The Associated Press

Hawaii coach June Jones said on Monday his players weren't to blame for the post-game brawl with Cincinnati Saturday night, adding that the Bearcats lost because they are undisciplined.

"It's unfortunate it happened, but it wasn't our fault," Jones said. "Our kids showed great restraint. They were punched twice before they reacted. I'm proud of them. It's unfortunate that it came to that.

"When you're undisciplined, you lose games," he said "So they got what they deserved ... a loss."

Hawaii athletic director Herman Frazier, who was at the game, said on Monday that he felt the fight was the result of a close, highly emotional football game. He said he didn't see a problem with the number of Hawaii fans on the field. Cincinnati officials criticized Hawaii for allowing too many fans on the field.

"This Saturday we will still continue to monitor the traffic that's around the stadium and around the field," Frazier said. "Every institution has his or her own system dependent upon the size of the playing field and some places where you have a track around the field versus some places where you don't. Aloha Stadium simply has a lot more space to accommodate some other things that go on."

Jones said fans sitting behind Hawaii's bench is part of home-field advantage.

"I'm disappointed they got things thrown at them, I thought that was inappropriate, so don't get me wrong. But as far as the gametime part of it, I mean, that's part of the game," he said.

Hawaii plans to address the sideline issue, athletics spokeswoman Lois Manin said.

"Starting this week, we're going to try and keep all of our people off of their sidelines," she said.