In football’s version of "50 First Dates," University of Hawaii players wake up every Monday to a new season.

"It’s tough to lose," wide receiver Billy Ray Stutzmann said of the Rainbow Warriors’ 0-10 record, "but we’re back here on Monday watching film of the next team."

Wide receiver Chris Gant said: "That’s what makes you a competitor. If you lose and you don’t come back, you’re not competitive. I don’t like losing. I don’t like getting knocked down. But every time I get knocked down, I come up swinging harder."

It has been a difficult season for the Warriors, who are in their second year under coach Norm Chow. Their improvement is not reflected in the team’s worst start since the 0-12 season in 1998. Despite their record, the Warriors remain optimistic.

"First and foremost, we battle every game," quarterback Sean Schroeder said. "We’ve seen where we’re so close to winning. It would be different if we we’re being blown out every game and demoralized. We feel we should have won a lot of these games. That’s what keeps us going."

The Warriors departed Thursday afternoon for Los Angeles, where they stayed overnight. They travel to Wyoming today for their final road game of the season on Saturday.

Senior safety John Hardy-Tuliau said he turned down a chance to transfer after Greg McMackin’s forced retirement following the 2011 season.

"I wanted to stay here and finish," Hardy-Tuliau said. "I never wanted to quit or move on. I’m happy with my decision. I’m happy to play with my teammates. I’ve grown with them and I’ve learned with them."

Hardy-Tuliau said he and his teammates play "for the love of the game and the love of getting better. We never quit. You can’t quit on anybody. You can’t quit in life. We continue to move on. We’re hungry."

Schroeder added: "We’re definitely hungry. We don’t have a win yet. That should be incentive enough. Being close and almost winning a couple of games teases us, so to speak. We want to get that victory."

Stutzmann is the dean of UH players. He relinquished his final semester at Saint Louis School to enroll at UH in January 2009.

"I graduate in December," Stutzmann said. "I don’t have too much time left. I’m trying to make memories with all my friends around here."

From this season, Stutzmann said, "I’ve learned a lot. Football builds character. It’s setting us up to be successful later in life. There are tough lessons in life. Life is going to do that. When that happens, you have to get back up and take another shot at it."

Schroeder earned a degree at Duke in June 2012, and could have started the rest of his life. Instead, he transferred to UH, where he was immediately eligible to play because of his diploma.

"It’s a blessing to play college football," Schroeder said. "Millions of people would want to be doing what we’re doing. At the end of the day, it’s a rough season. But it’s a blessing to be out here running around, whereas a lot of people aren’t as fortunate as we are."