Boise State 27 - 39 Hawaii
Final
  for this game

Brennan goes for passing mark in showdown against Boise State

Nov 23, 2007 - 11:33 AM No. 17 Boise St (10-1) at No. 14 Hawaii (10-0) 9:05 pm EST

HONOLULU (Ticker) -- If Colt Brennan is going to make history, he will have to overcome recent history.

In a showdown that will determine the Western Athletic Conference champion, Brennan leads 14th-ranked Hawaii into Friday night's matchup against No. 17 Boise State.

Brennan enters what could be his final home game with 121 career touchdown passes, tying Ty Detmer's NCAA record.

While he almost certainly will break's Detmer's mark, Brennan would love to help the Warriors (10-0, 7-0 WAC) unseat the five-time conference champions.

The Broncos (10-1, 7-0) have won the conference each season since joining in 2002. Even more impressive is their 46-1 record within the conference.

Brennan should be 100 percent for this contest. Recovering from a concussion, the senior attempted just two passes in last week's 28-26 win at Nevada.

Tyler Graunke started in place of Brennan and threw for 358 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Warriors escaped Nevada's upset bid on Dan Kelly's 45-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining.

But Brennan is the leader of Hawaii's offense, which leads the Bowl Championship Subdivision in scoring at 48 points per game. Last week marked the first time this season that the Warriors failed to reach at least 30 points.

A win here will give the Warriors the WAC title while also giving them a legitimate shot at playing in a BCS bowl. Currently 15th in the Bowl Championship Series Ratings, the Rainbows need to be 12th in order to secure a BCS berth.

Hawaii and Kansas are the nation's lone remaining unbeaten teams.

Staying unbeaten should be a challenge for the Warriors, who are running into a red-hot team. The Broncos have reeled off nine straight wins, with all but one of those victories coming by double digits.

Boise State, which is third in scoring (44.2 ppg), has won its last three games by an average of 32.8 points.

Leading the way for the Broncos has been Taylor Tharp, who has thrown for 2,839 yards and 27 touchdowns this season.

To keep Hawaii's aerial attack grounded, the Broncos could turn to the combination of running backs Ian Johnson (944 yards) and Jeremy Avery (563 yards).

Last year, Johnson rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Broncos to a 41-34 victory over the Warriors.






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