The Oct. 20 or Nov. 3 football game that the University of Hawai'i finally adds could be the 13th and last — but by no means least — of the pieces of this season's schedule.

As we await a finalized schedule and the WAC TV slate begins to come into focus, that last game looms as more than just filler. It takes on a growing importance for quarterback Colt Brennan's Heisman Trophy candidacy and the Warriors' bid for a place in the national polls.

The opportunity to play an opponent of some significance in one of those two late-season slots is large in terms of the Warriors' team and individual goals. With the real possibility of two I-AA opponents on the schedule, Charleston Southern and Northern Colorado, there is a need, a crying one, really, to pick up a marquee opponent to balance things out a bit.

Somebody, hopefully, that would lend added validation to UH's record and Brennan's stats in the all-important home stretch of the Heisman derby.

Indeed, as ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit has put it, "For him (Brennan) to get a realistic shot at it (the Heisman), it will come down to who they (the Warriors) play, how many times they play on TV and can they win games."

The TV exposure end of the deal figures to be well taken care of. Currently there is a likelihood of four and the possibility of as many as six of the Warriors' 13 games ending up on ESPN or another network. But with four of them being conference opponents and the fifth being Washington, which hasn't had a winning season in four years, a brand name opponent of substance would be a welcome addition.

The kind of a foe a lot of folks had hoped to see early on the schedule. You know, a Southern California, Wisconsin or such in September.

As it stands now, if Brennan is to get an invite to be among the Heisman finalists in New York City, he's going to have to underline that case in the second half of the schedule since the first half — barring a surprise for the still-vacant Sept. 1 opener — lines up as Louisiana Tech, Nevada-Las Vegas, Charleston Southern, Idaho and Utah State. Games that figure to be good for the stats but not for boosting strength of schedule perceptions.

So, the schedule's stretch run takes on added importance. Depending upon what ESPN ends up taking from the UH inventory, it could give the Warriors four consecutive games on TV. Five, if athletic director Herman Frazier is able to find UH a brand name opponent for the Nov. 3 opening. A game that Frazier has said will likely be on the road.

Consider, for example, a marquee opponent on Nov. 3 followed, in succession, by TV games with Fresno, Nevada, Boise and Washington.

One game does not a schedule make, but the choice of who fills the 13th one is going to shape perceptions.

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