Hawaii comes back, wins in overtime
Colt Brennan's injured right ankle was healthy enough to lead a thrilling comeback that resuscitated any hopes Hawaii might have had at a Bowl Championship Series bid.
Brennan rallied Hawaii from 14 points down in the final 4 minutes by scoring the tying touchdown on a 2-yard run with 31 seconds left in regulation, then threw an 8-yard scoring pass to Jason Rivers on the first possession of overtime to give the Warriors a 42-35 victory over San Jose State on Friday night.
The win for Hawaii (7-0, 4-0 WAC) wasn't sealed until Myron Newberry intercepted Adam Tafralis' pass in the end zone on the first drive of OT for the Spartans (3-4, 2-1). The Warriors poured on the field in a celebration that was put on hold until after a replay review confirmed the call.
Brennan completed 44 of his WAC-record 74 passes for 545 yards and four touchdowns. He was able to overcome his four interceptions to help Hawaii get off to its best start since 1981.
A pair of touchdown returns by Dwight Lowery and two TD passes from Tafralis to Kevin Jurovich helped San Jose State build a 35-21 lead late in the fourth quarter.
With representatives from the Fiesta Bowl on hand, Brennan orchestrated a 97-yard drive capped by an 11-yard TD pass to Davone Best with 3:53 to go.
The Spartans tried to run the clock out, but James T. Callier fumbled on the second play of the drive and Adam Leonard recovered on the San Jose State 45. It was the Spartans' first lost fumble of the season and couldn't have come at a worse time.
Brennan calmly moved the Warriors down the field before running it in on an option keeper to tie the game and send it into overtime.
After rolling up six wins against mostly overmatched teams, the Warriors hoped to impress voters in their first appearance of the year on national television. Whether their second overtime win of the year did that remains to be seen. The first BCS standings will be released on Sunday.
Playing on a sloppy field after a day of rain, Brennan threw four interceptions -- including one on the first play of the second half that was returned 24 yards for a game-tying score by Lowery.
Lowery's 86-yard punt return with 1:21 left in the first half got the Spartans on the board. After the big plays by Lowery, Tafralis and the once-sluggish offense took over to help San Jose State build the 14-point lead.
The Spartans scored touchdowns on three straight drives but were unable to hold on for their first win against a ranked team since ruining the BCS hopes of LaDanian Tomlinson and No. 9 TCU with a 27-24 victory on Nov. 4, 2000.
For the second straight season, San Jose State had a crushing home loss to a BCS hopeful. The Spartans blew a late eight-point lead against Boise State last year before falling 23-20 on a last-second field goal.
Hawaii was stopped three times on fourth down, including Brennan on a fourth-and-1 keeper from the San Jose State 35 midway through the third quarter.
Tafralis completed a 23-yard pass to Brian Elledge on the next play, starting a 65-yard drive that ended with Jurovich's leaping 16-yard touchdown grab. After San Jose State forced a punt on Hawaii's next drive, Tafralis and Jurovich connected again for 68 yards with Jurovich outracing Newberry to the end zone.
Tafralis finished 27-for-47 for 302 yards and three interceptions. Jurovich had seven catches for 117 yards.
Hawaii broke out to a 14-0 lead in the first half. Leonard intercepted a pass from Tafralis on the opening drive, setting up Kealoha Pilares' 6-yard run on an option play. Brennan then connected with Ryan Grice-Mullen on a 16-yard score, extending his streak of consecutive games streak with a touchdown pass to 32.