Ferd Lewis: A Hawaii victory in San Diego is long overdue

SAN DIEGO >> It has been so long since the University of Hawaii football team has won here at San Diego County Credit Union Stadium that, well, it wasn’t against San Diego State and it wasn’t SDCCU Stadium, either.

The last time the Rainbow Warriors had success on this mostly frustration-filled plot of ground in Mission Valley it was in the 1992 Holiday Bowl when they beat Illinois in what was then called Jack Murphy Stadium, two stadium name changes ago.

For the most recent victory over the hometown Aztecs, you have to go back to 1988, a 32-30 triumph.

Which tells you something about the history the ’Bows are up against tonight in their regular season finale on ESPNU.

That’s eight consecutive losses, the most of any place UH regularly plays other than at Brigham Young University, where the ’Bows are 0-9.

The last victory was so long ago that the UH head coach at the time, Bob Wagner, in the second season of a nine-year tenure, could immediately recall few details. And he isn’t alone.

The most memorable fact about that chilly mid-October night was the crowd erupting watching Kirk Gibson’s dramatic walk-off homer for the Dodgers against Oakland in Game 1 of the World Series on the stadium JumboTron.

Since then, in an eight-game losing streak covering membership across the Western Athletic and Mountain West conferences, UH has been outscored, on average, 44-18.

“Some things don’t change: San Diego State always has good players,” Wagner said.

Which is part of why the Aztecs (7-4), despite having lost three of their past four games, are 171⁄2 -point favorites on the Las Vegas betting line over the 7-5 Warriors.

A little over a month ago, with both teams sitting at 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the Mountain West Conference, this was viewed as a hoped for deciding game for the championship of the West Division of the conference.

But a lot has happened since then, and while both teams have achieved bowl eligibility, Fresno State has gone on to nail down the division title and a place in next week’s conference championship game.

For the ’Bows and Aztecs, then, this has become more of a salvage game. To the victor goes an eighth victory and, with an upcoming bowl game, a shot at a nine-win season.

The Aztecs, more warily than UH, are also concerned about whether the MWC, which has five guaranteed bowls but will have at least six bowl-eligible teams, will find everybody a place in the postseason.

For UH that would still be plenty to hang on a banner, a pretty fulfilling result considering the preseason over/under on victories was 3.5 on the Vegas betting lines.

The Aztecs, meanwhile, expected much more. They have averaged nine wins per season over the previous eight years, including a 32-9 run the last three.

But injuries on offense took away for a time their starting quarterback, running back and fullback, who have since returned. But the offensive line remains a shell of its former self. As a result, the Aztecs’ vaunted running game has suffered, which is potentially good news for UH, if the Warriors can exploit it.

If UH has any magic left after last week’s comeback against Nevada-Las Vegas, this would be the place to expend it. For sure, the Warriors are overdue here.

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