, man,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. “You’ve got to get off the field.”

The Falcons forced their visitors into 19 third-down situations and Hawaii turned 14 into first downs as it headed back to the islands with a 44-35 victory at Falcon Stadium.

The Rainbow Warriors – like Air Force – punted only once during the game. They turned all those conversions into a time-of-possession advantage of 37:24 to 22:36 and led 26-17 in first downs and 535 to 494 in total yards.

Air Force linebacker Luke Fisher said the defense, under coordinator Brian Knorr, reps third down as much as any program in the country.

“That’s where we make our money. Right? But it’s also where you lose your money,” Fisher said. “If you’re not solid and sound, you’re not going to be able to get off the field and then they’re going to be able to continue drives. We’ve got to capitalize when we need to capitalize.”

To its credit, the defense didn’t emerge from the game pointing fingers.

“Each level needs to work on their own thing,” said outside linebacker Isaac Hubert, who had three tackles for loss. “It’s not one position group.

“D-line specifically needs to contain the quarterback better and not have them pop out and finish and get some sacks.”

The defensive backs played a little closer to the line of scrimmage in the second half and, as a result, made Hawaii complete passes to receivers who were often more closely guarded. The Rainbow Warriors, behind quarterback Micah Alejado, handled the challenge.

“They need to see enough receivers come at them,” Calhoun said of his secondary, which started three sophomores and two freshmen. “We try to resemble that in practice. It’s not always the same, who they line up against, perhaps.”