Colt Brennan Blog

As previously noted, Brennan played his statistically worst game against UGA.  Colt told reporters after that “It was the worst game of my life.” 

A quick look at previous games against ‘BCS conference’ teams tells the story of how comparatively bad it went.  Against Georgia, Colt went 22/38 (58%), for 169 yards, 0TD and 3 INTs.  (As several commentators have pointed out, it’s not all on Colt’s shoulders — to do so neglects credit for the NFL-caliber UGA defensive line, and the problems Hawaii had with its offensive line.)

2007

WASHINGTON
42/50, 84%, 442 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INT

2006 

• 436 yards a game
• 133/184= 72.3% completion rate.
• 12TDs, and 5 picks.

ARIZONA STATE:
33/42, 79%, 559 Yards, 5 TD, 1 INT, 224.9

OREGON STATE:
37/50, 74%, 401 Yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 146.57

PURDUE:
33/48, 69%, 434 Yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, 161.16

ALABAMA:
30/44, 68%, 350 Yards, 2TD, 1INT, 145.46 rating

2005.

• 77/117, 66%
• 290 yards/game
• 6 TDs, 2 INTs

USC
21/32, 65%, 250 Yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 135.3 rating

MICHIGAN STATE
23/31, 74.2%, 219 Yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, 154.8 rating

WISCONSIN
33/54, 61%, 403 Yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, 138.4 rating

Bigger, faster, stronger, better: the Bulldogs of UGA defeated Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl.

Colt’s final line for the night: 22-of-38 for 169 yards, intercepted three times and lost two fumbles. Brennan was sacked 8 times, and hurried at least twice as much.

This fan blog doesn’t need to sugarcoat it: the game was certainly the worst game during his career at the University of Hawaii.

Yet no one can take away the magic of Hawaii’s incredible regular season. And no one can deny the reciprocal love between Brennan and the state of Hawaii. Indeed, despite the drumming by UGA, at the conclusion of the Sugar Bowl, Hawaii’s large number of fans — and, considering the distance traveled, large they were — gave the team a standing ovation.

Numerous articles, both national and local, have noted how much Brennan and the Warriors have meant to the isolated state in the middle of the Pacific. The Star-Bulletin noted that “The impact of UH’s greatest football player ever transcended sports. He is a one-man chamber of commerce and has become the state’s most visible figure.”

Sports figures are mere mortals who excite and inspire. Since his January press conference announcing his senior season return, Colt inspired the state to think of the unthinkable: BCS glory. And while they ultimately came up short, Colt, and all of the Warriors, deserve thanks, praise, and applause for what they’ve done for Hawaii.

PS site note: With Colt’s Hawaii career officially over, this blog will begin to monitor news and analysis about Colt’s draft projections, etc.

The Honolulu Advertiser put the following graphic below tracking Colt’s career.

Note that in roughly the same amount of attempts, Colt has thrown 27 less INTs than Heisman winner Ty Detmer.

Despite throwing only two passes in one game, Colt still continues to rank among the best in the nation statistically.  From the Honolulu Advertiser, Colt is:

No. 2 in total offense (380.60) after Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell (436.25).

Brennan averages 373.20 passing yards per game, second to Harrell at 441.50.

In passing, Brennan is No. 4 with an NCAA statistical point-total of 163.4. Oklahoma’s Corey Bradford is No. 1 at 182.2.

From the Star-Bulletin:

Colt Brennan threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Grice-Mullins with 3:53 left in the first quarter of Hawaii’s game against Boise State today to break the NCAA Division I record with his 122nd career touchdown pass.

He also broke Detmer’s records for points and touchdowns responsible for on the same play.

Brennan had previously been tied with Ty Detmer for the record.

Colt currently has 126 TDs for the season. He went 40 / 53, 495 yards, 5 TDs, 2 INT.

More importantly, though, that near 80% completion rate was against a top 20 team in a conference championship game, not some ‘cupcake.’ Anyone think Colt can’t compete against strong opponents?

Colt’s line in Hawaii’s 50-13 win over New Mexico State:

29/46, 425 yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT.

Brennan now has 119 career touchdowns, and is just 2 shy of tying the all-time career touchdown record held by Ty Detmer.

Next week Brennan and Hawaii are off. After that, they host conference rivals Fresno State.

For the first three quarters of UH’s game against San Jose State, Colt Brennan did not look like a Heisman contender. In the last 5 minutes of the game, Brennan looked like Heisman gold.

In the fourth quarter, the Warriors fell to a 35-21 deficit. Then Hawaii’s defense, and Colt Brennan and the offense, rallied back for a thrilling 42-35 overtime victory.

Colt’s numbers against SJSU were good except for one big number: 4 picks. Overall, Colt completed 44 of a WAC-record 74 passes for 545 yards and four touchdowns.

Colt also broke the 3-season touchdowns responsible for record previously held by Ty Detmer (122).

For the season, Brennan has 10 picks (5 against Idaho, 4 against SJSU, and one against Louisiana Tech). In 2006, he threw 13 picks. The next year, he threw 12 picks. To be invited to New York for the Heisman ceremony, Colt will certainly have to minimize INTs.

Of course, what Brennan will tell you is that there’s a more important number: 7 wins. Hawaii is 7-0. Would Brennan trade an invitation to NY for an invitation to a BCS bowl? Absolutely.

Hawaii will have an extra week (bye) to savor an incredible come-from-behind win that few predicted with five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

In UH’s game against USU, Colt went 19/25 (76%), 216 yards, and 1 TD with no INTs.  Colt was knocked out of the game late in the 2nd quarter and lay on the field injured for a scary few minutes.   

“My (right) ankle got caught when I got tackled, and I sprained it again,” Brennan said. “There’s a sharp pain in a specific spot on my ankle. It’s sore, but it’s part of football.”

After being treated on the sideline for a couple of minutes, Brennan walked gingerly off the field.

According to a post game interview on ESPN 1420 am, Brennan said he will play against San Jose State on Friday and take advantage of the bye week after the game.

Last year, Colt Brennan was a fantasy football stat-machine, setting records for most touchdown passes in a season, passer efficiency, and passing yards over two seasons, among others.  Throughout his three years at Hawaii, Brennan has also minimized turnovers — his career record for INTs in a game was just two.  (Brennan’s predecessor, Timmy Chang, has the career record for most interceptions).

So last night, when the Hawaii Warriors played the Idaho Vandals, we saw a side of Brennan that we’ve never seen before:  a human side.  Indeed, in 3.5 quarters of play, Brennan posted a career high five interceptions.  Through four games (Brennan didn’t play last week), he now has 6 interceptions.

Will this hurt Brennan’s chances at the Heisman?  Certainly it doesn’t help.  But the Heisman is not voted on after week 5.  And Brennan’s TD to INT ratio is still at an impressive 15:6.

The line:  30/49.  369 yards.  3 TD, 5 INTs.  1 rushing TD.

As you probably know, Colt Brennan did not play against Charleston Southern.  Though Colt wanted to play, his ankle was not fully healed and thus, against a Division 1AA opponent, Jones opted to go with backup QB Tyler Graunke.

UH won the game, 66-10.

Despite not playing, Colt still has a strong showing in the national stats leaderboard:

Here’s how Brennan, who sat out with an injured right ankle, ranks:

— Points responsible for: No. 1 at 32.0. No. 2 is Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell at 30.0.

— Total offense: No. 2 at 432 yards per game. No. 1 is Harrell at 485.3.

— Passing (completions per game): No. 2 at 34.33. No. 1 Harrell at 41.50.

— Passing yards per game: No. 3 at 420.67. No. 1 is Harrell at 490.75.

— Passing efficiency: No. 6 at 185.4. No. 1 is Rutgers Mike Teel at 236.7.

— Total passing yards: No. 9 at 1,262. No. 1 is Harrell at 1,963.

Last year, Colt played in 13 regular season games.  This year, he will likely only play in 11 regular season games.

From the Honolulu Advertiser:

BRENNAN NO. 2

Brennan is No. 2 in passing yardage, while the Warriors continued to lead the nation in passing offense in statistics compiled by the NCAA.

Brennan has 1,262 yards (420.67 average) in three games behind Graham Harrell of Texas Tech, who has 1,317 (439.00) in three games. Harrell has thrown for 14 touchdowns, while Brennan has 12.

Hawai’i leads the nation in passing offense with 494.7 yards per game, followed by Texas Tech with 479.3. UH is fifth in total offense with 554 yards per game. Louisville leads with 617 yards per game.

Brennan is No. 1 in points responsible for with 32 per game. He is No. 3 in completions per game with 34.33. Harrell is No. 1 with 40.

Brennan is seventh in passing efficiency with a 185.4 rating. Mike Teel of Rutgers is No. 1 with 236.7. He is No. 2 in total offense with 432.0 yards per game behind Harrell’s 432.7.

Also of note in the story:  Brennan will likely not practice until Wednesday or Thursday to heal his injured ankle.  Colt injured it during a Friday pass and catch with a WR.  Though he is hobbled, Colt is likely to still start against Division 1AA school Charleston Southern.  Don’t expect him to play all four quarters, though.

Colt Brennan’s standard of super-efficiency continued at UNLV, where the Hawaii Warriors defeated the UNLV Rebels 49-14.

Colt’s line:

26-of-32 for 298 yards. 2 passing TDs.

Brennan also ran for 3 TDs.

“Hawaii coach June Jones removed Brennan after three quarters, two yards shy of extending his streak of 14 straight games with at least 300 passing yards.”

At one point in the game, Brennan was 12/13.

Oh yeah — he also played with a leg injury.

Next up for Hawaii — Charleston Southern, a Division 1AA foe. Brennan may get to rest that leg more …

Hawaii pulled a squeaker of a win against WAC opponent Louisiana Tech, 45-44, in overtime.

LTech, an underrated team with a new head coach, drove against Hawaii’s defense and took advantage of numerous Hawaii turnovers.

Colt’s line for the game: 43/61 (70%), 548 passing yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT.

Courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser, Colt, in his last game, broke or tied the following UH records:

Brennan, who broke or tied 41 school records last season, added more to his collection last night, including:

Most passing yards in a half, breaking the old mark of 389 he set against Arizona State in last year’s Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl.

Most completions (31) in a half, breaking the previous mark of 29 set by Tim Chang in 2003.

Most completions in a quarter (19 in the first quarter), topping the old record of 15 held by three other quarterbacks.

Brennan also tied the school record for most touchdowns in a quarter with four in the first, and most touchdowns in a half with six.

He now has 99 career touchdowns, which is tied for sixth place with former USC quarterback Matt Leinart on the NCAA career list. Former Brigham Young quarterback Ty Detmer is first with 121.

UH vs. Northern Colorado.

#23 HAW (1-0) - 63
NCOL (0-1) – 6

Northern Colorado is a struggling team, and it showed on defense and offense.

With that being said, how did Colt fare against one of the worst defenses in Division 1AA?

34/40 = 85%
Pass yards = 416
TD = 6

It should be noted further that Colt played only one half.

With an 85% completion rate, and 6 touchdowns, in college football, it doesn’t get any closer to near-perfect efficiency than that. To be sure, this wasn’t a game against a quality opponent. Yet if Saturday’s games taught us anything, a game against a Division 1AA team is still a college football game. Just ask Chad Henne, who went 19/37 with 1 pick in Michigan’s loss to Appy State.

Next week Hawaii plays WAC opponent Louisiana Tech on the road.