FRESNO, Calif. — They chanted his name and jostled each other to get near enough the restraining fence to shake his hand and slap his grass-stained shoulder pads.

They beseeched him for autographs and flashed him shaka signs.

Yes, University of Hawai'i quarterback Inoke Funaki agreed, holding his head high amid a rope line of well-wishers, "this is much better than last week."

A week after trudging off the field at Aloha Stadium to a chorus of boos and an uncertain future, Funaki helped lead the Warriors to a 32-29 overtime upset of No. 22-ranked Fresno State last night.

That and a lot more for a team that, now, does seem to have a future.

On a crisp night when the Warriors made a remarkable turnaround in a season nearly gone bad, Funaki and placekicker Dan Kelly, who nailed the game-winning 33-yard field goal in overtime, were the poster players for redemption. They were the most prominent symbols of rebirth for a team that, in Funaki's words, had been "down, really down."

That they had to come 2,600 miles to find new life in the San Joaquin Valley home of their fiercest rival, serving up the school's first victory over a ranked opponent on the road, seemed to make it that much sweeter for the, now, 2-3 Warriors.

"This is is just ... just the greatest feeling," Funaki said. "I love these guys."

Head coach Greg McMackin, for whom the win was the first victory over an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-A) opponent, was nearly hoarse afterwards in proclaiming it, "a great, great team win."

The victory, accomplished as 21-point underdogs before 40,572, was the Warriors' third in a row over the Bulldogs and second in succession at Bulldog Stadium. This at a place where they were supposed to have been "payback" fodder for Fresno State.

More important, it keeps the Warriors, defending Western Athletic Conference champions, in the race to repeat.

All of which seem far fetched when the Warriors blew a halftime lead in a spate of six turnovers — five in the second half — for a disheartening 20-17 loss to San Jose State at home.

This time, it would be the Warriors who found opportunity and atonement in Fresno State's six turnovers, recycling them into 20 points.

This time the Warriors would win with dogged persistence and despite some curious, potentially-game altering calls.

Fittingly, though, Funaki and Kelly were at the forefront. Kelly — known in the championship run of 2007 as "the Iceman" — had missed another in a series of field goals last week and was an uncharacteristic 2-of-6 this season. Funaki had figured in four of the six turnovers against the Spartans.

"We were hurtin' (after) last week, but we believed in each other, Funaki said. "The guys believed in me."

The Warriors — and their coaches — told him so, pointedly.

UH quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich said, "I asked him: 'Do you want to be the starting quarterback? and he said, 'yes,' " Rolovich recalled. "I said, 'this coaching staff, everyone believes in you, so go out and do it. We know you can.' "

Then they tailored the offense more to suit his strengths, adding rollouts, play action and a beauty of a quarterback draw.

Rolovich, who knows from personal experience the travails of playing at Bulldog Stadium, said, "I'm so proud of him."

Indeed, Funaki adroitly managed the game for the Warriors. His statistics were solid — he completed 17 of 25 passes for 170 yards and ran 14 times for 79 yards — his hand steady and decision making impressive.

Kelly made good on four of five field goals, regaining, not a moment too soon, the form that made him a key figure in last year's success.

"We found ourselves, our identity," defensive tackle Keala Watson said.

On this night, then, Funaki and Kelly, would be the two biggest symbols of that re-discovery.

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