HYRUM, Utah — As the mercury dropped into the low 40s at Mountain Crest High's field, the University of Hawai'i football team's mood remained sunny.

In the final walk-through before today's game against Utah State, the Warriors exchanged jokes, heckled directionally challenged reporters who showed up 45 minutes late, and found ways to keep warm.

Almost all of the players wore sweatpants. Some wore sweatshirts with hoods, as if they were being led to the boxing ring.

Punter Kurt Milne, who was raised in Georgia, was in shorts.

"I can't kick with those things he has on," Milne said, pointing to kicker Daniel Kelly, who was wearing athletic leg warmers.

When practice ended, the players gathered around head coach June Jones. Usually, they end with a yell of "Warriors!" This time, at Jones' suggestion, they yelled: "Bus!"

Then they ran to the two idling buses.

Offensive line coach Dennis McKnight, dressed in shorts and a sneer, said the Warriors should overcome the cool temperatures and thin air (Logan, Utah, is 4,400 feet above sea level).

"It's all a mindset," McKnight said. "The adrenaline, the will to succeed, the fear of failure — those things will warm the cockles of your heart. If not, you shouldn't be playing, anyway."

Slotback Davone Bess said: "We tend to get spoiled sometimes playing out in the Islands. This is a reality check. The world can be a cold place. Going out and playing in the cold, that's football."

Another cold fact: the Warriors are on a roll, having won five in a row to improve to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Western Athletic Conference. They will clinch a berth in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl with a victory today, meeting the requirement of a winning regular season.

The Warriors lead the nation in scoring (45.4 points per game), total offense (529.2 yards per game) and passing (421.9 yards per game).

Quarterback Colt Brennan is the nation's leader in pass efficiency (185.0 rating) and total offense (391.0 yards per game).

Running back Nate Ilaoa is averaging 7.1 yards per carry. Utah State has used a defensive lineman to portray the 250-pound Ilaoa in practice.

"That's the only way we can do it because it's hard to find players similar to Nate Ilaoa," USU defensive coordinator Mark Johnson said. "That guy is a freak genetically. The things he does, and how fast he is, he's just different. He's got great feet and a great center of gravity. He reminds me of (Chris) Fuamatu-Ma'afala, who ended up with the Steelers. He's the same kind of player, although I think Nate might be better. Nate's tougher."

After piecing a defensive game plan, Johnson theorized: "My deal is to slow them down in some way, and try to get them to break serve, as I kind of call it. Hawai'i's been scoring on darn near every stinkin' possession. If we can slow them down, do something to try and change it up, we'll feel like we've had some success. We'll do our best. We'll play hard. We'll line up correctly and give them a good shot."

It has been a difficult season for the Aggies, who are 1-7 overall and 1-3 in the WAC. They parted ways with their offensive coordinator after an 0-4 start.

They are a young team that has had to grow up on the road. They have not played at home since Oct. 7.

While the Warriors were tucked away in Wellsville, Utah, last night, the Aggies were at home. Most Division I-A football teams spend the night before home games in a hotel. But Johnson said there are no hotels in Logan with large enough meeting rooms.

"Since we've been here, we've all played better on the road because we're housed together at night," Johnson said. "We don't do that for home games. We have to rely on the older kids in our position groups — usually the starters — to take control. They'll call everybody on the (active) squad, usually at curfew time to make sure everybody's in bed. Then they'll wake them up before the walk-through and breakfast on game day. Everybody takes ownership. It builds leadership within itself and some kind of accountability."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.