Glowing tributes from opposing coaches are one thing. Sixty-point showings, too.

But an eye-opening indication of just how high-powered and double-barreled the University of Hawai'i's offense can be is that it could make UH only the second school to team up a quarterback who throws for 4,500-plus yards and a running back who rushes for 1,000 in the same season.

With five regular-season games and the likelihood of a berth in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl remaining, the Warriors' run-and-shoot offense could join Houston, circa 1989-90, with such duos of distinction.

Quarterback Colt Brennan's half of the equation would hardly be a surprise given the off-the-charts year he's having. As long as he stays healthy — and UH doesn't get out to the kind of leads that get him pulled any earlier than his customary third-quarter exits — Brennan is on pace (366.8 yards per game) for a 5,135-yard, 54-touchdown season.

The 54 TDs would tie the NCAA single-season record of Houston's David Klingler.

Early hooks apparently weren't a problem for Klingler, though. He was around long enough to throw for 11 touchdowns in an 84-21 bombardment of Division I-AA Eastern Washington in 1990, a season in which the Cougars scored 50 points or more five times in an 11-game season.

The second half of UH's quest is the tougher and, potentially, the more remarkable element. If running back Nate Ilaoa can average 78 yards a game rushing down the stretch, he'll hit the 1,000-yard mark. Not all that far fetched a target when you consider that until the Idaho game, where he carried just three times for 7 yards, Ilaoa had been averaging 74.8 yards a game.

"A thousand yards is something every running back dreams about," Ilaoa said.

At UH, for most of them it has been just that — a dream. Only six have done it and none since 1992, when Travis Sims churned for a school-record 1,498 yards.

In the June Jones era, James Fenderson's 651 yards in 2000 has been the high, helping lend credence to the misconception that a running back can't flourish in this style of offense. But you need only retrace some of Jones' NFL career steps to see that Jamal Anderson, Craig "Ironhead" Heyward, Barry Sanders, Mike Rozier and even Eric Pegram have managed 1,000-yard seasons on teams where Jones has been the head coach or had a hand in the offense.

Ilaoa, as he underlines nearly every game, is a special talent who gives the Warriors something they haven't had of late, the combination of brute force and the amazing ability to make the kind of cuts that freeze defenders.

Nor is it like he needs 20 carries a game, either. Ilaoa has been averaging 7.1 yards a shot and only twice has had more than 12 carries in a game.

Indeed, part of the success of the passing game is not only his improved blocking but looming threat as a weapon if opponents commit too much to stopping the pass.

Most of all, however, Ilaoa sees the big picture before the Warriors. He understands his role in the grand scheme of things is to be a change-up.

"The (1,000-yard) mark would be great and, I know it can be a possibility," Ilaoa said. "But the main thing is winning and whatever I have to do to help us get there."

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.