The Hawaii football team hopes its exit from the Western Athletic Conference leads to an entry into the Hawaii Bowl.
The Warriors, 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the WAC, need to win two of their next three games for a winning regular season and the accompanying berth in the Christmas Eve bowl.
Tonight’s meeting against long-time rival Fresno State will mark the Warriors’ 257th — and final — WAC football game. The Warriors, who joined the WAC in 1979, will move to the Mountain West Conference in July.
“Sure, there’s a sense of urgency,” UH head coach Greg McMackin said. “They’re college students. They’re smart. They know what’s going on. There’s a sense of urgency, but there’s always a sense of urgency. It’s getting down to when it’s really important. We have to win two out of our next three games. That’s what I would call a sense of urgency.”
Quarterback Shane Austin said the players are not distracted by exterior situations, such as McMackin’s contract, which expires after the 2012 season.
“All we’re focusing on is one game and trying to get a win,” Austin said. “All of the other factors are out the window. We’re not looking ahead or into the past. It’s one game at a time.”
Offensive tackle Brett Leonard said: “The coaches make sure our emotions are on one thing. They’re telling us to go out and play. We try to keep out all of the social stuff. Our world is on the football field. That’s what we’re focused on.”
The Warriors will disclose their starting quarterback tonight. Bryant Moniz, who finished his UH career as the third-leading passer in the program’s history, suffered a fractured fibula in his right ankle during last week’s loss at Nevada. He underwent surgery Monday.
Austin, a senior, and David Graves, a sophomore, have been competing to serve as Moniz’s successor. Both have played well this week, according to the coaches, although Graves has been bothered by a stomach virus.
The Bulldogs have had their anguish this season. At 3-7, they are assured their third losing season in Pat Hill’s 15 years as Fresno State head coach.
Despite volunteering a $300,000 pay cut, Hill has had vocal critics. But he received a vote of confidence from a Fresno State associate athletic director this week.
And Hill told the Fresno Bee: “Have you ever heard of a coach during a press conference talk about being worried about [his contract]? If you have, that’s a guy who’s not concentrating on what he truly should be doing.”
Leonard said he expects the intensity to remain between the teams tonight.
“We always get up for Fresno,” Leonard said. “We don’t like them, they don’t like us. It’s going to be a fistfight.”
