The early — very early — preseason college football rankings underline the growing suspicion that the University of Hawai'i is in the midst of the most challenging six-game stretch of opponents in its history.

Between the final three games of 2007 — when UH played Boise State, Washington and Georgia in succession — and the first three of 2008 — when it opens with Florida and Oregon State on the road wrapped around Division I-AA Weber State — the Warriors' gauntlet will feature four teams from Bowl Championship Series conferences and at least three nationally ranked foes.

Thank goodness for Weber State.

What we have here is the confluence of two kapakahi schedules, the one UH should have had in 2007 and the one it needed for 2008.

While the Associated Press and USA Today polls don't come out for more than two months, both the CBS Sports line and www.ESPN.com Top 25s have had Georgia No. 1 and Florida in the top seven, one heckuva back-to-back.

Once the Bulldogs got over the BCS cold shoulder of missing out on the national championship game last season, they looked at the Sugar Bowl game with UH as a stage to make their claim on preseason No. 1 and hammered home the point in the 41-10 pummeling of the Warriors.

Now, no sooner can the Warriors put that nightmare behind them then they will confront the Gators and Heisman Trophy returnee Tim Tebow in The Swamp Aug. 30.

Going to Gainesville, Fla., was never going to be a picnic, but as a first-time meeting between geographical opposites, it didn't have grudge potential until head coach June Jones left a bit of bulletin board fodder on his way out the door to Southern Methodist. Jones described Tebow as a "system quarterback" on ESPN in December and said he wasn't sure the Florida star could run UH's system. "System" quarterback being derisive on the order of saying your quarterback's mother wears Army boots.

So, about the time the Warriors pick up the pieces from that one and play Weber State, it will be time to head on to Oregon State, which finished last season in the Top 25, and would like to have bragging rights for local recruiting.

To be sure UH has played some memorable split season back-to-backs — Stanford-Washington (1972-'73), Arkansas-Iowa (1987-'88), Michigan-USC (1998-'99), Notre Dame-Oregon (1991-'92), among others. But perhaps not since UH played Michigan State in the Jeep O'ahu Bowl in 1989 and then turned around and opened with Texas A&M in 1990 has there been a back-to-back even approximating the Georgia-Florida gauntlet.

The difference, of course, is that neither the Georgia or Florida games take place within 4,200 miles of Aloha Stadium and both figure to have been top 10-ranked by then.

In the course of the 13-game 2008 season, the Warriors will play six teams that went to bowls in '07 — Florida, Oregon State, Fresno State, Boise State, Nevada and Cincinnati. While it remains to be seen if that schedule will rank among the toughest in school history, the stretch the Warriors find themselves in definitely does.

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