No wonder the University of Hawai'i football team feels like a victim of identity theft.

Today's opponent, Boise State, is living the Warriors' dream.

In four years of Western Athletic Conference membership, the Broncos have won three league titles.

"I've studied them," UH defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said, "and they look great on videotape."

The live performances are even better. Since 2001, the Broncos have not lost a WAC or home game — both streaks spanning 26 games.

Among Division I-A teams in the 21st century, the Broncos have scored the most points (41.4 per game) and amassed the third-best winning percentage (.833).

Top-25 voters have the Broncos on speed dial.

Bull's-eyes are designed with BSU in mind. "We know we have a target on our back," left tackle Daryn Colledge said. "Teams want revenge. That motivates us to work harder."

This wasn't the way it was supposed to turn out when June Jones, shortly after accepting the UH head coaching job in December 1998, designed the Warriors' long-range plans. Jones envisioned the Warriors winning titles and owning a place in the top-25 polls.

But while the Warriors have been relatively successful — five winning seasons and four bowl appearances in Jones' first six seasons — the Broncos have ascended to the proverbial "next level," receiving two invitations to out-of-state bowls.

The thing is, the Broncos are an unlikely success story. Quarterback Jared Zabransky, the WAC's preseason Offensive Player of the Year, was not widely recruited as a high school senior. Their top pro prospect, Colledge, was raised in North Pole, Alaska, where the light posts resemble candy canes.

In building the football program, Dan Hawkins, who was hired as head coach in 2001, emphasized teamwork and responsibility. In a typical game, the Broncos will use five running backs and eight receivers.

"We want to play a lot of people," offensive coordinator Chris Petersen said.

"That makes practices competitive, because you know everyone has a chance to contribute," Colledge said.

Colledge, a team captain, said the position leaders challenged their teammates during practices and preseason training. Every Bronco participated in the unsupervised summer workouts in Boise. There was one partial exception; Colledge spent a week in London for his honeymoon.

While Division I football teams check into a hotel the night before a home game, the Broncos are allowed to stay home.

"They've found a system that works for them," Jones said. "This year's Boise team reminds me of Boise in 2001, Boise in 2002, Boise in 2003 and 2004. They do a nice job of getting guys to fit into what they do. That's why they look the same every year. They're going to have some new wrinkles and things that they do. But their base of who they are isn't going to change. That's what good teams do. They don't worry about what you do. They execute what they do."

In the past week, Jones showed his players videotapes of the previous four games between the teams — all won by the Broncos — and BSU's first three games this season. Then he told them: "This is like any other game. There's no more motivation for this one than there was for Idaho."

History has shown otherwise, and a loss could eliminate the Warriors (1-2, 1-0 in WAC) from contending for their first outright league title.

"This game is huge," UH linebacker Tanuvasa Moe said. "Boise has been on top of the WAC since forever. It would make a huge statement for us if we can come out there and beat them."

Jones said he would have preferred a later meeting. "I wish we were getting them down the line, actually, so we're a little further along with Colt (Brennan, the quarterback) and the receivers. We're going to show up, and we're going to play hard."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.