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Brennan, Hawaii jump out fast, crush Idaho

Sep 30, 2007 - 4:02 AM MOSCOW, Idaho (Ticker) -- Colt Brennan padded his Heisman Trophy resume, throwing for 369 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for a score to lead No. 19 Hawaii to a 48-20 victory over Western Athletic Conference rival Idaho on Saturday.

Brennan completed 30-of-49 passes and overcame five interceptions to help the Warriors to their fifth straight game with over 45 points scored.

"I just had a different, crazy day," Brennan said. "What's awesome is everyone else just showed how good our team really is."

Overshadowed by the offense this season has been the play of the Hawaii defense, which held the Vandals to 303 total yards - only 82 of which came on the ground - and forced five turnovers.

It marked the fourth time in five games this season that Hawaii's opposition has failed to score more than 20 points.

Davone Bess led the Warriors receiving corps with 12 catches for 169 yards and a score, and Kealoha Pilares balanced the attack with 89 yards on 10 carries.

Hawaii (5-0, 2-0 WAC) jumped out first when Brennan hit Ryan Grice-Mullins down the middle for 13-yard touchdown. Grice-Mullins finished the contest with eight catches for 90 yards to remain second among wideouts in the conference in both receiving yards and touchdowns.

Idaho (1-4, 0-1) evened the game at 7-7 just over two minutes later when tight end Eddie Williams scored on an 18-yard run. Williams turned out to be the star of the game for the Vandals, ending with 105 total yards and a pair of touchdowns.

"We had a great game plan, but it's just a matter of executing." Williams said. "If we have 10 guys doing their jobs and one guy who isn't, we aren't going to be successful on the play."

The Warriors grabbed the lead for good with 5:09 remaining in the opening quarter when Vandals quarterback Nathan Enderle was picked off by linebacker Adam Leonard, who returned it 38 yards for a 14-7 advantage.

"What we don't like is people who don't see us play and automatically assume we can't stop anybody," Leonard said. "That is a chip on our shoulder. We want to prove ourselves each week to the naysayers."

Enderle ended the contest 14-of-34 for 190 yards, one touchdown and five interceptions.

"We've got to do a better job of taking care of the football," Idaho coach Robb Akey said. "We've turned the ball over too many times in the last two weeks and we need to get that taken care of."

Hawaii broke the game open in the second quarter as Brennan threw for a pair of scores and defensive back Myron Newberry returned an interception 79 yards to cruise into the half with a 41-10 lead.

Brennan's rushing touchdown came with 7:14 remaining in the third quarter and capped the scoring for Hawaii, which managed 491 yards of total offense and converted 7-of-13 third downs in a dominating effort.