Hawaii-Idaho Preview

9/26/2007 3:53 PM

By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA
STATS Senior Writer

Hawaii's crowd, eager to see Colt Brennan back on the field, was chanting the star quarterback's name last Saturday. There may not be any Brennan chants in Idaho, but Warriors fans may finally get what they wanted.

Brennan, held out as a precaution last week, could be back under center as No. 19 Hawaii returns to Western Athletic Conference play with a matchup against the Vandals on Saturday.

Brennan, who sprained his right ankle against UNLV on Sept. 15, suited up and participated in warmups last Saturday but sat out for the first time in his career as the Warriors (4-0, 1-0) beat Charleston Southern 66-10.

It was Hawaii's second game against a Football Championship Subdivision team, and with the Warriors now facing a WAC opponent, Brennan has a good chance of playing again.

"Colt could have played ... but I didn't want him to," Warriors coach June Jones said of his decision to rest Brennan against the Buccaneers. "Colt makes the offense run smoothly."

Hawaii's offense was struggling and the team was leading Charleston Southern by only a touchdown midway through the second quarter when the Hawaii crowd began chanting "We want Colt! We want Colt!"

Tyler Graunke, who started for Brennan, overcame a tough start to throw for 285 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Brennan, a Heisman Trophy candidate, has completed 77 percent of his passes for 1,262 yards and 12 TDs with just one interception. In two games against Idaho, Brennan has thrown for 680 yards and eight touchdowns with no interceptions en route to wins in both matchups.

He has thrown at least two TDs in 21 straight games, and is the leader of a Warriors offense that ranks second in the nation in scoring average (55.8) and passing yards per game (461.8). The Vandals (1-3, 0-0), meanwhile, only have three sacks on the season and have given up 10 passing touchdowns, giving Hawaii a good chance to go 5-0 for the first time since it started 7-0 in 1981.

An opportunistic defense and strong special teams have also helped Hawaii's scoring average. The Warriors have returned two interceptions for scores, and have returned two kickoffs and a punt return for touchdowns.

"I said before the season that we are more talented, especially in our backups," Jones said. "That is why we are winning. (Coaches) Dennis (McKnight), Rich (Miano) and Jeff (Reinebold) are doing an outstanding job with our special teams."

Idaho got a boost from its special teams last Saturday, with Shiloh Keo returning a punt 100 yards with 34 seconds left in the first half, but Nathan Enderle had three passes intercepted as the Vandals lost their second straight, 42-35 to Northern Illinois.

Enderle threw for 205 yards and three touchdowns against the Huskies, but he has been picked off seven times in his last two games. Five Idaho turnovers led to 17 points for Northern Illinois.

"We need to respond to adversity better," Idaho coach Robb Akey said. "We found out some things we need to fix.

"We have to take better care of the football. That's one of the battles within the game that we need to win to the influence the ballgame."

Idaho may be without star running back Deonte Jackson, a freshman who leads the WAC in rushing with 537 yards on 100 carries. Jackson suffered a high ankle sprain against Northern Illinois.

The Vandals' only win this season was on Sept. 8, a 20-13 victory over Cal Poly, but Jones is trying to guard his team against a letdown.

"They are very well coached," Jones said of Idaho. "They have one really good cornerback who could probably play in the NFL and they play hard. Their defense is very well coached, and we'll have to be very sharp."

Hawaii leads the all-time series with Idaho 6-1. Last season, Brennan threw for 333 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Warriors to a 68-10 win on Oct. 28.