Was it the Bulldogs' whining? How their head coach, Pat Hill, complained when the HPD escort didn't show up for the team's journey from Turtle Bay to Aloha Stadium in 2001? Or how they insisted an Associated Press report falsely accused them of trashing a charter plane to the Islands? Or how they were made to apologize after UH coach June Jones claimed a thrown screwdriver landed near him during the 2002 game in Bulldog Stadium — an incident the Bulldogs question ever occurred?

"I'm not sure why," said former UH quarterback Nick Rolovich, who serves as a student manager on this year's team, "but the Fresno game is always our game of the year. You look at (future UH opponents) Northwestern and Michigan State. They're big-name schools. But a game between Fresno and Hawai'i is bigger than those schools coming here. It's more of a pride thing. It built over the years. You can see it in practices this week. The guys are hyped. It's almost become an instinctive thing. The freshmen come in knowing Fresno is the game we've got to get."

UH coach June Jones said: "If you can't get up for this one, you've got the wrong buttons."

The thing is, Jones and Hill are good friends. They hang out together at coaches' meetings. Last spring, Jones invited Hill, who was vacationing in Hawai'i, to attend spring practice.

"I was looking at the sideline and thinking, 'What the heck is he doing here?' " UH offensive lineman Uriah Moenoa said. "It's like letting the neighbor you hate into your backyard for a barbecue. But it was cool. He was real nice. That's why I have more respect for him and his team."

Perhaps it is the mutual respect that has fueled this rivalry.

"Both of these teams have had success," said UH backup quarterback Kainoa Akina, who is a long-time friend of the Hill family, "and success breeds rivalry, I believe. That's one of the main things. They're a real intense team and we're a real intense team. They don't take crap and we don't take crap. We know they will bring their best every time they play us, and that makes us want to bring our best."

Hill agreed, saying, "Rivalries are out of respect for each other. Hawai'i is a great game for us. Both the fans and the teams get into it. I think it's very healthy."

Of all of his team's opponents, UH safety Leonard Peters said, Fresno State is the most physical and intimidating.

"We told everybody, 'If you're not ready to go hit somebody in the mouth, then don't even come on the plane,'" Peters recalled. "This will be a dog fight."

UH defensive tackle Lui Fuga, a sixth-year senior, said before every season, he checks the schedule for the Fresno State game.

"I circle the date," he said. "I highlight it. When I got (this year's) schedule, I put it up on a board in my room and wrote: 'Beat Fresno State.' I don't care if it's by one point. It's the Super Bowl for us. It's pride."

Rolovich added: "It's not just us. They want to beat us just as much. It's a big game on both sides. That's how it came to being a great rivalry."

Indeed, Fresno State associate head coach John Baxter opened his talk show on KFIG (1430 AM) by yelling: "Calling all 'Dogs ... calling all 'Dogs." He then implored Bulldog fans to "come out and be ridiculously loud."

He added: "I want to tell you something. It's become a very intense rivalry, probably as intense as we've had, and we'll need every fan, every person with lungs, that can make noise when they get the ball."

The Warriors will have added incentive. Two weeks ago, also in a nationally televised game, they suffered a 69-3 loss to Boise State.

"We have something to prove," UH wideout Britton Komine said. "We want to show the nation who we really are. It's going to be fun. It'll be 'Friday Night Lights.' I can't wait to play."