Hawai'i Game Notes |  Fresno State Game Notes | VIDEO: Pre-Game Interviews

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i Rainbow Warrior football team returns to the confines of Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium in search of a strong finish at home, kicking off a three-game home stand with Fresno State on Saturday evening. For viewers in Hawai'i, the game will be broadcasted on Oceanic Pay-Per-View (Digital Ch. 255 and HD Ch. 1255) and Hawaiian Telcom Pay-Per-View (Ch. 969).
 
This is the first time the Rainbow Warriors will have consecutive home games in the 2015 season and they are getting started with an old foe from even before the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) days.

Saturday marks the 48th meeting between the Rainbow Warriors and Bulldogs—the longest series in program history—with Fresno State leading overall 25-21-1, while UH holds the upper hand in Honolulu, going 14-12 in the series that dates back to old Honolulu Stadium and began in 1938.
 
After a tough loss in Las Vegas, the Rainbow Warriors will look for their first Mountain West win on Saturday, in the second game under the leadership of recently-appointed interim head coach Chris Naeole. With the three home games remaining, UH has the opportunity to produce the best record since the 2011 campaign.
 
Game #11
Who: Fresno State (2-7, 1-5 MW) at Hawai'i (2-8, 0-6 MW)
When: Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Where: Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium (50,000)
Television: Televised live locally in O'ahu and statewide on Oceanic Pay-Per-View (Digital Ch. 255 and HD Ch. 1255) and Hawaiian Telcom Pay-Per-View (Ch. 969), with Robert Kekaula (play-by-play) and Rich Miano (analyst).
Radio: ESPN 1420 AM will carry the game live with Bobby Curran (play-by-play) and John Veneri (analyst). Chris Hart and Gary Dickman host the "Countdown To Kickoff" beginning at 4:00 p.m., and also the halftime show. Neighbor islands can listen live on KNUI on Maui, KHLO in Hilo, KKON in Kona, KTOH on Kaua'i, and KNWJ in Pago Pago, American Samoa. In addition, the game is available on satellite radio on XM 203 and Sirius 93.
Steaming Video: Live video for those outside of the Hawaiian Islands at www.theMW.com
Audio Webcast: Live audio streaming on www.espn1420am.com
Live Stats: Live in-game stats provided by HawaiiAthletics.com
Series Information: 48th meeting, FS leads 25-21-1 and UH leads 14-12 in Honolulu

Game Sponsor: The Honolulu Star-Advertiser is the game sponsor. At halftime, the finale of a 10-week Hawaii Cars Truck Giveaway promotion will take place on the field. One finalist will win an all-new 2016 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner Double Cab TRD Sport. A UH student will compete in the "Honolulu Star-Advertiser Quarterback Challenge" for the chance to win a Vacations Hawaii Trip to Las Vegas during the first timeout of the fourth quarter. One lucky fan will compete for $1,000 during the Allstate Field Goal Kick promotion during pre-game (register at Gate 3). Fans are encouraged to visit the Xtreme Fun Zone before the game in the parking lot across from the stadium ticket office. Also, register at Gate 4 or 6 to win the "Best Seats In the House," compliments of Papa John's Pizza Hawaii and NAPA. The Farmers Hawaii Supa Bowzooka will be launching T-shirts into the stands between the first and second quarters.

Band/Anthem: National Anthem and Hawai'i Pono'i will be sung by Mango. (Barbie Dodson, Steph Conching, Marlyn Hutton, Wiwik Mau). Halftime: UH Marching Band:"Faire la Nouba: The Music of Cirque Du Soleil".
 
Game Storylines: Bearing the weight of seven consecutive losses and going winless on the road for the third time in four seasons, UH now looks to finish strong with three straight home games…Former consensus All-American and 12-year NFL lineman Chris Naeole leads the team for the first time at home in his second game as interim head coach…The Fresno State series is the longest for the UH program, now meeting for the 48th time and 27th time in Honolulu. The series dates back to 1938 and old Honolulu Stadium, with Fresno holding the 25-21-1 advantage overall while UH leads 14-12 in Honolulu…Fresno State has won the last four consecutive meetings, including last season's missed comeback for the Rainbow Warriors in Fresno…Hawai'i program record sits at 536-433-25 (.552)  and 448-275-22 (.616) at home…The Rainbow Warriors have dropped 24 of the last 25 road contests, but are 2-2 at home this season…Ikaika Woolsey started his second game this season at UNLV and passed for 187 yards, while his mobility allowed the offense to be more balanced, generating 191 yards rushing…The offense meets a Fresno State defense ranked 12th in the Mountain West (107th NCAA), allowing 450.1 yards, and 11th MW (117th NCAA) against the run (245 YPG)—Success in the run game has led to offensive success for UH this season.

Series in Brief
Meeting for the 24th consecutive season, the Rainbow Warriors continue their oldest rivalry, meeting the Fresno State Bulldogs for the 48th time and 27th time in Honolulu.
 
Last season in Fresno, the 'Bows held the Bulldogs scoreless in the second half, scoring 21 unanswered, but ran out of time in the 28-21 loss. Entering the game still in contention for the MW West Division title. FS ended that opportunity and became the division's representative in the MW Championship game. The 2013 meeting was decided in Fresno's favor by only five (5) points, while 17 matchups in the series have been decided by a touchdown or less.
 
These old foes first met in 1938 in Fresno with the Bulldogs pulling out the 15-13 victory, and have met every year since 1992 when FS joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). During the WAC years of the series (1992-2011), UH led the series 11-8.
 
Although the Bulldogs have won the last four straight meetings, the home team has been the victor 14 times since 1992. UH won three straight years (2006-08), however the Bulldogs have won five of the last six meetings since.
 
Naeole's First Meeting with the Bulldogs
While Saturday will be interim coach Naeole's first meeting with Fresno State in a head coaching capacity, he first met them in college, playing in the 1993 Aloha Bowl as a member of the Colorado Buffaloes, a game which CU won 41-30 at Aloha Stadium.
 
More Than Around the World in 60 Days
Through the course of the six-game road slate, the Warriors became the most traveled team in the nation. UH will finish as the only program in DI FBS to play games in five separate time zones, traveling to Ohio State, (9,020 miles), followed up with Wisconsin (8,300 mi., Boise State (5,668 mi), New Mexico (6,456 mi.), Nevada (5,136 mi.) and their final road swing to the ninth island at UNLV (5,522 mi.).
 
For the sake of comparison, the circumference of the earth is 24,902 miles. The UH traveling party exceeded that mark on their return flight from Albuquerque. 
 
Now at home for the remainder of the season, UH traveled over 40,122 air miles through the six road contests, crossing time zone borders a total of 26 times, flying the equivalent of just over 1 3/5 the earth's circumference.

Old Friends Turn New Foes
For the third time this season, the Rainbow Warriors will meet a former program stop for UH defensive coordinator Tom Mason, who was linebackers coach for Fresno State from 2001-2007 under FS legend Pat Hill--his final stop before taking over as defensive coordinator under former UH coach June Jones at SMU.