1. Settling In
>> Situation: Hawaii 0, Nevada 0, 11:04 remaining first quarter, Hawaii ball, second-and-5 at Hawaii 14
>> The Play: QB Dru Brown completes a 22-yard pass to WR Ammon Barker.
>> Impact: It was Brown’s first pass as a starter, and he settled into an excellent rhythm on Hawaii’s first drive that ended with K Rigo Sanchez’s 27-yard field goal. Brown completed his first six passes and finished 15 of 18 for 222 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
>> Hawaii offensive tackle RJ Hollis: “Dru wasn’t nervous and was definitely in command out there. I like what I’m seeing from him.”
2. Wrapping Up
>> Situation: Hawaii 3, Nevada 0, 4:22 remaining first quarter, Nevada ball, third-and-3 at Nevada 25
>> The Play: LB Malachi Mageo blitzes and sacks QB Tyler Stewart for an 11-yard loss.
>> Impact: After a first series where Hawaii yielded a 55-yard run to RB James Butler but was saved in the red zone by Nevada mistakes, the defense regrouped with a three-and-out that also featured a solid tackle on second down by LB Russell Williams, Jr., who led Hawaii with 12 stops.
>> Williams: “We put on the pressure.”
3. Di-awesome-y
>> Situation: Hawaii 3, Nevada 0, 8:58 remaining second quarter, Hawaii ball, second-and-10 at Nevada 30
>> The Play: RB Diocemy Saint Juste sweeps right, and behind a key block by pulling LG Leo Koloamatangi, blasts for 26 yards to the Nevada 4.
>> Impact: On the next play RB Steven Lakalaka carried for a 4-yard touchdown. Hawaii rushed for 344 yards, including a career-high 205 for Saint Juste.
>> Saint Juste: “I feel like with the O-line we have now, we have a very good chance to be a successful ground team.”
4. Snag
>> Situation: Hawaii 10, Nevada 3, 0:48 remaining second quarter, Hawaii ball, first-and-10 at Nevada 16
>> The Play: Brown rolls to his right and lofts a pass to the back of the end zone, over the outstretched arm of LB Jaden Sawyer. TE Tui ‘Unga catches the ball one-handed.
>> Impact: Brown’s first career Division I touchdown pass allowed Hawaii to go into halftime with a 14-point lead.
>> Brown: “Tui made a great play. I tried to throw it up and let him do what he does.”
5. Final Nail
>> Situation: Hawaii 31, Nevada 3, 4:09 remaining third quarter, Nevada ball, fourth-and-7 at Hawaii 41.
>> The Play: Stewart’s pass falls incomplete amid a crowd of several players from both teams, turning the ball over to Hawaii.
>> Impact: This was Nevada’s last real chance to get back into the game, especially since it failed to stop Hawaii on the ensuing drive, which culminated with a 1-yard touchdown run by RB Kaiwi Chung with 1:02 left in the third quarter.
>> Nevada coach Brian Polian: “Clearly they had more juice tonight than we did, by a lot.”
