FRESNO, Calif. >> As a veteran in the football battles against Fresno State, University of Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich has stressed the significance of today’s Mountain West game at Bulldog Stadium.
“I know we have trophies with Air Force and Wyoming, but throughout the 2000s — and throw in the ‘99 game — the Fresno team is probably one of the bigger rivalries we’ve had,” Rolovich said. “I know it’s important to the fans. I know it’s important to the alumni.”
And as a UH alumnus …?
“(Bleep), yeah, it’s important to me,” Rolovich said.
The Rainbow Warriors are 4-7 overall and 3-4 in the Mountain West. If they can defeat Fresno State today and Massachusetts next week to finish with a 6-7 regular season, they still could earn a berth in a bowl if there are not enough qualifying teams for the 82 slots. Rolovich recalled UH’s double-overtime victory over Fresno State in 1999 that clinched a share of the Western Athletic Conference title for a team that went 0-12 the previous season.
“The Fresno game was a turning point for this program in ’99,” Rolovich said. “I think it can be a turning point for this program in 2016.”
Rolovich also pointed to the Warriors’ road victory in 2008, his first season as UH’s quarterbacks coach.
“That wasn’t the most talented team,” Rolovich said. “They just believed they were going in there and weren’t scared of anybody. They were ready to play. Tua Mahaley blocked a field goal. Inoke (Funaki) playing quarterback. The defense. Jeramy Bryant getting a pick-6. Everyone contributed. And that’s how this game is going to be if we’re going to win.”
The Warriors have lost three in a row, including by a combined 107-16 to San Diego State and Boise State the past two weeks.
“They’re OK,” Rolovich said of his players’ mood. “We’ve had a little bit of soul-searching after a couple beatdowns. If we ended the season right now, a lot of guys can say, ‘Well, we won more games in conference than last year.’ But the season’s not over. It doesn’t matter if we were 0-11 or 11-0. They have to think about it as we’ve got two more games to play. We get to play football two more times with this group of men. I would just hate for anybody to have the mind-set that, ‘Oh, let’s just play these two and end it.’ That’s just a bad way to live no matter what you do. I don’t see that happening.”
Quarterback Dru Brown said he expects the Warriors to play with “excitement and energy.”
“I think that’s what we lacked the past few games,” Brown said. “It sounds simple and redundant, but it’s a game of momentum and energy, and that usually leads to execution. If we can just come out firing, like I know we can, we’ll be able to get it done.”
The Bulldogs also are looking for a brighter finish. They have lost eight in a row. Last week, they named Jeff Tedford as successor to Tim DeRuyter, who was fired as head coach two weeks ago. Interim head coach Eric Kiesau will coach the final two games of this season.
“We’re a big family over here,” FSU receiver Aaron Peck said. “There’s no calling each other out or pointing fingers or whatever. We’re all in this together. It’s been a tough year, but we’ve all stuck together. We have each other’s back.”
