More red zone futility. More penalties. More sacks. More third- and fourth-down deficiencies.

More frustration.

It seems the closer it gets to the goal line, the harder it is for the University of Hawaii football team to cross it.

But the biggest turning point came on the other side of the field Saturday — when it appeared the UH defense had done what it needed to do to stop the nation’s best running back and turn the tables.

But when the Warriors most needed a break, it went the other way.

Saturday was expected to be the Ashton Jeanty Show — not only at the Ching Complex, but on video screens all over the country. And, that it was after Boise State’s 28-7 win, dropping UH to 2-4, and keeping Jeanty’s hopes for the Heisman Trophy alive and the Broncos’ College Football Playoff aspirations breathing — if Oregon keeps winning, Boise’s 37-34 loss at Eugene won’t be a deal-breaker for a spot in the new 12-team playoff.

That, of course, is assuming the Broncos run the table, too. And there was, for quite a while, a real chance that the Warriors might knock them off the top of the Mountain and out of the running for the Group of Five’s CFP spot.

It was still 13-7 with 12 minutes left when an apparent fumble by Jeanty forced by Jamih Otis was recovered by UH’s Justin Sinclair at the Warriors 8. But an officials’ review determined Jeanty was down before losing the ball.

On the next play, he caught a pass for a 5-yard TD.

The Warriors had hung on as well as they could for more than three quarters, and still had a realistic chance. But that elation to deflation of the reversed call was too much to overcome — at least on this night.

“Calls get overturned and don’t go your way,” Hawaii coach Timmy Chang said. “They’re costly. … There must have been some really good evidence to overturn that.”

This Boise State team is different than past editions that won because two-star recruits played together like four-star recruits.

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The closest thing the Broncos ever had to a bona fide superstar before was quarterback Kellen Moore. But Jeanty is even a step beyond that.

His 217 yards rushing and two TDs were just another typical game for him. And the threat of Jeanty opens up lots of other things for his teammates.

The Warriors did hold him to 3 yards less than his average per carry. But he had 31 totes, partly because Hawaii again had problems sustaining drives, converting just six of 17 times on third and fourth down.

A major cause of that was Brayden Schager having to absorb eight sacks.

“At the end of day we didn’t execute,” Schager said. “It’s been that way for a while and it’s frustrating. … I’m going to take the fall every time, but we’ve got to get better.”

Meanwhile, Boise State was 10-for-18 on third- and fourth-down conversions.

“We tried to put all 11 bodies on (Jeanty),” said Chang, who added that the Warriors did not do that at the expense of ignoring other Boise threats. “When we’re watching the film we know who they are.”

And on the biggest, most crucial play of the game, the ball was out of Jeanty’s hands. But, according to the officials, it was in them long enough for it to not be a fumble.