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Brennan tries to pass Hawaii past Northern Colorado

Sep 1, 2007 - 12:07 PM Northern Colorado at No. 23 Hawaii 12:05 am EDT

HONOLULU (Ticker) -- Colt Brennan's Heisman Trophy candidacy should not be hindered by facing one of the weakest teams in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Coming off a record-setting campaign, Brennan leads No. 23 Hawaii into Saturday night's season-opening contest against Northern Colorado.

As a junior last year, Brennan - a transfer from Colorado - threw for a whopping 5,549 yards and an NCAA-record 58 touchdowns, leading the Warriors to an 11-3 record.

Previously obscure, Brennan now is on the short list of candidates receiving preseason Heisman Trophy hype.

Since Hawaii has a weak schedule, he should be able to once again put up staggering numbers, and his cause would be helped by leading his team to the Western Athletic Conference title.

Last season, Hawaii went 7-1 in the WAC, but the one loss was to undefeated Boise State, which went on to win a wild Fiesta Bowl over Oklahoma.

The Bears, meanwhile, are coming off a 1-10 campaign - their first under coach Scott Downing - that saw them go winless in eight games in the Big Sky Conference.

They dropped their final eight contests, ending the season with a 54-3 blowout defeat to Northern Arizona.

Northern Colorado also had to deal with a scandal off the field. Backup punter Mitch Cozad stabbed starter Rafael Mendoza in his kicking leg last September and was convicted of second-degree assault in August.

This will be the first meeting between the programs and Northern Colorado's first against a Football Bowl Subdivision - formerly Division I-A - team since a 46-14 loss at Colorado State in 1986.