If this was quarterback Cole McDonald’s last appearance in a University of Hawaii uniform, then it was an exit for the ages.

Battling the clock and a Brigham Young defense that was pitching a second-half shutout, McDonald determinedly drove the Rainbow Warriors 71 yards in just four plays and 44 seconds, producing the game-winning touchdown on a 24-yard pass to Nick Mardner with 1 minute, 17 seconds left in a 38-34 Hawaii Bowl triumph.

The rousing conclusion to the ’Bows’ longest game of the season — 3 hours, 58 minutes — set the Hawaii faithful in a gathering of 19,539 to a foot-stomping frenzy that caused portions of the upper deck of aging Aloha Stadium to shake like days and UH-BYU games of old.

It took every yard of McDonald’s career-best 493-yards, four touchdown passes and a scoring run in an MVP performance to help deliver the Rainbow Warriors’ first 10-win season (10-5) since 2010 (10-4) and first victory over long-time nemesis BYU since 2001. The Cougars had won 11 of the previous 12 meetings, including a 49-23 beatdown of the ’Bows in 2018 in Provo, Utah.

The last time somebody passed for more yards than that in a Hawaii Bowl was 2006, when UH’s Colt Brennan amassed a school-record 559 yards and five touchdowns in a 41-24 drubbing of Arizona State.

After much drama and speculation, Brennan gained icon status, announcing he would forego an early shot at the NFL Draft to return to UH for his senior season and what became an undefeated regular season run-up to the Sugar Bowl.

Now, we wait to see what McDonald, a redshirt junior, might decide and what that could mean for the ’Bows in 2020. To date he has given little indication of whether he will return for a senior season or opt for an early departure, preferring to concentrate on the season at hand.

After accumulating a tower of lei, posing for photos and shaking hands with fans in the stands on the way to the locker room Tuesday night, McDonald told the media he will return home to La Mirada, Calif., to talk with his family, pray and come up with a decision on his future.

If he does leave, it will be on the wings of a season in which he has thrown for 4,135 yards and 33 touchdowns, ranking among the nation’s top 20 passers in at least six categories and helping three receivers — Jared Smart, Cedric Byrd II and Jojo Ward — top 1,000 yards in receptions. They are feats made more remarkable by the fact he did not play at all against San Jose State and was replaced for significant playing time in three other games by Chevan Cordeiro.

Cordeiro saw one series of relief action Tuesday night before McDonald returned.

There has been considerable speculation about whether McDonald, who is an NFL prototype 6 feet, 4 inches and 200 pounds, will request an assessment from the NFL and what it would take for him enter his name for consideration in the draft.

For much of the ’Bows’ record 15th game of the season, though, McDonald definitely looked the part of pro potential.

He threaded the needle on first-quarter touchdown passes to Jared Smart of 7 and 40 yards and completed 11 of his first 13 passes for 199 yards in the first quarter. He ran for a second-quarter touchdown and passed 18 yards to Jason-Matthew Sharsh for second-quarter scores on the way to a 31-24 halftime lead.

But McDonald and the Warriors were unable to score in the third quarter and well into the fourth.

Trailing 34-31 and with UH bogged down at the BYU 39-yard line on fourth down and 23 yards to go with 4 minutes, 14 seconds remaining, the decision to punt was roundly booed by Rainbow Warriors fans.

But a defense that came up with some timely stops and two Khoury Bethley interceptions, gave Hawaii one chance forcing BYU to punt.

With the game on the line and the clocking clicking down, McDonald methodically set to work. He completed three of four passes, the last two of 38 and 24 yards to Mardner for the go-ahead score.

If that is to be McDonald’s final act as a Warrior, then it will be one long remembered, especially when UH-BYU games are recalled.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewisd@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.