HONOLULU (AP)—Colt Brennan threw four first-half touchdown passes and ran for another score as Hawaii held on to a 41-34 victory over Nevada on Saturday night.
Nate Ilaoa carried 14 times for 151 yards and caught eight passes for 68 yards as the Warriors (3-2, 1-1 Western Athletic Conference) snapped the Wolf Pack’s three-game winning streak.
Brennan’s 7-yard run in the fourth quarter put Hawaii up 41-21 and helped seal the win. He finished the night 36-of-47 for 419 yards, moving into second place on Hawaii’s career passing list.
In just 17 games, Brennan has racked up 6,163 career passing yards, breaking Dan Robinson’s mark of 6,038 yards set from 1997-99. Brennan is still far behind Timmy Chang’s NCAA record of 17,072.
Hawaii took control in the first half with its offense and relied on its defense to hold off a late rally by Nevada (3-3, 0-2) on a muggy, windless night at Aloha Stadium.
Backup quarterback Travis Moore replaced Jeff Rowe with Nevada down by 20 points with 11:45 left and provided instant offense. Moore threw touchdown passes of 13 and 5 yards to tight end Anthony Pudewell to draw Nevada within seven with 3:57 left.
Linebacker Jason DeMars forced Brennan to fumble, giving Nevada the ball back on Hawaii’s 3 with 2:43 left.
But the Warriors defense denied the Wolf Pack when Moore’s fourth-down pass sailed through the hands of Mike McCoy in the back of the end zone.
Hawaii’s Davone Bess had 10 catches for 139 yards and a touchdown. Ian Sample added five receptions for 107 yards.
The Warriors scored on all five of their first-half possessions and took a 31-14 lead on a short, play-action pass from Brennan to Ross Dickerson on fourth-and-1.
The 3-yard touchdown was Brennan’s fourth touchdown of the first half and was set up by runs of 28, 35 and 11 yards by Ilaoa.
Brennan was near perfect to start the game, completing 20 of his first 22 attempts for 242 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Sample.
Nevada managed to cut Hawaii’s lead to 10 just before halftime on a 3-yard pass from Rowe to McCoy. The Wolf Pack had a 7-3 lead early in the game on Rowe’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Jack Darlington.
Freshman Brandon Fragger rushed 10 times for 54 yards for Nevada. Rowe was 20-of-26 243 yards and two TDs.