Listen up and you can hear the University of Hawai'i football team knocking on the doors of the Bowl Championship Series.

It isn't as loud as, say, the ominous rumble of feet an opposing quarterback hears just before Adam Leonard, Karl Noa or Fale Laeli drop in on him in the backfield. But, for the first time in UH history, it is audible and no longer far-fetched.

With a burst of Malcolm Lane-like speed, the Warriors have remarkably gone from No. 17 in the BCS standings to 14 in one surprising week. With five weeks — four games — left before the Dec. 2 final standings, the unbeaten Warriors are but two spots from the promised land — a No. 12 position guaranteeing a lucrative BCS appearance. Today they stand exactly where Fiesta Bowl-bound Boise State was at this point in its Cinderella 2006 season.

But it would be premature — not to mention practically kicking the shins of fate — to start planning that January trip to the Sugar Bowl or Fiesta Bowl just yet.

While UH has rocketed up in the BCS standings, there remains much still to be negotiated. For one thing, while none of UH's victims currently is .500 or better, three of the final four are. And while the Warriors have benefitted hugely from teams above them getting knocked off, the danger from here on out comes from teams below suddenly leapfrogging them. Three from last week — Georgia, Michigan and Connecticut — did. A couple more, Texas and Alabama, are poised to do it this week while UH is idle. USC, Florida and Wisconsin also lurk, strength of schedule decidedly in their favor.

"Since Hawai'i has virtually no chance of posting an impressive win, except Boise State, they can get jumped by teams behind them because those teams play much better opposition," cautions Jerry Palm, of CollegeBCS.com.

As their climb gets more serious and their schedule more scrutinized, the Warriors figure to find a backlash developing. Notably in BCS conference areas where UH's run is a threat to take a big payday away from a two- or three-loss school with schedule muscle.

Meanwhile, speaking of Boise State, it would be a mistake to overlook the Broncos' rise and what it could portend. Should UH and Boise both win out heading into their Nov. 23 national cable showdown — meaning 10-0 Warriors and 10-1 Broncos — it could vault the winner, whoever it is, toward a BCS berth. Not that the Broncos would need any additional incentive by the time they get to Aloha Stadium.

Suddenly, UH isn't the only one knocking and wishing at the BCS' gilded doors.

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