HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i football team fell victim to a red-hot Utah State squad, falling 56-17 Saturday at Aloha Stadium. UH moved to 6-5 overall and 3-3 in the Mountain West following its fourth straight loss. 
 
The Aggies (8-1, 5-0 MW) came in ranked No. 18 in the country and looked every bit the part. USU put up 28 first-quarter points and didn't relent in winning its eighth straight game and remaining undefeated in conference play.
 
Utah State, the third highest scoring team in the country averaging nearly 50 a game, came out of the gates strong with a ground game that eventually racked up 426 yards. A pair of USU rushers – Darwin Thompson (141) and Gerold Bright (121) – eclipsed 100 yards and added three touchdowns each. The Aggies racked up 152 rushing yards in the first quarter alone. Thompson busted loose for a pair of runs over 40 yards to help the Aggies build a 14-0 lead barely five minutes into the game. 
 
UH quarterback Cole McDonald finished with 331 yards passing and two touchdowns and eclipsed 3,000 yards on the season, becoming the sixth quarterback in program history to reach that mark. He also topped 300-yards for the sixth time this season. McDonald threw both of his touchdowns in the third quarter, a 54-yard pass play to John Ursua and 38-yarder to Devan Stubblefield.
 
Hawai'i had success moving the ball in the first half, racking up 220 yards of total offense. But UH could muster only three points after being stopped on downs four times while McDonald was picked off twice. Still the Warriors managed to only trail 28-3 at the half as the UH defense held the Aggies scoreless in the second quarter while USU quarterback Jordan Love was forced to leave the game just before halftime.
 
Thompson's second touchdown of the game gave USU a 35-3 lead early in the third before the combination of McDonald and Ursua and ensuing 2-point conversion pulled the Warriors to within 24. But that was as close as they could get as the Aggies tacked on three more touchdowns for an insurmountable 56-11 lead.
 
Hawai'i will have a bye next week before closing out its regular-season home schedule on Saturday, Nov. 17 versus UNLV. Kickoff is 6 p.m. at Aloha Stadium.