Greg McMackin has faced several friends in the coaching business during his first season as Hawaii head coach.

He could end it across the field from one of his closest, Arizona State's Dennis Erickson, depending on the outcome of the annual rivalry game between the Sun Devils and Arizona on Saturday.

While the Warriors (7-5) assured themselves of a spot in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl with a 24-10 win over Washington State last Saturday, they'll have to wait until the coming weekend to find out who they'll face on Christmas Eve.

The Hawaii Bowl is contracted to get the sixth pick from the Pac-10 and an Arizona State win will give the conference six bowl-eligible teams. In that case, executive director David Matlin said Arizona State or Arizona would be the likely candidates for the Hawaii Bowl, depending on how the league's other selections play out.

Oregon State's loss to Oregon, costing the Beavers a Rose Bowl berth (unless UCLA upsets USC this week), also increased the chances of a Pac-10 team celebrating the holidays in Honolulu.

“;We'd be thrilled to have a Pac-10 team if Arizona State wins,”; Matlin said.

“;If not, then what's really exciting is there's a lot of possibilities and opportunities.”;

If Arizona wins and the Pac-10 ends up short of bowl-eligible teams, the Hawaii Bowl will be among the games picking from a pool of at-large opponents.

Among the conferences with more eligible teams than bowl affiliations are the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Mid-American and Sun Belt.

At-large teams with 7-5 records must be selected before those at 6-6, a group that includes Notre Dame.

Given the fluidity of the situation, Matlin said the selection process is tough to predict and could extend into Sunday.

“;We've never had an experience like this (in the Hawaii Bowl's previous six years),”; said Matlin.

The Arizona State-Arizona game starts at 3 p.m. Hawaii time on Saturday, so the scenarios will be in clearer focus about the time the Warriors kick off against No. 13 Cincinnati in their regular-season finale.

For the Warriors, their bowl opponent is secondary at this point to preparing for the Big East champion Bearcats.

McMackin and the UH coaching staff spent part of their Sunday watching footage of the Bearcats (10-2), who defeated Syracuse 30-10 on Saturday.

After being in must-win mode over the second half of the season with the bowl berth as their target, the Warriors still have much to play for as they look to extend a three-game winning streak.

“;It's going to be the seniors' game, so it's going to be important for us,”; McMackin said. “;They've contributed so much to the program and to this season with leadership for the team.”;

McMackin is hopeful the Warriors will have three injured starters back for this week's game. Defensive backs Ryan Mouton (ankle) and Erik Robinson (hamstring), and running back/slotback Kealoha Pilares (foot) didn't play against Washington State as the Warriors jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead and held off the Cougars the rest of the way.

Kafentzis gets a turn

Senior linebacker Tyson Kafentzis took the field with the Warriors captains prior to Saturday's kickoff. Kafentzis, who lived in eastern Washington and followed Washington State, said he was told of the designation Friday night.

“;That was awesome. That was an honor, it meant a lot to me,”; said Kafentzis, who played on the Warriors' special teams units. “;Obviously, I grew up being a fan of them and I couldn't wait to play these guys. I was ecstatic when I saw them on the schedule years ago.

“;The last time I walked out as a captain was five years ago in high school. So it was pretty special.”;