Playing without its best player, Hawai'i overcame a nervous start to make the right plays at the right time for a 66-10 football rout of undermanned Charleston Southern last night at Aloha Stadium.

With quarterback Colt Brennan on the sideline with a not-yet-healed sprained right ankle, the Warriors turned to understudy Tyler Graunke and a redesigned defense to improve to 4-0. UH intercepted three passes — linebacker Adam Leonard returned one 36 yards for a touchdown — forced a fumble, and kept the Buccaneer quarterbacks scrambling. And the special teams added a kickoff return for a score.

The Buccaneers, a Division I-AA team that is allowed 22 fewer scholarships than the Warriors, fell to 1-3.

After an admittedly "shaky" start — in which a vocal section of the 34,101 fans jeered and chanted "We want Colt!" — Graunke found his comfort zone, finishing 22 of 36 for 285 yards and three touchdowns. He also scored on a 6-yard scramble.

By the time he exited at the end of the third quarter, with the 59-point favorite Warriors comfortably ahead, 49-10, Graunke had converted the disgruntled.

"That's cool," Graunke said of the early catcalls. "As long as I win them back. I know these people will have my back. When I'm not doing good, I expect them to let me know. I've got their back as long as they've got mine."

Graunke's biggest supporter was Brennan, who did not practice in the week leading to the game.

On Friday, head coach June Jones told reporters that Brennan, who had been on crutches and then in a shin-high medical boot, would start. But that night, he summoned Graunke, privately announcing him as the starter.

"(Jones) was quick to the point," Graunke said. "He told me I was going to play. I got myself ready."

Brennan, though, had held out hope.

"I was questionable because we didn't know how my ankle was going to heal up," said Brennan, noting the swelling and pain had subsided when he woke up yesterday morning.

"It felt good, and I could have played," Brennan said. "But coach Jones said there was no reason to use me and get that ankle any worse."

Brennan threw passes during pre-game warmups, and had lobbied by running sprints behind the UH bench.

"I don't know if it was more stressful playing or sitting out," Brennan said.

Instead, he helped flash signals to Graunke.

Graunke struggled through most of the first half, when he was intercepted twice and had communication breakdowns with receivers a few times.

"He was a little rusty at first," Brennan said. "He needed to get comfortable, and he did, and it was all good from there. He's a veteran. He needed to keep his nerves settled. But he knows the offense, and he's a great quarterback, we knew he would be all right."

Graunke said: "I settled down finally. I followed my reads. I was a little shaky at first, but I expected that. I didn't expect to come out and be Colt or anything. I wasn't trying to be. I was trying to be myself. I settled down and worked the offense."

Kealoha Pilares' 16-yard, zig-zagging run gave the Warriors a 14-7 lead they would not relinquish. Pilares ran right on a long-trap play, cut upfield, stopped as a defensive back sped past, and glided into the end zone.

"That's from practicing on the video games," Pilares said. "You see that on the video games, and you go out there and try to mimic it."

After that, the UH defense seized control.

After driving to the UH 12, the Buccaneers attempted a hook-and-ladder play. Tim Jones caught a pass, then tried to lateral to a trailing back. But the pitch landed on the ground, and was scooped by safety Jacob Patek.

"I thought I had a touchdown," said Patek, who was tackled after nine yards. "I saw the guy in the corner of my eye. I tried to stop, to do a little Reggie Bush thing, but I'm not that athletic."

Later, safety Desmond Thomas intercepted Eli Byrd and returned the ball 27 yards to the CSU, leading to Graunke's 6-yard run for a 21-7 lead.

"We needed a turnover," Thomas said. "Our offense was doing good, but they had a slow start. Our defense needed some turnovers, and that jump-started it. It was like an avalanche."

Against an opponent that employs a no-huddle, spread offense, the Warriors unveiled their 45 defense, which resembles a nickel defense except the four starting defensive linemen are not replaced by speed-rushers. In this scheme, Thomas enters as a safety, replacing linebacker Brad Kalilimoku, and safety Keao Monteilh becomes the nickelback aligned as a linebacker.

"It's a different role for me," Monteilh said "We have a feel of what linebackers go through, trying to read and take on blocks. I can't complain. I know what they go through."

When the Warriors took a sizeable lead, forcing the Buccaneers into passing situations, they went to their revised nickel defense. Ryan Mouton became the nickelback, defending the inside receivers, and four pass-rushers — David Veikune, Amani Purcell, Francis Maka and John Fonoti — formed the defensive line.

"It put speed on the field, and that makes a difference," defensive coordinator Greg McMackin said.

The Warriors broke open the game in the second half without the offense taking the field.

Mouton took the opening kickoff on the left side, at the 10, followed the wedge and sprinted the remaining distance for a touchdown.

"I'm always one block away," Mouton said. "I got that block."

Unfortunately, Mouton later suffered a possible knee injury.

Soon after, Leonard scored on his interception return. He dived the final yard.

"At the end of the day, when you see the end zone so close, you don't want anything to stop you," Leonard said. "That was just my will."

After that, Graunke threw scoring passes of 19 yards to Davone Bess and 35 yards to C.J. Hawthorne, and the suspense was over.

"I was proud of the guys," McMackin said. "We needed to make plays, and they made plays."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.