The Hawaii Warriors play their home games at Aloha Stadium on the island of Oahu, but they should consider moving their facilities to Ni̢۪ihau.

You see, Ni’ihau translates to “The Forbidden Island,â€Â which is a much better way to describe opposing teams’ frustrations with flying out to the Aloha State to take on the Warriors.

Basically a trip to Hawaii is like the plots for Jurassic Park and King Kong.

A large group travels to an isolated island with high hopes, tries to seize an opportunity, but in the end wind up wondering, “What the hell just happened?â€Â

That̢۪s because the Hawaii Warriors own one of the best home-field advantages in all of sports.

Not only do opposing teams have to travel across multiple time zones, but all of the focus has to remain on football.

Yeah, try taking a walk down Waikiki Beach, I’m sure the first thing you’ll think of is, “Let’s put on the pads and hit somebody!â€Â

By the time the team gets to Aloha Stadium, the natives are all decked out in tribal garb, war paint and yelling at the top of their lungs.

Ryan Mathews might as well trade in his helmet for a fedora.

And that̢۪s just the outside factors. Let̢۪s not forget Hawaii is one of the top programs in the conference and made the BCS just two seasons ago.

This decade, the Warriors are 53-17 at Aloha Stadium, including a 28-8 record in conference play on The Island.

Fresno State will take another crack at winning at Hawaii this Saturday, but the Bulldogs have enough trouble beating the Warriors in Fresno.

The Bulldogs have dropped three straight to Hawaii and two of those games were at Bulldog Stadium, including last season̢۪s punch-to-the-groin, 32-29 overtime loss.

One of the knocks on Pat Hill has been his inability to defeat Boise State, but in his tenure, Hill owns a 1-5 record against Hawaii in Honolulu.

But it̢۪s not just Hill who has struggled to win a game in Oahu. Historically, Fresno State is 7-14 all-time at Hawaii, but the overall series record is knotted up at 20-20-1.

I̢۪ve hypothesized four reasons as to why Fresno State has struggled against the Warriors on the road, but the remedies may be easier said than done.

Reason 1 – Time difference a.k.a “jet lagâ€Â – Fresno State has to travel three time zones backwards to take on the Warriors.

For example, if the teams are playing at 8 p.m. in Honolulu, that̢۪s like playing a game at 11 p.m. in Fresno.

The flight to the Islands is a six-hour trip. Factor in the bus ride the players have to make to fly out of San Francisco and that̢۪s about 10 hours of travel altogether.

But it might be a little hard to feel sorry for the Bulldogs since the Warriors have to do this for half of their games.

In fact, Hawaii̢۪s players have only been able to attend school for 10 days since beginning classes in August.

Even though the travel for Fresno State is quite harsh it̢۪s hard to use this as an excuse when Hawaii goes through it all season.

But the fact that most teams aren̢۪t used to it makes it a huge advantage for the Warriors.

Reason 2 – The atmosphere at Aloha Stadium – Though not as intimidating as playing Boise’s “Smurf Turf,â€Â Aloha Stadium is a visitor’s nightmare in its own right.

Hawaii isn’t like most states that house multiple Division-I universities – the Warriors carry the flag for their entire state.

It̢۪s almost like the Warriors are Oahu̢۪s version of a pro sports team.

With a stadium that holds 50,000, running an offense can be agonizing because of how loud the stadium gets.

Not to mention the constant beating of drums and debris trickling across the field.

Players aren̢۪t supposed to be affected by the environment, but Fresno State̢۪s opponent this week may have one of the most unique atmospheres in college football.

Reason 3 – Off-field distractions – The world’s most beautiful beaches, Diamond Head and other tourist attractions are an easy outlet for players to lose their focus.

Playing football in a state more known as a vacation spot than a college football town can be a distraction.

You probably won̢۪t hear players talking about how excited they are for the trips to Moscow, Idaho and Las Cruces, N.M. this season.

Keeping a strict curfew and making sure the team̢۪s focus stays on football is the coaches̢۪ jobs and shouldn̢۪t be a factor this weekend.

Reason 4 – Hawaii is just a solid program – Offensively, Hawaii is miles ahead of most programs in college football.

Before the spread offense became trendy, Hawaii quarterbacks were throwing for 5,000 yards every season, carving up opposing defenses.

The Warriors are innovators of the passing game and consistently lead the nation in most passing categories.

Although they have only won one outright WAC title they have consistently been a force to be reckoned with in the conference.

People can say whatever they want about travel, atmosphere and distractions, but the bottom line is Hawaii does well because it is a solid program.

To the Island we go…

It̢۪s all there for the taking this Saturday.

Hawaii̢۪s starting quarterback is out, Fresno State had a bye week and the Bulldogs desperately need their first win against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent.

It̢۪s just amazing how such a beautiful place can be so ugly for most Bulldog fans.

I̢۪m just pissed because it̢۪s the No. 1 honeymoon spot in America and my girlfriend has already picked out the island she wants to go to.
Good thing for me, Maui is “The Valley Island.â€Â