SAN DIEGO >> For the first time in more than a month, the University of Hawaii football team is no longer the walking dread.

“They really are fired up,” said coach Nick Rolovich, whose 7-5 Rainbow Warriors became bowl eligible with last week’s comeback victory over UNLV to end a four-game losing streak. “We’re motivated because we got a little juice back instead of getting punched in the mouth for a month and a half straight.”

Rolovich said his players refused to be splatters on a canvas.

“Our guys kept getting up,” Rolovich said. “They got punched again, they got back up. They swung back, and they got themselves a win. They should feel good about that.”

For tonight’s regular-season finale against San Diego State, the Warriors are finding motivation from San Diego State athletic director John David Wicker’s published comments. In Monday’s San Diego Union Tribune, Wicker said he is “comfortable” that the 7-5 Aztecs will end up in a bowl. But in a worst-case scenario, if there were not enough bowls for eligible teams, such as SDSU, Wicker offered this argument: “The (Mountain West) always wants Hawaii (in the Hawaii Bowl) and ESPN wants Hawaii there for ticket sales. But if it came down to it and there was no other bowl slot, I would fight to say (if) we beat Hawaii and we finished ahead of them, we should be in Hawaii ahead of them, or Boise or Fresno or whoever.”

Rolovich said: “(Wicker) might have to say something like that. As Warriors, it’s our job to take that and motivate us.”

The Warriors will need more than fightin’ words against the Aztecs. Coach Rocky Long has built a team with a power running game and stingy defense. Two recent Aztecs — Donnel Pumphrey and Rashaad Penny — are now NFL running backs. Sometimes the Aztecs will flex their offensive muscle with a formation featuring two tight ends and a fullback.

The Aztecs are 12th nationally in total defense (310.3 yards per game) and sixth against the run (97.4 yards per game). Opponents are averaging 2.7 yards per carry.

The Aztecs have won the past six meetings between the teams, and 15 of 17 since 1990.

“It’s a tough program to play,” Rolovich said. “You’re going to get a physical ballgame. The one thing you have to respect about Rocky is he knows who he is and he knows who he wants to be as a football team and he doesn’t waver from that.”

UH slotback John Ursua, the national leader with 16 receiving touchdowns, acknowledged the Aztecs’ traditional success. “You’ve got to love to play against the best, to do that out there, in front of their crowd,” Ursua said. “We’ve been underdogs before. We’ve gone against great guys and great coaches before. If we do our responsibilities and carry over that win from UNLV and start the game how we finished it last week, we should be in for a good game.”

Rolovich said: “It’s pretty cool to go up in a fight against a guy named Rocky.”