MIDDLETON, Wis. >> The University of Hawaii football team was treated to a college student’s dream trifecta: nap, pizza and a movie.
The six-hour sleep was in an O’Hare International Airport hotel following an eight-hour, nonstop flight from Honolulu.
Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria provided the deep-dish pizza for the two-hour-plus bus ride from Chicago to Middleton, Wis. The "Lou-Mal" pizza pie features a sausage patty — not chunks — that covers an entire layer.
The movie was episodes of HBO’s "Hard Knocks," which documented the Houston Texans’ training camp.
After a 75-minute practice at Middleton, the Warriors — burp — went to a dinner of various bratwursts.
"I think it went well," head coach Norm Chow said of the Warriors’ first day in the Midwest ahead of Saturday’s game against Wisconsin.
This was the Warriors’ second long trip in as many weeks, having played Ohio State on Sept. 12. Unlike that trip, in which the Warriors spent overnight in Los Angeles, this time the Warriors tried the direct approach. They did not adjust their schedule in Honolulu to synchronize to Central time. In the Midwest, Chow said, "we’ll be on their time. We’ll make sure to get a lot of rest. That’s the key."
The Mountain West Conference limits visiting teams to 68 players for games between league opponents, but there is no travel-roster cap for nonconference games. Because of budget constraints, the Warriors brought 66 players.
Keelan Ewaliko, who is second among Mountain West kickoff returners with an average of 25.0 yards, did not make the trip because of shoulder issues and a family death.
But right wideout Quinton Pedroza, who was held out of last week’s game because of knee issues, and running back Diocemy Saint Juste, who did not play in the first three games because of a severe hamstring injury, are on the travel roster and expected to play.
"I’m back 100 percent," said Pedroza, who also might reclaim the punt returner’s job.
Saint Juste suffered a hamstring injury at the end of a 46-yard touchdown run during an Aug. 20 controlled scrimmage at Aloha Stadium.
"It was an error on my part," Saint Juste said. "I knew things were kind of iffy with my hamstring. I should have been more careful, be more cautious, and take care of myself better."
Saint Juste theorized that he is injury prone because "I’m too fast. One of my hamstrings is more powerful than the other one. The other one over-compensates, and it just blows."
He said it was "horrible" not being able to play while recuperating. "I felt I wasn’t contributing," Saint Juste said.
Saint Juste is expected to play against Wisconsin as part of a rotation that includes Paul Harris, Mel Davis and Steven Lakalaka. When healthy, Saint Juste is one of the Warriors’ best blocking backs.
