Brennan adds to record book
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Could University of Hawai'i quarterback Colt Brennan be twice as good as last year?
Brennan needed only one half last night to continue the record-breaking pace he stayed on all of last season.
Brennan completed 34 of 40 passes for 416 yards in just the first two quarters of a 63-6 blowout of Northern Colorado in the season opener for the Warriors last night at Aloha Stadium.
He had as many touchdowns — six — as incompletions, and did not throw an interception.
"To be honest, I didn't really feel like I was throwing the ball all that well," Brennan said. "But I just knew if I read my reads right and put the ball in the right area, I was going to be all right."
Brennan, who broke or tied 41 school records last season, added more to his collection last night, including:
Brennan also tied the school record for most touchdowns in a quarter with four in the first, and most touchdowns in a half with six.
He now has 99 career touchdowns, which is tied for sixth place with former USC quarterback Matt Leinart on the NCAA career list. Former Brigham Young quarterback Ty Detmer is first with 121.
"He's been very sharp through training camp," Hawai'i quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison said. "And if you remember last year, it's not terribly unusual for him to be this sharp. But it is amazing that he was able to put up numbers in one half that most guys would be happy with for a game."
Brennan also solidified his reputation as a team player, connecting with five different teammates for touchdowns.
"That makes us closer as a team," said receiver C.J. Hawthorne, who caught a 30-yard touchdown strike from Brennan in the first quarter. "After a while we were saying to each other, 'It's your turn. Let's get you one.' And when Colt is throwing it like that, you know all you have to do is get to the right spot and he'll find you."
Brennan, a 6-foot-3 senior, had the greatest statistical season for a quarterback in NCAA history last season when he passed for 5,549 yards and set NCAA records with 58 touchdowns and a pass efficiency rating of 186.0.
"Colt will be the first to tell you it's a team effort," Morrison said. "He's in such a good rhythm with his receivers right now, and it really carried over from last year."
Brennan even credited the Hawai'i defense with an assist for last night's performance.
"We've been so frustrated offensively the last few weeks because the defense has just been making us feel like not the reputation we have because they've been so good (in practice)," he said.
Brennan said head coach June Jones told him late in the second quarter that he wouldn't have to play in the second half.
"He told me with like four minutes left," said Brennan, who came out of the locker room for the second half in a T-shirt, shorts and a baseball cap.
"I probably give more freedom to our guys to do that kind of stuff than most coaches," Jones said. "But if (Northern Colorado) made a run at us, he would have been back in there with his uniform on."
Brennan is being promoted by UH as a Heisman Trophy candidate, and several fans at Aloha Stadium were wearing Brennan T-shirts, including one that said "HI's Man."
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.
