The University of Hawaii football team can hope that the squad it meets Saturday at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego is the same one that inexplicably lost 42-24 at South Alabama on Oct. 1.

Reality will likely be very different, though.

So far the wise guys who set the betting lines think it will be the San Diego State Aztecs who have won their other seven games, many in convincing fashion. They’ve installed SDSU as a 21-point favorite against the Rainbow Warriors.

Maybe the Jaguars just have the Aztecs’ number: They also beat SDSU last year, at Qualcomm, in overtime.

This year’s win was even bigger since San Diego State was ranked No. 19 at the time and had won 11 in a row dating back to last season.

There didn’t seem to be a magic formula, except that South Alabama made fewer mistakes than San Diego State, and the Jaguars exploited a leaky SDSU pass defense. Cole Garvin — playing for an injured starting quarterback — threw three touchdown passes.

But that’s an anomaly and the Aztecs have shored things up; SDSU is 15th nationally in pass efficiency defense among 128 FBS teams.

In Mountain West games, the San Diego State’s defense has simply dominated, averaging a yield of 6.5 points in four wins. The Aztecs have given up just three touchdowns in MWC games; the next best is Boise State, with 10 also in four games.

Running back Donnel Pumphrey gets the headlines, but coach Rocky Long’s defense has been just as brilliant — and that’s saying something when we’re talking about a guy who rushed for 223 yards in Friday’s 40-13 win at Utah State and leads the nation with 1,469 yards on the season.

Pumphrey’s got some younger fans asking, “Marshall Who?” And older ones daring to compare him to Faulk, the NFL Hall of Famer whose records he breaks with regularity.

Although some will hold the Aztecs schedule against him, Pumphrey is a legitimate candidate for at least a Heisman Trophy finalist’s seat in New York.

The first question on the mind of many is if UH can somehow slow Pumphrey (and SDSU’s other offensive threats, like freshman running back Juwann Washington who went over 100 yards rushing against the Aggies).

But Hawaii — which hasn’t come close to beating the Aztecs in four tries since both have been in the Mountain West — also has to figure out a way to move the ball against a defense that is fifth nationally in yards-per-game allowed, ranked on that list between Alabama and Ohio State.

But on that other ranking, the Associated Press Top 25, the Aztecs haven’t done enough to make up for the loss at South Alabama in the minds of most voters yet, lodged at third on “others receiving votes.”

For UH to have a chance Saturday, among other things, it must start faster. This goes for offense and defense. The Rainbow Warriors have scored first in just one of their nine games this season.

Hawaii is 94th nationally in third-down efficiency on offense at .366, and that won’t cut it against anyone — especially a defense as stout as the Aztecs’. SDSU’s defense on third down is even better than UH’s offense is bad; it gives up a first down on third down just 32 percent of the time, good for 20th in the country.

The Aztecs have now won 15 Mountain West games in a row, including a 28-14 victory at Aloha Stadium last year in which Pumphrey scored three touchdowns.

San Diego State made that one look easy against a UH team that had just been blasted on the road by Ohio State, Wisconsin and Boise State.

The Rainbow Warriors (4-5, 3-2) are on a much better arc now than they were in 2015, and have already surpassed last year’s meager victory total.

They’re 2-0 on the road in conference play right now. They’ve been resilient after losses. But San Diego State is a much different animal than San Jose State or even Air Force.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.