Box Score

HONOLULU - Heisman Trophy candidate Colt Brennan threw for 416 yards and six touchdowns as the 23rd-ranked University of Hawai`i football team opened up the 2007 campaign with a 63-6 victory over Northern Colorado, Saturday night, at Aloha Stadium.

The Warriors found the end zone early and often tallying 28 points in the first and led 42-0 at the half. UH scored only once in the third quarter on an 80-yard punt return for a TD by Michael Washington.

The Bears finally got on the board with 10:22 remaining in the fourth as quarterback Mike Vlahogeorge took a quarterback draw and scampered five yards for the score. UH's Keenan Jones blocked the point after.

UH's Malcolm Lane then took the ensuing kickoff and sprinted 94 yards to make it 56-6. The UH defense picked off a pass and five plays later QB Inoki Funaki found Greg Salas for a 24-yard scoring strike to go up by 57, 63-6.

Brennan moved into a tie for sixth place on the NCAA career passing TD list with 99, sharing the spot with USC's Matt Leinart. He trails the No. 1 slot occupied by former BYU standout Ty Detmer by 22.

"Feels great to be back and the fans were awesome," Brennan said. "We had a great practice yesterday and knew in the hotel today that something felt right. I'm surrounded with a lot of veteran talent and that makes you better on offense and as a football player. They came out just like we had planned for. We were very prepared. I know that with our offensive line, they have a lot of motivation. I have a lot of trust in them."

The defense limited the Bear offense to a mere 182 yards of total offense.

Brennan was on fire in the first half, setting a new school record for completions in the first quarter (19) and half (34). He also broke his own record of passing yards in a half, finishing with 416 yards, 27 more than his previous mark of 389 set in last year's Hawai'i Bowl. Brennan also tied school marks for touchdowns in a quarter (4) and half (6).

Hawai`i takes to the road the next two weeks with a Western Athletic Conference match up at Louisiana Tech (Sept. 8) and then the team stays on the mainland following the Bulldog game heading to Las Vegas for a non-conference showdown with the Rebels (Sept. 15).

Game Notes
- UH is 4-5 in season openers under June Jones.
- Quarterback Colt Brennan moved into a tie for sixth place on the NCAA career passing touchdowns list with 99 with Matt Leinart of Southern California.
- Brennan set or tied five new school records in the game.
New record: Completions in a quarter (19), old record 15 by three players, last by Timmy Chang (2003 vs. Fresno State)
Tied record: Touchdowns (4) in a quarter, tied with Nick Rolovich (2001 vs. BYU) and Timmy Chang (2004 vs. Idaho)
New record: Completions in a half (34), old record 29 by Timmy Chang (2003 vs. Fresno State)
New record: Yards in a half (416), old record 389 by Colt Brennan (2006 vs. Arizona State)
Tied record: TD passes in a half (6), tied with Nick Rolovich (2001 vs. BYU)
- Brennan eclipsed the 10,000-yard passing mark. He now has 10,266 yards, moving into 38th place in NCAA history.
- With his 416 yards passing, Brennan now has 12 career 400-yard games.
- UH returned both a punt and kickoff for touchdowns in the same game for the first time since 2001 (Chad Owens vs. BYU).
- Ryan Grice-Mullen and Jason Rivers eclipsed the 100-yard mark in receiving for the 10th time in their careers.

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