ASU, OSU, Purdue, MSU

Steven Bohner of The Web Devil, an online version of an ASU campus paper, has an article about ASU playing in the Hawaii Bowl.

In its three-year existence, the Hawaii Bowl has been relatively high scoring with an average of 90.5 total points on the board per game.

This year's version promises to be no different, as No. 24 Hawaii (10-2, 7-1) brings the nation's top offense to the table.

Hawaii junior quarterback Colt Brennan leads college football's highest-scoring offense (48.6 points per game) with the league's best passer rating (186.68) and most passing yards (4589).

Brennan has also thrown for 51 touchdowns this season.

"I've seen them play a few times," Miller said. "They're gonna throw the ball a lot and they have a good quarterback, so I think its gonna be pretty high scoring. [It's our] third bowl game in a row; hopefully we'll make it three wins in a row."

After starting 1-2 this year with losses to Alabama and Boise State, Hawaii has won its last nine games, though the streak has come against Purdue, Eastern Illinois and a plethora of unranked WAC opponents.

Slight dig at Hawaii, but I find it hilarious that Purdue is lumped in with Eastern Illinois. Leroy Bridges of The Exponent, a Purdue campus paper, would probably sort of agree with that statement, as he puts down his own team in order to put down Hawaii's celebration of it's victory over Purdue.

Hawaii's fans and its football team think Purdue (8-5, 5-3 Big Ten) won the Big Ten this season. Sure, the Boilers finished tied in fourth place, but they are a middle of the road Big Ten team. Following Saturday's game the Warriors drenched coach June Jones with a bucket of water.

Now, come on. Those celebrations are typically reserved for conference championships or national titles, not non-conference wins at home.

Now, come on. It was a great come-from-behind win for UH, and June Jones tied Dick Tomey's school mark for career wins. Cannot celebrate? Anyway, on to Oregon State. Jim Beseda of The Oregonian has a good preview of Saturday's game.

Sabby Piscitelli, the Beavers' senior strong safety and co-captain, said the game in many respects revolves around pride, especially for the 11 players on Oregon State's roster from Hawaii.

"A couple of the Hawaii players have said to me, 'I don't want to go home if we don't win this game,' " Piscitelli said. "It's a business trip. We've got to go there and take care of business."

The Warriors (10-2, 7-3 Western Athletic Conference) have won nine consecutive games behind coach June Jones' run-and-shoot offense, averaging 48.6 points and 553.8 yards per game.

"It's probably one of the most efficient offenses I've seen," Piscitelli said. "They are just so technically sound. They don't do anything out of the ordinary, but everybody on the field knows exactly what they're doing . . . and they execute to a 'T.' "

Warriors quarterback Colt Brennan has completed 336 of 467 passes for 4,589 yards and 51 touchdowns -- three shy of tying the NCAA Division I record set by Houston's David Klingler in 1990.

"I'm happy that we get to pass rush the whole game," OSU defensive tackle Ben Siegert said. "If they're going to throw 90 percent of the game, maybe we can get some stats, you know."

You hear that, Samson?

Kiyomi Ueda of Ka Leo O Hawaii writes a profile of senior offensive lineman Dane Uperesa. You heard what that guy said, Dane?

Chadd Cripe of the Idaho Statesman writes that WAC coaches are gonna have a hard time deciding between Ian Johnson and Colt Brennan in voting for the WAC Offensive Player of the Year.

"I don't know if they've ever had Co-Offensive Players of the Year, but good luck trying to choose between those two guys because they're both justfantastic," Louisiana Tech coach Jack Bicknell said. "I'm giving 'em a tie if I can."

Coaches will vote on the All-WAC teams, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year this weekend.

Winners will be announced Monday.

...

Most coaches didn't want to give a preference this week, but those who did favored Brennan.

"What Colt has done goes back in the history of college football," San Jose State coach Dick Tomey said. "Plus, what he's added to their offense is a toughness and an accuracy and an ability to run the ball that they haven't hadbefore."

Both players have generated Heisman buzz.

Johnson is fifth in the Heisman rankings at CBSSportsLine.com and 11th at ESPN.com. Brennan is second at CBS and fourth at ESPN.

Whoever wins is very deserving. Ian Johnson, coming back from that collapsed lung and having a big game against Nevada was huge. But you cannot deny Colt's awesome season!

And finally, it's good to hear that Young Cody, aka Jack Rolovich is doing well at Montana State.

On Saturday afternoon, the Bobcats take on top-ranked Appalachian State in a quarterfinal game of the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly called I-AA). While a victory would be noteworthy in a memorable campaign for MSU fans, in the mind of Rolovich it's already been a season to savor.

"It's just really rewarding for me," said Rolovich, who transferred to Montana State last spring from Hawaii. "To make a big change like I did — it was probably the biggest decision I've ever made in my life — and it's really rewarding to see how far I've come."

Rolovich passed for 272 yards and two scores last week in MSU's 31-13 victory over Furman, the Bobcats' first playoff triumph in 22 years. He will probably need to produce similar numbers Saturday in Boone, N.C., if the 18th-ranked Cats are to advance.