It could be today, it could be six years ago.

While the dates change, the script remains the same when Fresno State and Hawai'i meet in a Western Athletic Conference football game.

The Bulldogs rely on the smash-mouthpiece approach of running between the tackles. "They want to pound away until you wear down," said UH graduate assistant Jeff Reinebold, who also served as an assistant to Fresno State coach Pat Hill at the 2002 East West Shrine Game.

The Warriors prefer the divide-and-conquer method of spreading their passing offense with four receivers.

"They do what they do," UH coach June Jones said, "and we do what we do. They don't change, and we don't change."

Here's a closer look at today's game:

FSU OFFENSE

WR—1 Paul Williams 6-2 200 Jr.

LT—50 Dartangon Shack 6-2 280 Sr.

LG—62 Cole Popovich 6-2 275 Fr.

C—59 Kyle Young 6-5 320 Jr.

RG—77 Ryan Wendell 6-2 260 So.

RT—79 Chris Denman 6-6 285 Jr.

TE—85 Bear Pascoe 6-5 260 Fr.

TE—19 Devyn McDonald 6-2 240 Sr.

WR—5 Adam Jennings 5-10 175 Sr.

WR—84 Joe Fernandez 5-10 185 Jr.

QB—13 Paul Pinegar 6-4 220 Sr.

FB—26 Roshon Vercher 5-11 245 Jr.

TB—22 Wendell Mathis 5-10 215 Sr.

TB—34 Bryson Sumlin 5-10 210 Sr.

Outlook: The Bulldogs have undergone a makeover that would make Kirstie Alley proud. For the 2003 game in Hawai'i, the Bulldogs, with three 300-pounders, averaged 293 pounds per starting offensive lineman. Now the average is down to 284, and Shack has dropped 20 pounds. But the Bulldogs have not thinned the playbook, sticking to the family recipe of a grinding running attack. The favorite is the lead play, in which the fullback serves as the sledgehammer for the trailing tailback. Mathis (477 yards, 5.0 per carry) will play the first two series, Sumlin (379 yards, 4.6 average) will play the next two, then they will rotate. Most of the runs will be to Wendell's side.

Pinegar wins games — 28-9 as a starter — but struggles to win over the Bulldog fans. Compared to David Carr, the Houston Texans' starter, Pinegar's QB rating (157.2 efficiency) is higher than his Q-rating. He averages 24 throws per game, mostly off play-action plays.

Of the receivers, Williams has the most big-play potential (15.2 yards per catch), using his size to gain position. Thing is, Williams averages two catches per game. Jennings, who can run 40 yards in 4.3 seconds, did not play last week because of a sprained shoulder. He resumed practicing this week.

FSU DEFENSE

E—71 Garrett McIntyre 6-3 260 Sr.

T—98 Louis Leonard 6-4 315 Jr.

NT —42 Charles Tolbert 5-11 265 So.

E—11 Tyler Clutts 6-2 235 So.

OLB—31 Marcus Riley 6-0 220 So.

MLB—51 Dwayne Andrews 6-0 240 Jr.

OLB—10 Alan Goodwin 6-2 220 Jr.

CB—17 Marcus McCauley 6-1 200 Jr.

SS—15 Josh Sherley 6-0 195 Jr.

FS—36 Tyrone Culver 6-1 200 Sr.

CB—24 Richard Marshall 5-11 190 Jr.

Outlook: The Bulldogs' 4-3 defense, which allows a WAC-best 17.7 points, is a shell game: Guess which three down linemen are pass-rushing? The safeties will retreat into a two-deep zone, with each responsible for half of the field, or align four across in the secondary. A down lineman and three linebackers will take turns defending the screens and swing passes to the flats.

McIntyre, a former walk-on, has developed into the Bulldogs' best lineman. The key is Andrews, whose primary responsibility is to track UH quarterback Colt Brennan on scrambles. Marshall is the best cover defender.

FSU SPECIALISTS

PK—39 Clint Stitser 6-1 200 So.

PK—35 Kyle Zimmerman 5-11 200 So.

P—37 Mike Lingua 6-0 190 Jr.

KR/PR—5 Adam Jennings 5-10 175 Sr.

KR/PR—84 Joe Fernandez 5-10 185 Jr.

Outlook: Pick an area, any area. They all work. The Bulldogs blocked four punts this year, 34 (including punters tackled) in Pat Hill's nine seasons as head coach. Three different punt returners have scored touchdowns. Five kick returners average at least 15.5 yards per return; Jennings' average is 34.9. "They compete until the echo of the whistle every down," said Reinebold, who oversees UH's punt team. "In the Idaho game, a guy returns a punt for a touchdown, they block a punt for a touchdown, they block another punt to get them an 11-yard drive they score on. Right there are 21 points in a game they win by 30."

Reinebold said the Bulldogs, in particular, have the quickest transitions in defending punts. They will attack the punter from different points and, after hurrying the punt, will retreat to set up a wall of blockers. "They always have great returners who understand how to bring the ball to the wall," Reinebold said.

UH OFFENSE

LWR—88 Chad Mock 6-0 178 Jr.

LSB—7 Davone Bess 5-9 187 Fr.

LT—70 Tala Esera 6-4 295 Jr.

LG—64 Samson Satele 6-2 305 Jr.

C—59 Derek Fa'avi 6-1 273 Sr.

RG—66 Brandon Eaton 6-2 295 Sr.

RT—72 Dane Uperesa 6-5 315 Jr.

RSB—1 Ryan Grice-Mullen 5-10 174 Fr.

RWR—82 Ross Dickerson 5-10 185 Jr.

QB—15 Colt Brennan 6-2 193 So.

RB—4 Nate Ilaoa 5-9 229 Sr.

Outlook: It appeared the Warriors would miss quarterback Tim Chang, whose quick release and skill in deciphering defenses required the linemen to hold their blocks for 3 or 4 seconds. His successor, Brennan, needs more time and, when scrambling for yards, forces the linemen to extend their blocks. "That actually helps us," Eaton said. "We have to block longer, but because Colt's a threat to run, the other team's pass rush isn't as hard because they have to worry about containment and keeping him in the pocket. When we played Boise, their linemen were saying, 'We want Timmy back. That guy (Brennan) runs too much.'"

Brennan is on track to become UH's most accurate passer. In addition to completing 69 percent of his passes, he has connected on 44 percent of his deep throws (traveling at least 20 yards from the line of scrimmage). A deep-throw rate of 35 percent is considered to be good.

After a nervous start, the starting receivers have become sure-handed. Bess, for instance, made a one-handed grab of a deflected pass against San Jose State. UH dropped only one pass last week. Grice-Mullen also has emerged as a playmaker. He leads the team with a yards-after-catch average of 7.78. Last week, each of his five catches resulted in a first down.

UH DEFENSE

LE—98 Melila Purcell III 6-5 266 Sr.

NT—67 Michael Lafaele 6-1 310 So.

RE—91 Ikaika Alama-Francis 6-6 250 Jr.

SOLB—45 Tanuvasa Moe 6-0 220 Sr.

SILB—41 Solomon Elimimian 6-0 225 Fr.

WILB—43 Brad Kalilimoku 5-11 204 Sr.

WOLB—1 Kila Kamakawiwo'ole 6-3 240 Sr.

CB—22 Lamar Broadway 6-0 186 Sr.

FS—30 Dane Porlas 5-10 178 Fr.

SS—15 Lono Manners 5-10 199 Sr.

CB—6 Turmarian Moreland 6-1 200 Sr.

Outlook: Take all of the videotapes of past UH games and turn them into streamers. Glanville spent the past week implementing different schemes and formations — ever see a 3-5-3? — to counter the Bulldogs' interior runs. The Warriors are ranked 90th nationally in rushing defense (178.3 per game), burned mostly by perimeter runs. But the Bulldogs run inside — early, often and, even, when the tackle box is crowded with nine defenders.

Purcell, who missed the past two games because of a partially torn ligament in his left knee, will open at left end. Broadway, a converted safety, and Moreland will start their second consecutive games at the corners. Kenny Patton, the team's best cover defender, also is available, having recovered from injuries to his right shoulder and left quadriceps. Porlas, who made the game-clinching interception last week, earns his first NCAA start. UH also is prepared to give extended playing time to inside linebackers Adam Leonard and Ikaika Curnan, who is recovering from a surgically repaired right ankle.

UH SPECIALISTS

PK—99 Daniel Kelly 6-3 199 Fr.

P—25 Kurt Milne 5-11 208 Jr.

KR/PR A.J. Martinez 6-0 185 So.

Outlook: UH has spent an extra 30 minutes each practice on long snaps to prepare for the Bulldogs' punt-blockers. The coaches have set a limit of 1.9 seconds between Jake Ingram's snap to Milne's punt. The Bulldogs "are going to come after us," Reinebold said. "They put you in the vise with pressure, pressure, pressure until you eventually crack."

Martinez, who has recovered from a pulled-groin injury, will handle both kickoffs and punts.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.