The sophomore tailback for the Michigan State Spartans talked about the cultural differences of the Hawaii people one minute, and his chances of winning the Heisman Trophy the next at Saturday's Aloha Bowl press conference at the Sheraton Waikiki.

He told an East Lansing, Mich., reporter last week that the first thing he was going to do when he got to Hawaii was take off his clothes and jump in the water.

"I did, one late night, but I don't think too many people saw me," said Irvin, who like Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin, is a native of Miami. "But I was probably in the middle of the water out there just by myself.

"It's the first thing you gotta do is go in. I haven't been in the water since May because Michigan doesn't have an ocean. It's hot here. It's nice.

"The people here are different, but friendly. There are a lot of cultural differences. A lot of people said I was big and cute. So as you can see, I like Hawaii."

Local fans who attend the Christmas Day bowl game between No. 21-ranked Washington and No. 25 Michigan State likely will enjoy what they see in Irvin. The 6-foot, 217-pound tailback rushed for 1,211 yards and nine touchdowns this season. He is the first player in Spartan history to rush for 1,000 yards in his true freshman and sophomore seasons.

He and fellow running back Marc Renaud (203 yards) rushed for 441 yards to set an NCAA single-game record for combined yardage in the 49-14 upset of then No. 4-ranked Penn State.

Irvin ranks among the Big Ten leaders in rushing (fifth at 110.1 yards a game), all-purpose yards (third at 164.8), punt returns (second with a 13.2-yard average) and scoring (fourth at 7.6 points a game). He has nine career 100-yard games as well. No wonder he considers himself a Heisman Trophy candidate.

"That's one of my individual goals," Irvin said. "After Charles Woodson won it for Michigan, I said to myself, 'I can do it.' It's just one of those things where everything has to fall into place. My hat's off to him (Woodson). I just feel like I can be that main guy."

He proved that with his 203-yard performance in the Spartans' season-ending 49-14 victory over Penn State that propelled Michigan State into the 16th annual Jeep Aloha Bowl.

"Who gets the most publicity doesn't matter to me," Renaud said. "I got the same kind of treatment two years ago when I was a sophomore that he gets now.

"Right now, I just want to do whatever it takes to help this football team go out on a winning note; whether it's blocking, running, catching, I do it all."

You won't get any argument from Michigan State head coach Nick Saban. Renaud finished second for the Spartans in rushing with 740 yards and four touchdowns. His average of 5.6 yards a carry was best on the team.

Renaud also caught 16 pases for 126 yards. He is the perfect complement for Irvin, who led the team in rushing with 1,211 yards and in receptions with 39 for 339 yards.

"I believe Marc and Sedrick have proven to be a great combination for us," Saban said. "They really showed that in the win over Penn State (when they set an NCAA record for most yards by two backs gaining at least 200 yards with 441). We've been pleased with their performances."

Renaud believes the one-two combination will work well in the upcoming game against No. 21-ranked Washington.

"Defensively, they run real hard and play real well," Renaud said. "They're more like playing a speed team like Florida State or Miami (of Florida). We got our work cut out for us.

"But you know one thing, we're from the Big Ten. Our basis is we can line up with our personnel and hammer you, then set you up for the play-action passes. And I think we can be tougher than these guys, but it's going to have to take the right mental attitude. They've seen the film, they've probably been listening to the news and reading the papers.

"I figure they'll stack the box. They believe in what they do and I believe they probably won't change a thing. We might see a wrinkle here or there, but it all comes down to execution and who wants it more."

TICKETS GOING FAST: Aloha Bowl officials announced yesterday that there were only 6,000 tickets left for Thursday's game.

Chief executive officer Lenny Klompus called Jeep officials and asked if they could remove the inflatable jeeps in the south end zone. The answer was no.

"They told us they would buy those seats if they had to," Klompus said. "Well, they had to."

Klompus said about 42,000 seats had been purchased for what The Sporting News recently rated as the fifth-best bowl game of 1997.

The top four are the Sugar (Ohio State-Florida State), Rose (Michigan-Washington State), Orange (Nebraska-Tennessee) and Citrus (Florida-Penn State).

SURF'S UP: Washington All-America Benji Olson might be turning pro soon, but it won't be at surfing's Triple Crown.

The 6-4, 310-pounder decided to do a little surfing at Waikiki, but quickly discovered a pulling guard is no match for a big wave.

"I had to use one of those tandem boards because I'm a little too big for the regular ones," Olson said at yesterday's press conference. "I had to use the two-person one and I was still sinking. It was fun. I tried it, but I didn't get up too well. But what can I say? I'm an O-lineman. I don't really belong out there, but I gave it a shot."

SOLID RECORD: Michigan State has compiled a 29-16-1 record against current members of the Pac-10 for a winning percentage of .641.

The Spartans are 1-1 vs. the Huskies, but haven't played them since 1970. Michigan State won the first encounter, 27-11, in 1969, but lost the second game the following season, 42-16.

Michigan State is 4-2 in bowl games against the Pac-10. The Spartans lost their last bowl game with a Pac-10 school. Stanford shut out Michigan State, 38-0, in last year's Sun Bowl.

COMING HOME -- SORT OF: Senior wide receiver Damien Hiram looked out at Diamond Head Saturday morning and felt a connection to the island chain.

He and offensive lineman Josh Smith spent the early days of their childhood in Hawaii before moving to the mainland.

"My father was born and raised here, so it's fun coming back to play my last college game," Hiram said. "I was excited when I heard we were going to play in the Aloha Bowl."

Hiram sports a warrior tattoo on his right arm. His middle name is Mahakea, which he said means "Gifted One." Hiram's grandfather -- William Hiram -- selected the middle name shortly before his grandson's birth.

As for Smith, his father was a military policeman at Schofield Barracks before they returned to the mainland.