Following Hawaii’s 29-27 loss to UNLV last night, coach Timmy Chang questioned whether the replay system needs to be put under further review.

Down 22-20 in the fourth quarter, the Warriors used the second of their three second-half timeouts after officials ruled an incompletion on wideout Jonah Panoke’s leaping catch near the right sideline. Either the officials did not review the play during the timeout or they quickly determined that Panoke did not have full control when he landed with a foot inbounds. Chang did not argue the ruling but questioned if that play was fully reviewed.

He recalled the game against San Diego State when it appeared an Aztec was stopped short of the line to gain on a fourth-down play. “I’m being told that it’s being reviewed, come to find out it’s not reviewed,” Chang said.

He also recalled how officials took four minutes to overturn an initial call that a Boise State running back fumbled.

“There’s not a clear view of that fumble” to overturn the call, Chang said. “I just don’t trust the replay system. We’ve been burned two games. It cost us again in a situation like this that I have to use a timeout. I’m going to go look at it. Don’t know if it’s a catch or not, but to me, it looked like a catch.”

Bowl hopes get slimmer

The outcome dropped the Warriors to 4-6 overall and 2-3 in the Mountain West with two regular-season games remaining.

A team is required to have a .500 record or better in the regular season to be bowl eligible. A team also can count only one victory over an FCS opponent. That means, by rule, the Warriors can count only one of their victories over FCS members Delaware State and Northern Iowa.

But in the past, exceptions have been made when there are not enough qualifying teams for bowl games. UH was able to play in the Hawaii Bowl with a 6-7 record.

“We’ve got to win this next one (against Utah State) and then we’ve got to come back home and win against New Mexico,” Chang said. “We’ll see. We don’t know about any of those (bowl) decisions that are being made. … We’ve got a 24-hour rule. Those guys are pretty upset in (the locker room). They’re feeling down. We’ve got a 24-hour rule. Then we’re back to action, and ready to go to Utah State.”

Matsuzawa on point

Kansei Matsuzawa did not allow the elements to bother him as he kicked two field goals, including a career-long 41-yarder.

“I just focused on myself, and focused on what I can control,” said Matsuzawa, who was born and reared in Japan. “It was windy today. Pregame, I talked to my coach (Thomas Sheffield) and (holder) Lucas (Borrow), about where is the aiming point. I cleared my head. See spot, hit spot.”

The 41-yarder was with the wind at his back. “The wind was going to push it to the left,” he said. “I aimed it a little right. It went right in the middle.”

On his 33-yard attempt, he said, “the wind was coming across and it also was raining hard. Same thing. Just focused on myself. We practice here. I feel wind is not my enemy. I accept the wind and focus on doing my job.”