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An afternoon of otherwise dismal numbers for Hawaii overshadowed Paul Harris’ most productive game of the season.
With Diocemy Saint Juste out of action due to injury, Harris picked up the bulk of the rushing load and finished with 145 yards on 14 carries in Hawaii’s 52-16 loss to No. 24 Boise State at Aloha Stadium.
Harris averaged 10.4 yards per attempt and provided one of UH’s few offensive sparks in the rout with his seventh 100-yard game of his two-year UH career. His 39-yard burst early in the fourth quarter highlighted a drive capped by Dru Brown’s 5-yard touchdown pass to John Ursua, ending UH’s seven-quarter drought without a touchdown.
UH gained 142 of its 359 total yards in the fourth quarter. The outcome was well out of reach by then and the Broncos finished with 603 yards.
Sanchez stays perfect
Rigo Sanchez connected on all three of his field-goal attempts to remain perfect in his senior season.
He improved to 11-for-11 on field goals this season with the highest total of his career and is 35-for-35 on extra-point attempts.
He also averaged 49.5 yards on four punts, with a long of 56 yards.
UH falls behind again
UH again found itself fighting uphill after surrendering a touchdown on an opponent’s opening possession for the fourth straight game.
Boise State’s scoring drive was both the longest and the quickest of the streak, with the Broncos covering 84 yards in five plays in the game’s first 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Jeremy McNichols picked up 38 yards on third down and Brett Rypien completed a 35-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Sperbeck.
McNichols scored on a 36-yard run on Boise State’s second drive and the Broncos averaged 15.4 yards per play on the first two possessions.
“I think we had a good plan coming in and we had a great week of practice and that helped a lot and just came and we started fast as we usually do,” said Rypien, who has completed 37 of 47 pass attempts (78.7 percent) for 654 yards and seven touchdowns and no interceptions against UH the past two years.
Broncos bounce back in Hawaii
Boise State extended its winning streak against Hawaii while making amends for its previous appearance at Aloha Stadium.
Boise State lost to Oregon State 38-23 in the 2013 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl but had no such trouble on Saturday in picking up its sixth straight win in the series, winning those games by an aggregate score of 279-53.
Up Next: at Fresno State
The Rainbow Warriors embark on their final road trip of the season to face a spiraling Fresno State team.
The Bulldogs (1-9, 0-6 MWC) had a bye this week and announced the hiring of Jeff Tedford as a permanent replacement for Tim DeRuyter, who was fired in October after a 1-7 start.
UH hasn’t beaten the Bulldogs since a 49-27 win in Fresno in 2010.
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