In pursuit of a postseason bowl berth, the University of Hawaii football team is not ready to issue a concession speech.

At 5-7 with a game remaining, the Rainbow Warriors will not meet the preferred bowl-eligibility requirement of a .500 regular season or better.

The exception is if the 41 bowls cannot fill their 82 slots with bowl-eligible teams. That was the case in 2016 when a 6-7 UH team was invited to the Hawaii Bowl. The Warriors beat Middle Tennessee to finish at 7-7.

There are 72 teams that are .500 or better. Another three spots are reserved for the winner of this week’s games between 5-6 teams: Old Dominion against Charlotte, Florida Atlantic against Middle Tennessee, and Maryland against Rutgers.

The Warriors could claim a bowl berth if they earn a road victory over Wyoming this Saturday and seven teams do not achieve .500 records.

“I think we do have a legitimate shot,” UH coach Todd Graham said of the postseason possibility. “Our guys know we’ve got to win this game (against Wyoming) for an opportunity to play another one. We’re focused on that.”

Because of the so-called exception allowing the Warriors a 13th regular-season game, their threshold is seven victories. But to close the regular season at 6-7 would give the Warriors the edge over 5-7 teams.

If the Warriors went to the postseason, the likely destination would be the Dec. 24 EasyPost Hawaii Bowl at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex. The 2020 Hawaii Bowl was canceled because of the pandemic. This year’s Hawaii Bowl is set to match teams from the Mountain West, of which UH has been a football-only member since 2012, and the American Athletic Conference.

“You’ve got to win on Saturday,” Graham said.

The Warriors are coming off Saturday’s 50-45 victory over Colorado State at the Ching Complex.

In ending a three-game losing streak, quarterback Chevan Cordeiro threw for 406 yards and two touchdowns, Dedrick Parson ran for two fourth-quarter scores, and Zion Bowens grabbed six passes for 172 yards. The Warriors amassed 535 yards, an average of 6.8 yards per play. The Warriors’ output was the largest in Graham’s 20 games as UH’s head coach.

The Warriors relinquished 651 yards, including 217 on CSU’s final three drives. But they contained CSU tight end Trey McBride to one first-half catch.

Darius Muasau made 13 tackles and forced three fumbles. Safety Chima Azunna, who has recovered from an injury, made 10 solo tackles.

“Our guys fought and did what they had to do to win,” Graham said.

Jalen Perdue appears to have solved the Warriors’ season-long quest for a kickoff returner. Perdue’s five returns netted 112 yards, including a 37-yard runback.