Like most Hawai'i football fans, Melvin Murakami experienced a memorable weekend.

The difference? The 56-year-old Honolulu resident won a trip for two to Las Vegas and $500.

"It was really wonderful," Murakami said. "(It) capped off a great weekend with (the) Warriors winning."

The University of Hawai'i Warriors beat Washington, 35-28, Saturday and earned their first Bowl Championship Series berth Sunday.

The UH victory capped a "screwy" year in college football, which saw ranked teams rising and falling.

One of the teams that fell was No. 2 West Virginia, which was a 28 1/2-point favorite over Pittsburgh. It was a pick that Murakami correctly made.

"It was one of those things. I had feeling there was a potential upset there," he said.

Murakami also correctly picked the winners of 14 of 15 games. He correctly chose Stanford over Cal, Seattle over Philadelphia, Oakland over Denver and the New York Giants over Chicago.

Murakami said he's been playing Pigskin Picks since the game began offering a Las Vegas trip.

"I'm a lot like local people, love to gamble (at Vegas), love to go to Vegas. So this is the perfect contest for me."

Murakami said he almost threw in the towel after experiencing many unsuccessful weeks. But instead he decided he had to be true to his word.

"You have to put yourself in position to be fortunate," he said. "If you follow that credo, you can't lose. If you don't submit an entry, you'll never win."