Fresno State awaits as Hawai’i eyes best start since 2019

HONOLULU – One more chance at Golden Screwdriver history ahead.

For now, at least.

The University of Hawai’i football team caps off a three-game home stretch this Saturday, welcoming Fresno State (3-1) into the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex for the final time as conference foes. The longest-running rivalry in program history, the Bulldogs and Rainbow Warriors have faced off 56 times dating back to 1938 and have provided a plethora of memorable moments for different generations of fans.

Who could forget Stutzmann in the back right corner of the end zone to help win the WAC in 1999?

What about when sophomore-year Timmy Chang led the Rainbow Warriors into Bulldog Stadium and left Fresno with another improbable W after a stunning double-digit fourth-quarter comeback?

Maybe one of Brayden Schager’s two wins over Fresno State that dripped with theatrical flair, either 2021 in his first career start as a freshman against another ranked Fresno State squad or last season when the Rainbow Warriors stunned the Bulldogs on the continent with a one-point victory?

No matter the flavor, Fresno State versus Hawai’i has provided more than a pupu platter of memorable moments throughout the years. As the Bulldogs prepare to pack up alongside four other Mountain West programs and move to the rebuilding Pac-12 following the 2025 season, the Rainbow Warriors will try to send their rivals away with one more loss as a parting gift in Game 57.

Hawai’i (3-1) opened the week with good news as fourth-year head coach Timmy Chang announced that redshirt freshman QB Micah Alejado will return from a two-week absence to start in the Mountain West opener. The young signal caller missed two games after aggravating a lower right leg injury in UH’s 40-6 road loss against Arizona and saw junior Luke Weaver go 2-0 in his place while passing for 5 TDs and only one interception.

“I feel like I’m probably as close to 100% as I can be,” Alejado said to the media on Tuesday. “Now it’s just getting it back strong, getting the muscles going, but other than that, I feel great and excited to go again.”

Getting QB1 back for Hawai’i couldn’t come at a better time as Mountain West play kicks off against an upward-trending Fresno State squad. After falling 31-7 on the road to Kansas to open the season, the Bulldogs have posted three straight wins with an offense averaging nearly 45 points per game.

That offensive explosion has come behind a potent running attack as Fresno State enters the weekend averaging more than 200 yards per game on the ground. The Bulldogs lean on a two-back committee in the backfield as Rayshon “Speedy” Luke (MWC-leading 5 rushing TD) and Bryson Donelson (325 rushing yards, 6.5 ypc) take turns tiring opposing defenses.

Fresno State also boasts one of the most experienced quarterbacks in FBS football in starter EJ Warner. Son of Pro Football Hall of Fame QB Kurt Warner, the 6-foot senior has passed for more than 9,500 yards in his college career across stops at Temple and Rice, the most among any active QBs in the FBS.

Warner is coming off one of his best performances of the young season as well, passing for a season-high 240 yards and four touchdowns while completing 20-of-24 attempts in a comfortable 56-7 win against Southern University. The Bulldogs went an absurd 8-for-10 on third down against the Jaguars, continuing a trend as Fresno State sits among the top two programs in the conference in third-down conversion rate.

Hawai’i, who has been solid against opposing passing attacks through four games, cannot allow the experienced signal caller to sit back and pick apart the defense, especially if the Bulldogs’ ground game gets going.

“It’s really about two teams going out there and all the one-on-one matchups, 11-on-11 football,” Chang said of the rivalry game. “[We’re] trying to get our guys to play together, play for each other and execute out there. That’s what the game is going to come down to – executing and performing.”

The Rainbow Warrior run defense has been on an upward trend of its own, partially because of a downtick in missed tackles over the past two weeks after a disastrous showing in Arizona. That positive trend needs to continue for UH against Fresno State’s hard-nosed, physical ground attack to hand a loss to the Bulldogs to open their final Mountain West slate.

Another focus for Hawai’i is consistency from first whistle all the way through the final drive of the night. While the Rainbow Warriors were able to overcome an ugly start against Stanford in Week 0, spotting teams a touchdown or more won’t fly in conference play.

Fresno State has scored first in all three victories this season, only failing to register on the scoreboard before their opponent in Week 0 when they lost at Kansas. The Bulldogs have been even more dominant in the second half of games, outscoring opponents following the halftime break, 66-19.

Though in his first year at Fresno State, head coach Matt Entz brings plenty of experience leading teams to victory. In five seasons as HC of FCS powerhouse North Dakota State, Entz went 60-11 and won two national championships while developing eight NFL draft picks and 20 All-Americans.

He’s got all three phases contributing to wins, too. The Bulldogs have at least one touchdown from each of offense, defense, special teams already this season.

Saturday presents another opportunity for Chang and his Rainbow Warriors to prove their arrival among the Mountain West’s elite inner circle this season against a confident Bulldogs unit. The fourth-year head coach, who went 2-1 as a player and split the first two matchups as a coach against Fresno State, will get another chance to prove his program in a major matchup against a high-quality counterpart on the other sideline.

A win on Saturday would secure UH’s best start to a season since the 2019 campaign, when the Rainbow Warriors went 10-5 overall and clinched a berth in the Mountain West Championship.

Just how hype can Alejado and the ‘Bows get this train before their first bye week?

Can they party like the old days one more time against the Bulldogs?

Saturday renews the rivalry for one final foray.