With the University of Hawai'i's football season opener — or, the "Rumble in Paradise" as the now sold-out UH bookstore T-shirts had it — just 30 days away, it is easy to get caught up in the Southern California game.

And, not without reason. I mean, two-time defending national champions, national cable, Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, Darnell Bing ...

But, quietly, on a schedule sprinkled with interesting matchups, the Nov. 25 Wisconsin game at Aloha Stadium suddenly has the potential to be one of the most intriguing post-USC dates.

What the Michigan State game was to the 2004 UH season — and, in the end with a wild 41-38 bowl-clinching victory, it was everything — that's what the Wisconsin game could mean for this year. Or, at least you hope it has that opportunity three months hence.

The Wisconsin game already had plenty going for it even before Badgers head coach Barry Alvarez slapped on an exclamation point. There was, for example, the attraction of a Big Ten team, an ESPN2 appearance and the return of local players Donovan Raiola and James Kamoku.

Then, last week Alvarez gave it the possibility of becoming a whole lot more interesting with the announcement that this will be his final regular season game as Wisconsin's coach. The Big Ten's dean of football coaches and one of Wisconsin's most beloved will be stepping aside after 16 seasons to concentrate on his athletic director duties at a school where he returned football to prominence.

As the coach who took the Badgers to their first Rose Bowl in 31 years and all three of their Pasadena triumphs, it figures to be an emotional and, if bowl eligibility is on the line, significant game. Especially with a few thousand cheese heads at Halawa.

If you put stock in preseason prognostications, most of which have the rebuilding Badgers pegged for sixth or seventh place in the Big Ten, there is the possibility both Wisconsin and UH could need a win in that game for their bowl hopes.

The Badgers, who have but nine returning starters, open smartly enough with Bowling Green and Temple but have a tough closing assignment: five of their final seven games are on the road.

For sure, the Warriors, with a front-loaded schedule, will need a strong finishing kick reminiscent of last season when they closed with four consecutive victories to return to the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl.

With the meat of the schedule — USC, Michigan State, Boise State and Fresno State — all in the first two-thirds of the season, the stretch run will be crucial. The final four games — Nevada, Utah State, Wisconsin and San Diego State, three of which are at home — afford UH that opportunity. If, it can get by Wisconsin.

Circle the day after Thanksgiving on the schedule; it could be one to keep an eye on.