LAS VEGAS » The Hawaii football team will debut at No. 7 for its inaugural season in the 10-team Mountain West Conference, according to a media poll released on Tuesday.

Boise State, which is leaving for the Big East after this academic year, is picked No. 1. The Broncos received 27 first-place votes and 296 points.

The Warriors are seventh with 116 points.

"It’s a lucky number in Vegas," UH defensive end Paipai Falemalu said. "I’m not surprised where we were picked. We didn’t have too good of a season (in 2011). We’re going to keep working hard."

The Warriors were 6-7 in their final season in the Western Athletic Conference.

Told of the media poll, coach Norm Chow said: "It’s better than finishing 10th."

He added: "I don’t think too much about it. We have to play the game. If we’re pleased with that, we’d let that be. We’re going to have to prove ourselves. That’s not a big deal."

Falemalu was the lone Warrior named to the 2012 Preseason All-MWC team.

Warriors may pursue Lions

The Warriors have entered the pursuit of Penn State players, who are essentially free agents after the NCAA imposed severe sanctions against the Nittany Lions on Monday.

The Warriors are interested in an offensive linemen, a punter and a fullback. UH assistant coach Chris Demarest, who was in New Jersey on a professional-development trip, was assigned as the point man in the discussions.

Fullback Curtis Dukes, who has two years of eligibility remaining, told the Watertown (N.Y.) Daily Times that UH was the first school to show interest in him.

Dukes, who is from Evans Mills, N.Y., was the Nittany Lions’ third leading rusher in 2011.

The NCAA limits each FBS school to 25 initial scholarships each year and 85 overall. But a team will be allowed to exceed the limit to sign Penn State players.

The exemption is a one-time offer.

"Next year, we have only 13 (initial) scholarships," Chow said. If the Warriors were to sign three PSU players and "go to 88 (overall scholarships), then we’ll only have 10 scholarships (to offer 2013 recruits)."

Chow and Demarest will meet on Thursday to assess the situation.

"We want to see if anyone is interested," Chow said. "We can like a lot of players, and I’m sure we will, but they have to like us, too."

Edwards’ new ‘do

UH cornerback Mike Edwards has sculpted "37 1⁄2" into his haircut.

That’s the point spread for the Warriors’ season-opening road game against top-ranked Southern California.

Edwards and Falemalu are representing the Warriors at the three-day MWC media preview.

Star-Advertiser staff writer Ferd Lewis contributed to this report.