Head coach Greg McMackin was red-faced, and it had little to do with standing on the sunny side of the field in 80-plus degree temperatures for the first half of Saturday’s University of Hawaii football game.

It, however, had everything to do with witnessing last year’s debacle at Colorado.

After blowing a 10-0 halftime lead en route to a 31-13 loss in Boulder last year and seeing deja vu symptoms yesterday, McMackin called not one but two timeouts in a row, gathering his players around him on the sidelines, in the waning minutes of the third quarter to blisteringly "explain some things to the guys."

Then, things got worse as Colorado recovered a fumble, scored a touchdown and kicked a field goal to close to 24-17.

But after the ears stopped ringing from the paint-peeling, expletive-laced "talk," the message eventually got through and so did the defense as the Warriors put both the Buffaloes and the Rocky Mountain Horror Show of 2010 behind them in a rousing 34-17 victory on national TV.

The defense produced seven sacks, held CU to 240 yards total offense and, even more telling, made the big plays down the stretch in a hard-hitting, season-opening statement.

While the offense took its time in coming around as quarterback Bryant Moniz improvised on the run, the defense was in something reminiscent of midseason form to pick up the slack.

"We have a lot of pride as a unit and know what is at stake," said defensive tackle Kaniela Tuipulotu.

And when rookie Colorado coach Jon Embree was feeling "like we were going to win" as UH’s focus wandered, intensity wavered and the game got too close for comfort for the Hawaii partisans in a crowd of 35,645, McMackin did what a head coach should. Especially one whose season could have been on the brink.

The man who can hand out handshakes and slap backs off the field like a Walmart greeter got in face masks at decibels too loud to ignore on the sidelines. And when he felt one time out wasn’t sufficient, he called another as disbelieving officials and curious fans looked on and listened in in amazement.

"We just had a little visit and talked some family business," McMackin said. "I just needed a little more time to explain myself. We had talked at halftime about being in the same situation last year and not doing the same things and then we did some of the same things and I wasn’t going to allow it."

It was a Dick Tomey-esque moment, recalling his 1978 "chat" on the same sideline as a second-year head coach with a UH team that trailed Wyoming 19-0 and used the blistering to rally for a 27-22 victory.

Did it bring back memories, Tomey, now an assistant in charge of special teams, was asked?

"It did."

Mostly, though, it brought the Warriors back to the task at hand, which was a victory over a Pac-12 team at home where the sponsor Under Armour signs remind, "Protect This House." And it prevented the kind of pratfall that nobody would want to begin a season with. Especially anyone who witnessed what happened in Colorado last year.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.