LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The philosophy of Dr. Phil — communicate with each other — was the key element in Hawai'i's 42-30 victory over New Mexico State yesterday.

By talking the talk, the Warriors walked away with a performance that salvaged their offense, confidence and, most significant, their season.

"We knew we were making strides," UH head coach Greg McMackin said. "We finally put a full game together."

The Warriors improved to 5-5 overall and 4-3 in the Western Athletic Conference. They need to win two of their final three games to qualify for the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl.

The Warriors, who had struggled offensively in a stunning loss to Utah State the previous week, this time accumulated 447 yards, including 303 through the air.

Greg Alexander's third UH start was his best. He completed 81 percent of his passes (26 of 32) for 288 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown and somersaulted for a two-point conversion. Excluding the four times he was sacked, Alexander had nine scrambles for 47 yards. Five of his rushes resulted in first downs.

"I think Greg has really come along," quarterback coach Nick Rolovich said. "He made smart decisions. He knew where to throw the ball in certain situations. I thought he had his best game as a Warrior."

McMackin said he has been pleased with Alexander's ascent. Alexander transferred from Santa Rosa Junior College in May, and spent the summer training in Hawai'i.

"I've been around (John) Elway and (Warren) Moon and (Jeff) Garcia and some other pretty good ones," McMackin said. "(Alexander has) that coolness about him on the field. He never gets shaken. He's got a great 'gamester' attitude."

Daniel Libre contributed 88 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and Ryan Mouton scored on a 91-yard interception return.

For the Warriors, the tone was set the day after the road loss to Utah State. McMackin had decided to keep the Warriors on the Mainland between road games, setting up a mini training camp in El Paso, a 45-mile drive from New Mexico State's Las Cruces campus.

On their first night in El Paso, McMackin held a closed-door meeting.

"That was such a tough loss," McMackin said. "On Sunday, we had a real talk. It wasn't pretty. I got some things off of my mind."

McMackin challenged several of the 30 seniors on the 64-player travel roster.

"I love these players," McMackin said. "These are the greatest players I've coached. They're the best I've been around. They want it so bad — for the seniors, and for the state of Hawai'i. They listen to you. And they believe in each other. That's why it was good to be on the road for the week. We were together. We were working for each other."

Against Utah State, the Warriors failed to score on four of five possessions in the red zone (between an opponent's 20 and the end zone). In the week leading to yesterday's game, they worked on their red-zone offense in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills. The offense also spent several hours studying videos of NMSU's complex 3-3-5 defense.

"We needed to start to communicate," Alexander said. "Last week, (Utah State) did some things to us. We needed to talk. That was the big focus this past week."

NMSU defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn concocted a scheme in which any defender can be a blitzer. Dunn's strategy for UH was to play man coverage on the four receivers and turn loose everybody else.

UH offensive line coach Brian Smith did the math.

"They were bringing seven and we had six to protect (Alexander)," Smith said, noting the lone running back often serves as a backfield blocker.

The heavy pass rush quickened the rhythm of the Warriors' offense. The receivers abandoned the long routes — streaks and deep posts — to run slants, curls and quick outs. The so-called blitz breaks — abbreviating a route — shortened some patterns to five strides.

"You have to snap it," wideout Greg Salas said.

That also meant Alexander and the receivers needed to read the coverage and pass rush correctly.

"We had to communicate better," slotback Aaron Bain said. "We had to make the read, seeing what the defense was doing before the ball was snapped. Then we had to relay (the call) to the quarterback and linemen. Once you do that, it makes it easier for the quarterback."

The study sessions proved to be beneficial.

"When (the Aggies) come down with the four-across man (defense), that changes everybody's route, really," Alexander said. "We had to make sure we were all on the same page. We didn't want to leave anybody hanging. We did a good job of talking. Everybody was communicating."

Both of Alexander's scoring passes were off adjusted calls. Slotback Aaron Bain caught a pass off a crossing route, broke free from a defender and found the end zone to complete a 17-yard play to tie it at 7 in the first quarter.

Near the end of the second quarter, Alexander tossed to slotback Kealoha Pilares in the left flat. Pilares scored on the 6-yard play.

"Crossing routes and stuff to the flats are good against man (coverage)," Alexander said. "That's the beauty of this offense. They can bring heat, but we can answer with our routes."

Indeed, the Aggies' aggressiveness proved to be their weakness. Late in the first quarter, the Aggies squeezed 11 defenders near the line of scrimmage. Alexander drew in the blitzers, then handed off to Libre, who found a narrow opening. Libre maneuvered past the only line of defense. He was chased down after running 48 yards. That eventually led to Alexander's 1-yard scoring run.

Then in the third quarter, on third-and-goal from the 3, the Warriors positioned three receivers to the far right and Salas to the far left. The Aggies tried to bunch up the middle. An Aggie assistant coach's screams from the loge level to spread the defensive formation went unheard. Libre took a handoff and raced wide left of the congestion to score a touchdown.

"The players just executed," offensive coordinator Ron Lee said. "We had options off of different looks. The players were together. They knew what to do."

Conversely, the failure to communicate led to NMSU wideout Chris Williams' three touchdowns plays — all off post patterns that split the safeties. They covered 84, 23 and 83 yards.

"If you cover (the routes), it works out better," associate head coach Rich Miano said. "(Williams) is a good player, but we made him look like the best player in America."

What made the plays work were quarterback Chase Holbrook's elusiveness and deceptiveness. On the first, Holbrook faked a double reverse, then threw to an open Williams.

Even when Holbrook was on the radar, he managed to slip away.

"He had that third eye," defensive end David Veikune said. "He could tell when someone's coming. He reminded me of Colt (Brennan). There's no way he could have seen the defender coming. But he feels it, and he has a great arm, too."

The Warriors also were limiting their blitzes out of respect for Holbrook's quick release.

The Warriors' answer was to assign their fastest player, Mouton (4.3 seconds over 40 yards) to Williams. Mouton held Williams to one catch, a 1-yarder, off a crossing pattern.

That enabled the Warriors to increase their pass rush. They also tried to apply pressure from different points. Twice, they sent middle linebacker Solomon Elimimian on blitzes.

"They scored on us early because we didn't communicate," Elimimian said. "Once we started communicating, we played better."

The Aggies tried to construct a frenetic comeback. Marcus Anderson's touchdown closed the Aggies to 42-30 with 1:11 to play.

The Aggies recovered the ensuing onside kick. But safety Erik Robinson intercepted Holbrook to end the threat.

"The play came my way," said Robinson, who played in front of his family members. He said they made the 9-hour drive.

On Robinson's interception return, Veikune knocked out offensive lineman Polo Gutierrez. Both had exchanged smack talk the entire game. Veikune was assessed a foul for standing over Gutierrez.

"We had a great player do something we don't approve of," McMackin said. "The hit was a great hit. I was really upset about the taunting."

After the game, Veikune issued an emotional apology.

"I would like to apologize to their whole team," Veikune said. "We were having a battle. ... I thought he would get up and talk trash, like we had been doing the whole game. I knew it was wrong. I shouldn't have talked, anyway. It was a selfish thing. I apologize to him, and to his team."