The Fresno State football team and its Red Wave fans will not be painting the town cardinal this weekend.
"This isn’t a pleasure trip, it’s a business trip," said coach Tim DeRuyter, whose 25th-ranked Bulldogs face winless Hawaii today in a Mountain West Conference game at Aloha Stadium.
The Bulldogs arrived Thursday afternoon, practiced at Aloha Stadium and then headed to Oahu’s North Shore.
"We’re staying away from Waikiki Beach," DeRuyter said. "It’s going to be like going out to camp and focused on one game.
"Our charge right now is to ignore the noise and go 1-0 each week."
Hawaii and Fresno State once were heated rivals. But the two central characters — June Jones and Pat Hill — have long departed.
UH and Fresno State enter today’s game with polar records — Fresno is 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the Mountain West Conference. UH is 0-3 and 0-1. For the Bulldogs, the quest for a conference title began by conquering a nemesis, Boise State, eight nights ago.
The Rainbow Warriors are seeking their second Mountain West victory in Norm Chow’s second season as head coach.
Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr is being promoted as a Heisman Trophy candidate. He has completed 69 percent of his passes for 1,121 yards and 12 touchdowns (against one interception). He returned to Fresno for his senior season because he wanted a chance to win a league title.
Hawaii quarterback Taylor Graham suffered a subluxation of his left (nonthrowing) shoulder in last week’s game against Nevada. While his status was announced as day-to-day, Sean Schroeder and Ikaika Woolsey took most of the snaps.
UH will definitely have a new starter at running back. Diocemy Saint Juste, a freshman from Florida, replaces Joey Iosefa, who was scheduled to have foot surgery on Friday.
The game does offer a back story. Dave Schramm was Utah’s offensive coordinator in 2010. The next year, Chow was named the Utes’ offensive coordinator. Schramm remained on the staff.
Last year, Schramm was hired as Fresno State’s offensive coordinator. At Utah, Schramm recruited quarterback Jordan Wynn. This year, Chow hired Wynn as graduate assistant in charge of quarterbacks.
All of that will matter little today.
"As a football player, you work 365 days a year, and only 12 games are guaranteed," DeRuyter said. "We look at those as prime opportunities to show people what we’re doing, and hopefully improve each week. To assume something is going to happen, and to mail in efforts, that’s not what our guys are about. That’s why we make our guys invest as much as they do."
