BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Kellen Moore threw three touchdown passes and cornerback Brandyn Thompson had three interceptions to lead No. 15 Boise State to a 27-7 victory over Hawaii on Friday night.
The Broncos (6-0, 2-0 Western Athletic Conference) intercepted Hawaii's Inoke Funaki five times, turning three of them into 17 second-half points that put the game away.
The Broncos' smothering defense pressured Funaki all night, sacking him five times and holding the Warriors (3-4, 2-2) to just 288 total yards.
Moore finished 25-of-34 for 256 yards. The left-hander's three touchdown passes gave him 16 on the season and 11 over the last four games.
The victory was Boise State's 17th straight at home and avenged a bitter loss to the Warriors last year that cost them the WAC title. Hawaii, led by standout quarterback Colt Brennan, beat the Broncos 39-27 in the regular season finale in Honolulu, snapping Boise State's string of five consecutive conference titles.
Boise State had 367 total yards Friday, 111 on the ground by its corps of three tailbacks.
The Broncos took control in the third quarter when Thompson and safety Jeron Johnson intercepted Funaki on Hawaii's first two possessions, both times returning the ball into Boise State territory. The turnovers shifted momentum in a game that the Broncos led 10-7 at halftime and was statistically even.
On Hawaii's opening possession in the third quarter, Thompson stepped in front of an errant throw by Funaki and returned it to the Warriors 46-yard line. The Broncos scored six plays later when Moore tossed a 12-yard pass to Julian Hawkins to make it 17-7.
After the kickoff, Funaki, under pressure, overthrew his target and the pass was picked off by Johnson, who returned it to the Warriors 41.
Moore, a redshirt freshman, wasted little time making the Warriors pay when he capped a six-play drive by throwing a 16-yard pass to Austin Pettis that put Boise State ahead 24-7.
Early in the fourth quarter, Thompson again picked off Funaki at the Warriors 31. The Broncos' offense sputtered, but Kyle Brotzman kicked a 43-yard field goal.
Funaki was 17-of-34 for 188 yards and the Warriors had 56 yards rushing on 35 carries.
Hawaii, which has never won in Boise, scored in the second quarter after Boise State tight end Kyle Efaw coughed up the ball at the Warriors 46. Five plays later, Daniel Libre scored on a 3-yard run to make it 10-7.
The Warriors recovered a fumbled snap on the ensuing possession, notching their 12th takeaway in the last three games. But the drive ended when Thompson made the first of his three interceptions.
Boise State held at least a share of the title for five years until Hawaii snatched it away last year with a victory over the Broncos to cap a perfect WAC run. After the Broncos avenged the loss at Aloha Stadium, the Warriors were resigned to crossing out the top line of their three-item list of targets with retaining the WAC title apparently out of reach.
"We have two more goals - we want to graduate 100 percent of our players and we want to go to a bowl game," said McMackin, who conceded "it would take a miracle" for the Warriors to get back in title contention.
"We have six games and we have to win four of them. That's what our goal is. Hopefully we win all of them."
Hawaii quarterback Inoke Funaki, whose ability to avoid costly turnovers sparked the Warriors' wins the previous two weeks, tied a school record with five interceptions, three by cornerback Brandyn Thompson.
Funaki said Boise State's pressure contributed to the turnovers, "but you can't make that the excuse," he said. "You still have to take care of the ball."
By TODD DVORAK
