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Brennan delivers late as Hawaii beats Purdue in wild contest

Nov 26, 2006 - 7:38 AM HONOLULU (Ticker) -- Colt Brennan saved his touchdown barrage for the fourth quarter.

Brennan threw three fourth-quarter touchdowns, including the tying and go-ahead scores in the final five minutes, as No. 25 Hawaii posted a wild 42-35 victory over Purdue.

Brennan completed 33-of-48 passes for 434 yards with an interception for the Warriors (10-2), who posted their ninth straight victory. He has a staggering 51 touchdown passes this season - three shy of the NCAA single-season record set by Houston's David Klingler in 1990.

Purdue (8-5) rallied from an early 17-point deficit to take a 35-27 lead on a 32-yard pass from Curtis Painter to Selwyn Lymon with 6:50 remaining.

But Brennan threw a five-yard touchdown to Ryan Grice-Mullen with 4:48 remaining, then hit the same receiver for a tying two-point conversion. Cornerback Gerard Lewis intercepted Painter with 2:27 to go, and Brennan found Ian Sample for a go-ahead 23-yard score a minute later.

Linebacker Adam Leonard iced the game with another interception of Painter in the final minute. Painter finished 29-of-42 for 357 yards and four TDs with the two picks.

Hawaii appeared on the verge of a blowout win after taking a 17-0 lead into the break on a pair of touchdown runs by Nate Ilaoa and a 22-yard field goal by Dan Kelly.

But the Warriors allowed the Boilermakers to hang in the contest because of a pair of turnovers. A fumble by Ilaoa led to a nine-yard TD pass from Painter to Dustin Keller with 9:23 remaining in the third quarter, and receiver Desmond Tardy made it 17-14 with a 25-yard scoring toss to tight end Kyle Adams barely a minute later after Brennan was intercepted by Justin Scott.

Purdue took its first lead, 21-20, on a 28-yard pass from Painter to Greg Orton just 11 seconds into the fourth quarter. Brennan countered with a 14-yard TD pass to Ross Dickerson for a 27-21 edge with 11:28 to play.

The Boilermakers regained the lead, 28-27, on Painter's 19-yard pass to Keller with 7:29 remaining. Barely 30 seconds later, Ilaoa lost a fumble at the Hawaii 32, and Painter hit Lymon in the end zone on the next play for a 35-27 cushion.

Ilaoa had 159 yards on 12 carries for Hawaii, which had 653 yards of total offense.