Lindsey said before yesterday's rain-soaked practice at Cooke Field that Klaneski and Al Hunter were the UH cover guys in an eight-man front designed to control the Colorado State running game. Chris Shinnick and Ron Wood were the safeties.

In that scheme, Klaneski played man-to-man, then came up to support anything on his side of the field. He didn't like it and hopes he won't be asked to play corner the entire game again.

"I like to play corner, but in this game, I didn't feel like I was a part of the defense," Klaneski said. "If you look at the game film, they threw twice to my side.

"I was real disappointed at how I played the whole game. I was never in the game. I didn't have any influence on anybody. If I'm playing free (safety), I'm the quarterback. I can tell all the different guys something, to watch for this and watch for that.

"I play better and I feel better playing free safety. At corner, I'm way over there and I can't say anything. I don't know what's going on over there."

Lindsey said Klaneski didn't have an impact on the game and he needs him to in order for the defense to excel.

"It wasn't so much of an experiment, but how we match up," Lindsey said. "We needed Eddie and Al to stay on their wide receivers because both of those guys (Geoff and Paul Turner) could fly.

"We won't do that this weekend because we need Eddie more involved than he was Saturday at Colorado State. We'll have to see who's ready to play cornerback."

Senior Robbie Robinson and junior college transfer Donnell Williams are the top two candidates. Robinson said he's about 80 percent since spraining his ankle the first week of the regular season.

PAULO ELIGIBLE: Offensive lineman Conrad Paulo was kicked out of the game at Colorado State for a flagrant foul.

But much like Adrian Klemm, who did something similar during the Cal State Northridge game, Paulo won't miss any playing time this weekend.

"The referees kicked him out of the game for a flagrant foul, not for fighting," vonAppen said. "They didn't say anything after the game to indicate he would have to miss any playing time this weekend against Fresno State, so I'm sure he will be eligible to play for us."

VonAppen was still unhappy with the punch thrown by Paulo, his starting left guard on the offensive front, and warned his team it had better not happen again.

"It's selfish for a player to retaliate," vonAppen said. "Because it hurts the team. No matter what somebody does to you, you have to walk away because you're the one who will get seen by the official."

INJURY UPDATE: The Rainbows will be without leading tackler Doug Rosevold for a few days while he recovers from a mild knee sprain.

VonAppen hopes Rosevold will be available this weekend, but right now the senior is listed as day-to-day. The Rainbows also could be playing without defensive linemen Matt Elam (neck) and Ben Bright (ankle). Bright has a better chance of playing this weekend, while Elam remains doubtful.

Quarterbacks Tim Carey (shoulder) and Dan Robinson (shinsplints) continue to be sidelined. Carey will miss at least another four weeks. Robinson will likely seek a medical hardship, as will inside linebacker Stephen Gonzales (shoulder), who was the Rainbows' leading tackler a year ago. He can still play in the game this weekend before asking the WAC for another year.

UH DROPS IN POLL: Hawaii continued its free-fall in the new Scripps-Howard poll released yesterday that lists the rankings of the 232 teams in Division I and Division I-AA.

Hawaii came in at No. 115 with a 76.5 power rating. Fresno State is ranked No. 86 with a rating of 84.4. That means, on a neutral field, the Bulldogs would be eight-point favorites.

The Rainbows aren't the lowest-rated team in the Western Athletic Conference. Texas-El Paso is ranked No. 124, San Jose State is No. 127 and Tulsa is No. 132.