June Jones can become the winningest University of Hawai'i football coach of the modern (all-college schedule) era Saturday with a victory over Oregon State, but what of the milestone triumphs along the way toward passing Dick Tomey?

As last Saturday's comeback victory over Purdue attests, there have been some dramatic and meaningful wins among those 63 victories (against 39 losses). Just how memorable? Take a look over the eight seasons at the victories that rate as the most significant of the Jones era.

1. UH 31, FRESNO STATE 24, DOUBLE OVERTIME, 1999

This conference championship-clinching triumph was a high point of a magical season, one that transformed the Warriors from tying the record for single-season losses in an 0-12 season the year before to a 9-4 finish that marked the biggest collegiate turnaround.

The double overtime victory earned the Warriors only the second piece of a Western Athletic Conference championship in the school's history.

2. UH 72, BRIGHAM YOUNG 45, 2001

As sports writer Bill Kwon preaches, "any victory over BYU is a big win."

Well, this one was bigger than most. For not only did it put an exclamation point on a 9-3 season, the triumph before a sellout crowd and national cable audience ended the then-ninth-ranked Cougars' unbeaten (12-0) season and dashed any claims to a Bowl Championship Series berth.

Unfortunately, even the victory, stunning for its lopsidedness, couldn't get the Warriors into a bowl. There was no Hawai'i Bowl at the time and everybody else passed on the Warriors.

3. UH 41, MICHIGAN STATE 38, 2004

In their last chance to clinch a bowl berth, the Warriors battled back from a 21-point deficit on the strength of Chad Owens' four touchdowns in the regular season finale. It was a game that typified a comeback season that had begun with a painful 0-2 start, including a loss to Florida Atlantic, and concluded with four consecutive victories for an 8-5 record.4. UH 42, Purdue 35, 2006

A victory over San Jose State had helped vault the Warriors into the national polls, but knocking off a brand-name school from a power conference validated the ranking in a lot of people's eyes and is helping to bring fans back to Aloha Stadium.

5. UH 34, BOISE STATE 19, 1999

The victory ended the longest drought in school history, a 19-game losing streak against Division I opposition that spanned three seasons and helped reshape perceptions of a football program that some had thought could not be competitive again.

What nobody knew at the time, however, was that it would be the last victory over the Broncos for a while. Boise State joined the WAC in 2001 and has won all six meetings since.

6. UH 37, ALABAMA 29, 2003

Backup quarterback Jason Whieldon came off the bench to pass for four touchdowns and run for another, lending a storybook element to this upset.

7. UH 23, OREGON STATE 17, 1999

Dan Robinson's two touchdown passes and six sacks by the defense in the Warriors' first bowl appearance in seven years underlined the wonder of the revival season.

8. UH 20, SOUTHERN METHODIST 0, 1999

The one-sided appearance at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas was memorable for what it meant: an end to a seven-year, 24-game Western Athletic Conference road losing streak. Not since the WAC championship season of 1992 had the Warriors won on the road in conference. And, they punctuated it with a shutout.

9. UH 68, FRESNO STATE 37, 2006

The Warriors had already begun to roll when they hit Fresno but in administering the worst home-field loss for the Bulldogs, the Warriors started serving notice just how special a team and a season this could be.

10. UH 31, FRESNO STATE 21, 2002

Quarterback Tim Chang rallied the Warriors from a 21-9 deficit with 22 fourth-quarter points.

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