By BRET H. MCCORMICK

Associate Sports Editor

Ryan Moats had a career day and one of the most impressive individual performances in Tech's history, but it was not enough as the Bulldogs lost their homecoming game 44-41 to the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

Moats turned in the second highest rushing total in the school's history as he took 34 carries and ran for 267 yards and two touchdowns. Moats also caught five passes for 81 yards.

"We're just now finding out how good he is," Tech head coach Jack Bicknell said.

The shifty Moats, who wears the No. 20 of his idol Barry Sanders, ran around and through -- showing a quick burst of speed to run between converging defenders -- a Hawaii defense that seemed a step slower all day.

"He is a heck of a player," Hawaii head coach June Jones said. "I never realized he was that good, but I hope he's a senior."

Fortunately for the Bulldogs -- and unfortunately for Hawaii and the rest of the Western Athletic Conference -- Moats is just a sophomore. Since taking over as the full-time starter for the suspended Ralph Davis, Moats has averaged over 160 yards per game and has five touchdowns in three games.

However, the most important outcome of the game was the score. The Bulldogs (3-4, 1-3) once again dropped a close conference game. For Moats and the Bulldogs, a win is what really counted.

"My yards are nothing," Moats said. "I would rather block all day and win the game because I want to go to a bowl game. I just ran the ball and played my role."

For all the offensive stars on the Bulldogs' side, Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang threw for a career-high 534 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Rainbow Warriors (4-3, 3-1).

Chang came out hot and threw for over 230 yards in the first quarter, leading Hawaii to an early 21-10 lead. Chang hit Gerald Welch for a two-yard score and Jeremiah Cockerhan for 27-yard score. Running back West Kiliikipi also added an 11-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Justin Ayat's 28-yard field goal with 2:39 left in the half gave the Warriors a 24-10 lead, but the Bulldogs struck back when McCown hit D.J. Curry for one of his career-high 12 catches, a two-yard touchdown with one minute remaining in the half.

Then, Moats took over in the third quarter. After just nine carries for 49 nine yards in the first half, Moats scored his first touchdown of the game from two yards out to tie the game at 24. On the next Bulldog possession, McCown hit Erick Franklin for a 16-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 31-24 lead.

"In the first half, I was just trying to get in a groove," Moats said. "In the third and fourth quarter, once I got hot, I said, 'Let's roll,' and read it."

Throughout much of the early season, the Bulldogs struggled in the third quarter. However, it was the fourth quarter that gave them problems against the Warriors. Tech outscored Hawaii 14-0 in the third, but the Rainbow Warriors outscored Tech 20-10 in the decisive fourth quarter.

Hawaii tied the game on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Chang to Chad Owens with 12:08 to play. Tech came back to take the lead on a 40-yard field goal by All-American kicker Josh Scobee.

Two plays later, Chang hooked up with Britton Komine for a 56-yard scoring bomb, and Hawaii led 37-34. But the Bulldogs bounced right back with an 11-yard scoring run by Moats.

With 3:59 left to play in the game, Hawaii took a 44-41 lead on a 17-yard shovel pass from Chang to Michael Brewster.

With less than four minutes to play and no timeouts remaining, McCown, Moats and the rest of the Bulldog offense began their final charge.

After converting on a key third-and-17, the Bulldogs were once again faced with a third down opportunity with 1:30 to play from the Hawaii 35 yard line.

On third-and-two, instead of giving the ball to Moats, the Bulldogs went for a quick slant to Erick Franklin. However, Franklin dropped the ball.

"Nine out of 10 times he catches that," McCown said. "Nine out of 10 times I make a better throw."

Bicknell agreed with the call.

"It was a great call on third down," Bicknell said. "He was wide open. If he makes it, we're not sitting here talking about it."

With 1:27 to play and no timeouts, Bicknell was faced with a decision on fourth-and-two. The call could go to Moats, who was stopped for less than two yards just once in 34 carries, or Bicknell could once again lean on the powerful arm of McCown. Instead of going for the win, Bicknell chose to go for the tie.

"I looked at Scobee and asked him if he could make it, and he said yes," Bicknell said. "He had been kicking great all day, kicking it into the end zone. I felt like he was going to make it."

So did everyone else in the stadium, including the 19,128 fans in attendance and Jones.

"I thought their kicker was going to make it, actually," Jones said. "He's got an unbelievable leg. He can play, that guy. He'll be a high pick (in the NFL Draft)."

However, Scobee's kick never had a chance. The senior from Longview, Texas, connected badly with the ball, and it sailed wide left from the start.

"Scobee hits it from 60 yards every day in practice," McCown said. "Coming off the field I said, 'Scobee's going to make it.'"

After Scobee's miss, the Warriors ran out the clock. Bicknell was left wondering what if the Bulldogs had gone for it.

"I'm kicking myself now for not going for it," Bicknell said. "But if we hadn't made the first down, I would've been kicking myself for not trying a field goal with an All-American kicker standing beside me on the sidelines."

Moats said he wanted the ball, but he refused to disagree with the coaches.

"I don't want to second-guess the coaches," Moats said, "but I believe I could have made it É but I'm a running back so I'm gonna say that."

Bicknell was left wondering where his team goes next after dropping its third conference loss by a combined 19 points.

"That was a rough one," Bicknell said. "Early we struggled so much on defense. To be able to get that turned around [was] a great effort by the coaches and players."

The Bulldogs return to action Saturday as they travel to Reno, Nev., to face off with Nevada. Kickoff is set 3:05 p.m.