LARAMIE, Wyo. » Some wore shorts.

The offensive linemen used a football as a Hacky Sack.

"Twelve degrees is perfect," quarterback Ikaika Woolsey shouted.

The mercury actually was at 18 degrees for the University of Hawaii football team’s inaptly labeled "warmup" at War Memorial Stadium on Friday. UH and Wyoming play today at noon Mountain time, which is when the temperature is expected to be at the day’s high of 32 degrees.

"If that’s warm in Hawaii, so be it," Wyoming coach Dave Christensen said.

UH coach Norm Chow remembered the numerous visits to the Laramie campus. He recalled how the coaches used Saran Wrap as a layer of warmth for their feet.

UH’s two Colorado-raised centers — Ben Clarke and Brenden Urban — are refusing to wear gloves to snap. Quarterback Sean Schroeder tried throwing while wearing gloves during practices in Manoa this week, but he felt uncomfortable with the grip and opted to ditch the gloves. On Friday, he threw without gloves. His jersey has a pouch that will keep his hands warm between plays.

"It’s perfect football weather," Schroeder has said. "(The Cowboys) have to deal with it, and so do we."

Another concern is Laramie’s 7,200-foot elevation, which siphons endurance. The thin air is believed to make kicks and passes sail.

After each practice this week, the players ran "gassers" — a series of 60-yard sprints — in preparation for the altitude.

The Rainbow Warriors practiced in Honolulu on Thursday morning before departing for Los Angeles, where they stayed overnight. Their charter flight from Los Angeles to Laramie was delayed nearly an hour because crews needed to reduce the fuel in the plane’s tanks. Despite the delay, Chow wanted his players to test the conditions at the stadium.

The Warriors are playing in Laramie for the first time since 1997. The series was interrupted when Wyoming joined seven other schools in seceding from the Western Athletic Conference in 1998 and forming the Mountain West Conference. UH joined the MWC as a football-only member last year.

The Warriors are 0-10 overall and 0-7 in the MWC. The Cowboys have lost consecutive games to Colorado State, San Jose State, Fresno State and Boise State. Noting the "State" theme, Chow joked that UH will be known as "Hawaii State University" this week.

"It’s an important game for both programs," Christensen said. "For us, it’s a game that gives us a chance to stay in contention to play in a bowl."

The Cowboys, who are 4-6 overall and 2-4 in the MWC, need to beat UH today and Utah State in next week’s regular-season finale to become bowl eligible.

"There’s a lot of motivation on both sides," Christensen said.

UH wideout Chris Gant said the Warriors are thirsting for their first victory of the season.

"Michael Jordan didn’t lose a lot, but when he did lose, it was discouraging," Gant said. "Every loss is discouraging. What keeps us going is our dreams and ambition to win."