By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

At other outposts in college football this fall they will be waging fierce battle over possession of an axe, bronzed pig, Apple Cup, Oaken Bucket and various other symbols of rivalry.

But when the University of Hawai'i and Fresno State meet Saturday at Aloha Stadium for the 36th time in the Warriors' most renewed series, there will be nothing for the victors to hoist in triumph. There will be no cherished implement for the winner to install in the trophy case or for the loser to reluctantly hand over.

Clearly, somebody is missing a bet here. Beyond the significant role the game usually plays in the Western Athletic Conference standings, it has become an annual matchup of combustible proportions. Even in rare down years like this, theirs is a spirited series spiced by history and given additional urgency by the rare desperate straits the teams, 2-3 UH and 3-3 FSU, find themselves in.

It is a growing competition that has been accelerated by the sometimes bitter developments of the last few years that, in true rivalry form, have led from one thing to another.

Nobody has forgotten the double-overtime shootout of 1999. Or, FSU's revenge in the pasting of UH the following season, advanced by a fraternity that turned out in force to heckle UH from the rooftops at practice.

Then there was the UH comeback of 2001 that prompted Bulldog head coach Pat Hill, in a moment of emotional bombast, to declare, "it is never close at our place." The Warriors, of course, took that to heart in winning 31-21 at Fresno State last year.

Likewise, FSU hasn't forgotten how the Warriors danced and strutted all over their Bulldog logo after the game. And, so it goes.

For UH's part, it is the stuff of rivalry that Brigham Young University's annual place on the schedule used to provide and, with no additional BYU games on future schedules, UH must now look elsewhere to find.

For its part, FSU has more history with San Jose State but with nine consecutive victories, that one hasn't excited anybody in years.

Frankly, it isn't like these two schools have a whole lot of other compelling rivalries simmering to push this one to the background. I mean, UH-Louisiana Tech? FSU-Texas-El Paso? Please.

So, it behooves Saturday's combatants to make the most of one of the few rivalries they do have.

And some knucklehead in Fresno has inadvertently given them both the opportunity and the symbol: a screwdriver.

After UH rallied for a 22-point fourth-quarter victory last year, the Warriors claimed a screwdriver was thrown at head coach June Jones from the stands.

After some early denials and an investigation, FSU athletic director Scott Johnson issued an apology.

When UH retrieved what assistant equipment manager Al Ginoza describes as an eight-inch, silver screwdriver, this series had its symbol.

All that remains is for UH or some enterprising party to mount the screwdriver, or a larger, more dramatic facsimile, on a suitable plaque and award it to the winner Saturday night.

After all, what would be more appropriate spoils in a series where one turn usually deserves another.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.