It’s been a while since UH, Fresno played for anything

FRESNO, Calif. >> Asked to name Fresno State’s conference football rivals, senior defensive tackle Tyeler Davison thoughtfully paused before listing Nevada, Boise … and San Jose State.

That’s a quarter of the teams in the Mountain West Conference.

Hawaii? 

Not on the list.

At first glance, that seems a curious omission given the long, often fierce history of the two schools heading into Saturday’s West Division showdown. But when you think about it, maybe it is not all that surprising in the context of current Bulldogs, such as Davison, who have won all three games against Hawaii and four in five years.

Even third-year head coach Tim DeRuyter demurred when asked if Saturday’s meeting might bring greater focus because of how Hawaii has come on, saying, "It doesn’t matter who we play, it could be Jones Junior College. It doesn’t matter. We’ve got to find a way to play."

That’s a far cry from when former Bulldogs coach Pat Hill’s blood would boil at the mere mention of UH and he would slam down his red ballcap at losses. 

So, while Saturday is first and foremost about claiming a share of the West Division title and, if the planets should somehow align, maybe even going on to play for the Mountain West championship next week, it is also about becoming relevant again. 

You could say that Hawaii hasn’t been that since winning a share of the 2010 Western Athletic Conference title,  when it also claimed its last victory over the Bulldogs.

Regrettably, UH (4-8, 3-4 conference) has yet to have a significant presence in the  Mountain West since signing on for the 2012 season. And a victory Saturday at Bulldog Stadium over a Fresno State team (5-6, 4-3) bidding for a share of a third consecutive conference crown, would be a huge and overdue step toward changing that.

It would, for example, mean that maybe there’s light at the end of this long tunnel that has seen the Rainbow Warriors go 4-19 in the MWC and 8-28 overall these past three seasons. It would end the regular season with a three-game winning streak, something not glimpsed since 2010, and be a resume builder for recruiting. 

And it would be the biggest victory here for UH, an 11-point underdog, since it won 32-29, knocking off nationally ranked Fresno State as a 22-point underdog in 2008, re-stoking the once-fiery rivalry that now threatens to live more in memory than recent deed.

As a reminder,  Fresno radio station KFIG  says it is going deep in its closet and dusting off the decade-old Golden Screwdriver Trophy.  It is an unofficial game trophy for UH and Fresno State, endorsed by neither school, but one that symbolizes the series and recalls a seminal 2002 meeting here.

The 31-21 UH victory ended with Hawaii coach June Jones claiming several objects had been thrown at the UH sideline, allegedly including a screwdriver that was later recovered from near where he had been standing. (In those days the Bulldogs student section, since relocated, was behind the opposing team’s bench).

Subsequently Fresno State issued an apology noting, "we believe the screwdriver was thrown by one of our fans at the University of Hawaii team bench."

Since then, the episode has taken on a life of its own, complete with charges and countercharges. In the process it came to represent a once white-hot rivalry between the two teams. 

Well, when it was considered a rivalry, anyway. 

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.