Not a lot of things make sense in sports.

It̢۪s very rare that a team gains 522 yards of total offense in a single game and loses, but that was the case Saturday night against Hawaii.

The Warriors only amassed 322 yards of total offense, so how were they able to squeak by the Bulldogs?

The answer — six turnovers.

“Turnovers led to almost every one of their points,â€Â coach Pat Hill said. “It seems like we were chasing them all night long and we finally caught them, but we could never pass them.â€Â

The Bulldogs̢۪ six turnovers were the most in a game by Fresno State since 2000 when they faced Ohio State and gave the ball up six times.

When a team makes turnovers like Fresno State did Saturday it gives the opponent a short field to work with.

Fumbles in the first quarter by A.J. Jefferson and Tom Brandstater set up two field goals for the Warriors.

Two of Brandstater̢۪s three interceptions set up Hawaii inside Fresno State̢۪s 30-yard line and led to touchdowns for the Warriors.

It seemed every time the Bulldogs showed signs of life, a turnover would take all the momentum away from them.

“You just can’t win football games when you turn the ball over six times,â€Â Hill said. “You can’t make those kinds of mistakes. It’s very hard to overcome something like that.â€Â

The Bulldogs̢۪ offense shot itself in the foot on several occasions that didn̢۪t necessarily lead to Hawaii scores, but possibly took points off the board for Fresno State.

Brandstater marched the Bulldogs down to the Hawaii 24-yard line, but threw an interception at the 8-yard line to kill the drive.

The defense made an impressive stop in the third quarter and forced a fumble.

But tailback Lonyae Miller fumbled the ball on the very next play to give the ball right back to the Warriors.

Miller, however, did manage a career-high 161 yards rushing and scored twice for Fresno State.

“One thing we have to [work on] is ball security,â€Â Miller said. “I put the ball on the ground once and it was a critical turnover. That was basically the story of the night. Turnovers pretty much killed us.â€Â

And take this into consideration.

The Warriors came into Saturday night̢۪s game with the second worst turnover margin in all of NCAA football.

Hawaii had given up the ball 17 times compared to forcing just two turnovers, but they were able to turn that around against the Bulldogs.

“We need to take advantage of every opportunity,â€Â Miller said. “Without all the turnovers we could have easily made this a blowout.â€Â

Although the Bulldogs gave the ball up six times, there were several opportunities for them to come back and win the game.

With less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, freshman kicker Kevin Goessling had the opportunity to redeem himself after his performance against Wisconsin.

He missed a 36-yard attempt and also missed two field goals in overtime.

“If there’s anybody to take any blame for a loss around here it’s the head coach,â€Â Hill said.

So where do they go from here?

Any slimmer of hope for a BCS birth went through the posts with Dan Kelly̢۪s game-winning field goal for Hawaii.

But the way they played Saturday night and Boise State̢۪s hot streak, a conference title may have been fumbled away as well.

“We just need to fight our way back into this conference race,â€Â Hill said. “We still control our own destiny.â€Â