Get San Jose State football coach Dick Tomey or his defensive line coach, Joe Seumalo, talking about their once-upon-a-time days at the University of Hawai'i in the 1970s or '80s and they frequently invoke "Rainbows."

All understandable, of course, given their years predating the 2000 change in nicknames to the "Warriors."

And, as it turns out, illustrative of the clash of eras that takes place Saturday in San Jose, Calif. where, for one of the few times in school history, elements of UH's past collide with the present.

Only when Tomey's Arizona team beat UH under Fred vonAppen in the opening game of the 1998 season, 27-6, have two Hawai'i head coaches squared off as head coaches in a game involving UH.

But, as that 0-12 season would prove, vonAppen had no clearly defined offensive philosophy. Certainly nothing of a signature attack to contrast his counterpart the way Tomey and June Jones do.

It is Tomey's grounded offense that strives for balance versus Jones' dedication to the aerial game. If the now-common "June Would Throw" bumper stickers had a predecessor, they would have read: "Dick Would Run And Throw."

Coming off Saturday's 49-28 victory over New Mexico State, in which the Warriors didn't call a running play until the final 11 minutes, 18 seconds, the differences in philosophy have never seemed so wide.

So much so that it renders remarkable a time when Tomey and Jones once sought what chefs would now call a "fusion" of their philosophies. That was 1983, when Jones, fresh from an NFL playing career, was given his first coaching job by Tomey as UH's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Quarterback Raphel Cherry and wide receiver Walter Murray, whom Tomey calls "as good of skill people as Hawai'i has ever had," were the prime instruments.

And what a show it was, as the season-ending Oklahoma game underlined. The Sooners had to rally twice, the last time with less than seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, to pull out a 21-17 victory.

Ultimately, after a 5-5-1 finish in which much of the UH record book was rewritten, Tomey and Jones agreed to part the best of friends and continuing golf buddies, each staying true to his own offensive ways.

"He wanted to run the run-and-shoot," Tomey recalls, "... and we didn't want to."

So, Jones returned to pro football, a path that would eventually return him to UH in 1999. Tomey returned to his comfort level of meat-and-potatoes football and, three years later, was off to Arizona where, just as he had been at UH, he became the school's winningest football coach.

Saturday afternoon in San Jose, Calif., it isn't just Tomey vs. Jones, but, in a way that touches on UH history, also the "Rainbows" vs. "Warriors."

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