Bulldogs aren’t talking,
but their fans will

The Warriors will get an earful
from the Fresno State brass
at Friday's football game

The Bulldogs are muzzled.

That's how seriously Fresno State (5-3, 2-3 WAC) coach Pat Hill is taking Friday's football game against visiting Hawaii (4-4, 4-3). No interviews.

UH AT FRESNO STATE Where: Bulldog Stadium, Fresno, Calif. When: Saturday, 5:30 p.m. TV: Live, ESPN2. Radio: Live, KKEA 1420-AM. Internet: KKEA1420AM.com

Hill spoke to the media on Monday. As of yesterday, though, even he plans on living up to a self-imposed gag order until after the game.

"It's probably not going to happen," said Jake Bragonier of the Fresno State media relations department, when asked if Hill would be available for an interview tomorrow. "A lot of it has to do with this being a short week and a big game. He's decided to batten down the hatches. Also, it's a big change in preparation, going from Rice to Hawaii."

The silence of the 'Dogs is an indicator of how far this rivalry has come. Hill doesn't want his players to say anything to fire up the Warriors -- not that they need any stoking.

Yes, the Fresno State players lips are sealed. But their fans will do more than enough jawing to make up for it Friday afternoon, when UH's contingent arrives from its staging area in Ontario, Calif.

And the Warriors talked enough for two yesterday after practice, especially when asked about the Fresno faithful.

Lui Fuga, the intense and intelligent senior defensive lineman, has a unique talent for being inciteful and insightful in nearly the same breath.

Fuga was asked about the famous heckling at Bulldog Stadium.

"I hope there's security around me because once I hear people calling me out, cussing me out, I just want to fight them right there. I'll just stop and try to attack somebody. I don't take crap from people."

But then, Fuga's graduate-student and team-captain side kicked in a little.

"Of course, that's not going to happen. But that's who I am, when people start talking to me, I'm going to stop and talk, too. Try to get the best of them, like they're trying to get the best of me. I can take that energy level and go back into the game and play with it."

Fuga would probably have a more mellow attitude about visiting the San Joaquin Valley if he'd been there in 2002, when the Warriors won 31-21. He was out for the season with an injury.

Safety Leonard Peters made that trip as a freshman, and he has a love-hate relationship with Fresno.

"It's crazy. It's a place I hate to play at, but love to win at," said Peters, now UH's leading tackler. "You're going to get it big-time at this place. They taunt you the whole time. It's good ... it pumps me up. Everything makes me laugh. The best is when the band members talk smack. They say things about your family and stuff, but they just do it because they love the sport and they love their team. If you remember it as part of the sport, it doesn't get into your head."

The fun starts as the Warriors walk "The Red Mile" (more like an eighth of a mile) from their make-shift locker room at the softball field to Bulldog Stadium. Fresno State fans on both sides of their path give everyone -- including coaches and staff -- two ears full.

They get everything and anything from renditions of "The Oompa Loompa Song" to references from their bios in the Hawaii media guide.

UH senior offensive lineman Phil Kauffman said some of the stuff is funny.

"I was more worried about slipping and falling on that big ramp to the field and making a fool of myself in front of all those people instead of what they say. That crowd is great. You hear it everywhere you go. That's what we play football for," Kauffman said. "And that was the best trip of our career. The plane ride home was sweet."

Some of the most vocal Fresno State fans are in the school's marching band.

"The band is on the field, heckling the players," senior guard Uriah Moenoa said. "You just have to laugh and focus on the game.

"When we scored that last touchdown over there, when John West scored the last one, I really egged them on. That ticked them off."

Coach June Jones likes that his team generally knows how to deal with the Fresno crowd. But the fact remains UH is 0-3 on the road going into its final away game of the season. That's why the Warriors are double-digit underdogs.

"This will be a very emotional game, every which way. They'll be fired up and I know our kids get fired up for Fresno State," Jones said. "We've still got a lot to prove, that we can win on the road."