Long after the referees had left and the lights had been turned out on a scoreboard that read Hawai'i 42, San Jose State 35 in overtime, the Warrior football team remained on the sodden Spartan Stadium grass Friday night.

They danced, and whooped, and hollered. They did both the ha'a and haka to the delight of their fans.

Such was the festive mood that had there been a request, they'd have probably done the hokey pokey, too.

Remarkably these days some of the Warriors' biggest moments and most stirring victories have come thousands of miles from Aloha Stadium where they once strayed from only with trepidation. The dramatic triumph at San Jose, that was a school-record seventh consecutive road victory over two seasons, illustrated just how big a corner has been turned. That UH is unbeaten (7-0) and nationally ranked has everything to do with its ability to win across multiple time zones and foreign end zones.

Indeed, time was when UH teams on the road couldn't wait to get off the field, on the plane and back home. Of course, there was rarely anything to celebrate.

Hard to believe that when head coach June Jones walked through the doors at Manoa in 1999 UH had lost a staggering 24 consecutive Western Athletic Conference road games. Not a lot of them close, either.

Over parts of seven years through 1998, UH was everybody's favorite opponent for special occasions. Homecomings, parents day, agriculture day, you name it and UH rarely disappointed the hosts.

Now, UH is routinely a betting favorite on the road, sometimes almost obscenely so. The next road victory — which could come Nov. 16 at Nevada in the final trip of the regular season — would give Jones a 20-20 record on the road in his nine seasons. Considering UH was 23-49-3 on the road since becoming a Division I-A member before he took over, that's an astounding reversal of fortunes. All the more so that UH now regularly plays five — and next year even six — road games in a season.

To be sure charter flights have helped. So, too, the fact the WAC isn't as potent as it once was top to bottom and the number of games at altitude are fewer.

But what has really carried the day has been the offensive firepower UH packs. With this offense — and the right components to run it — UH can put up points aplenty in a hurry. Overcoming a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit, as we saw at San Jose, or firing up 27 in one quarter at Idaho, can be quickly accomplished.

Combine that with a growing ability to trot out a big-play defense and UH no longer has to be cast as the accidental tourist on the road. Now, beware of the guest in black and silver that that comes to party.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.