As the clock wound down on the University of Hawai'i football team in a 42-14 loss at Michigan State last week, the smug taunts from the Spartan Stadium faithful followed the Warriors off the field.

"Not in our league!" they jabbed.

"Back to the WAC!" they needled.

Truth be told, after back-to-back games against Southern California and Michigan State, the Western Athletic Conference does have a certain appeal right about now. For a school starting its 27th year in the conference, rarely has the WAC looked so, well, inviting.

Indeed, for all their struggles in an 0-2 start, the WAC remains a blank canvas for the Warriors to do with what they can. After taking their non-conference lumps, the WAC is still a place where the Warriors can start over, putting this month's hard-knocks education to both practical and immediate use.

When you have taken the field before 74,043 at Spartan Stadium to resounding chants of "Bleep Hawai'i," how imposing can 15,000 in Moscow, Idaho, or Ruston, La., really be? After traveling across six time zones, what are a couple jaunts into the Pacific time zone now?

The Warriors might not see another nationally ranked team until next season's opener at Alabama. For sure, they are finished with Heisman Trophy contenders for the foreseeable future. Gone, you would hope, are the days of being a 30-point plus underdog.

After a week off to heal the wounded and reinforce lessons learned, opportunity knocks for the Warriors. The next eight weeks are wall-to-wall WAC without an open date, from Idaho Saturday to Utah State Nov. 12, with a chance to put an 0-2 start deep in the rear view mirror.

If the Warriors can sufficiently put the pieces together, there is even an outside shot at returning to the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, though that would involve winning seven of the final 10 regular-season games. For inspiration in that regard, UH needs only look to last season.

Not that any of it will be a waltz, of course. UH hasn't won a piece of the conference title since 1999, and this year's edition remains a work in progress.

But three-time defending champion Boise State might not be all it was cracked up to be. Fresno State, which looks like the team to beat, has to come to Aloha Stadium, where it has lost five in a row.

After all, when you have glimpsed Reggie Bush in open field or confronted Matt Leinart and a receiver with one-on-one coverage, how scary can anybody else be from here on out?

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.