Can they pick up where they left off?

The last time we saw the University of Hawaii football team, the Warriors had just pulled off a senior night semi-miracle at Ching field.

The Warriors modeled efficiency and poise under pressure with Matthew Shipley’s 51-yard game-winning field goal as the clock ran out against Colorado State, and UH won 27-24.

Hawaii won three of its last four games to save what looked like a lost season after its 35-0 homecoming debacle against San Jose State put UH at 2-7, killing any slim remaining hopes for a winning record.

But Warriors fans had reasons to be encouraged by the late-season surge that included a 27-13 upset of Air Force, which had come into the game at 8-1 and leading the Mountain West. It was as if the Warriors finally found their alarm clock and a sense of urgency, scoring on their first possession of the game for the first time all season.

In many settings, our culture’s leisurely pace that includes a lack of stress over punctuality is comfortable and pleasing.

But the football field isn’t the place for that.

Comeback victories are thrilling. Most fans, though, prefer domination from the start — especially if pulling out wins at the end also means losses that would have been victories with better play earlier in the game.

Quarterback Brayden Schager completed his first 10 passes in that Air Force game.

He’s always had a strong arm, but he became much more effective when quarterback runs became more a part of UH’s game plan, not just desperate scrambles.

Hawaii’s offense should be very good this year when you consider that Schager and most of his favorite passing targets — most notably, Pofele Ashlock, Steven McBride and Koali Nishigaya — have returned. It could be excellent if someone steps up at running back. Schager running can be a good thing, but you definitely don’t want your quarterback the only running threat.

As for defense, the biggest key is turnovers. The Warriors generated only 13 last season. If the offense plays like it did toward the end of 2023, it won’t need a lot of time to put up points — but, of course, it needs the ball. If linebacker Logan Taylor is back to full health, he and an athletic, physical secondary might produce more fumbles and interceptions.

The 2023 Warriors were a little bit like their coach’s team during his senior year, in that they were late bloomers, too.

Twenty years ago, quarterback Timmy Chang broke a bunch of passing records, including career yards and touchdowns. Still, the Warriors were 4-5 after blowout losses at Boise State and Fresno State (and a season-opening defeat against Florida Atlantic, where Craig Angelos, who is now Chang’s boss, was then athletic director).

But after a 70-14 drubbing at Fresno, the Warriors ran the table. They closed out with wins against Idaho, Northwestern and Michigan State, and then knocked off UAB in the Hawaii Bowl.

Now, after just two seasons, Chang is one of the longest-tenured head coaches in the Mountain West. If that’s not weird enough, how about this — UCLA is in the Big Ten, and Washington State is in the … well, whatever they’re in, or not in, we know the Cougs are on the Warriors schedule. Other than at Pullman on Oct. 19 and the Bruins here on Aug. 31, Hawaii’s nonconference schedule looks extremely manageable.

As for the Mountain West, last season UH showed it could beat the conference’s top team, and the Warriors finished with that flourish against the Rams.

Yes, that was last year — and Shipley, the star kicker, left via the transfer portal.

Hawaii will have to show that momentum means something after eight months, especially considering how drastically things change in college football from the end of one season to the start of the next, much more than they used to.