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ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥'s win marked the first victory for the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ since their 27-3 win over Houston in November.

It's the first time ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ won a nonconference game without surrendering a touchdown since its 38-3 win over Northern ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ in 2023. 

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ extended its season-opening winning streak to four games. Brent Brennan becomes the first ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ head coach to win their first two season openers since Rich Rodriguez in 2012 and '13. 

"When I think about this game tonight, the way I'm going to measure success is redline," Brennan said. "We talk about redline a lot and you guys have heard me talk about it, but I think for us, that's defined simply by effort, execution and accountability. On the effort side, we played really hard. I think that was visible. Sure, there were mistakes, but we played hard in all three phases. 

"The execution piece, I think we have a little bit of work to do. I'm excited to look at this film, go to work and we'll be accountable for what we want it to be and the level we want it to be at. But at the end of the day, this was a win for our football team, it was a win for our fans and it was a great night at ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Stadium. ... It was a really, really special night at ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Stadium." 

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ scored four rushing touchdowns, the most in a game since scoring four against New Mexico last season. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ junior running back Kedrick Reescano scored the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥' first points of the season with a 13-yard touchdown run, which was new offensive coordinator Seth Doege's first drive as the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥' play-caller. 

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥'s defense was the most notable unit of the night, with five takeaways — the most since the Alamo Bowl in 2023 — and five sacks, the most since its triple-overtime loss to USC in '23. Linebacker Chase Kennedy and defensive lineman Julian Savaiinaea each had fumble recoveries, while linebacker Taye Brown and Gavin Hunter each came up with their first-career interceptions. Backup safety Jack Luttrell, who tied Genesis Smith for the most interceptions (3) last season, grabbed his interception with just under two minutes left.  

Hawaii's second-half drives ended in punt, punt, interception, turnover on downs, fumble, interception and interception. 

Despite Hawaii dominating time of possession, 35:44-24:16, the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ had more offensive yards, 334-290. Hawaii ran 76 plays, while ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ only had 56. The ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ averaged 6.1 yards per play; Hawaii averaged 3.8. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ was also a perfect 5 of 5 in the red zone and produced 24 points off turnovers. 

Turning Point

With ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ ahead 7-3 early in the second quarter, Portland State transfer running back Quincy Craig took his first rushing attempt as a Wildcat 54 yards for a touchdown.

The ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ outscored Hawaii 33-3 to end the game. 

Offensive MVP

Even though quarterback Noah Fifita showed signs of improvement as a runner, especially with a first-down pickup on fourth-and-2 and a 10-yard rushing touchdown, his first since the West Virginia game last season, the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥' top offensive performer was Craig, who ended with 125 rushing yards and a touchdown on seven carries, the most since his 137-yard, three-touchdown outing against Northern Colorado.  

Defensive MVP

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ junior linebacker Taye Brown had the second-most tackles (6) on Saturday. Brown's interception was Hawaii quarterback Micah Alejado's first interception since he was a junior at Bishop Gorman High School (Nevada) in 2022.  

Unsung Hero

This one is a special teams two-fer. 

Punt returner Jeremiah Patterson, who averaged 5.6 yards per return last season, returned the opening punt 41 yards to the Hawaii 47-yard line. Following Patterson's return, the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ put together a four-play touchdown drive over 1:21 that was capped by Reescano's touchdown run.  

Sophomore kicker Michael Salgado-Medina, in his first start as Tyler Loop's successor at placekicker, was 2-for-2 kicking field goals and made them 35 and 52 yards out. 

Injury Report

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ had several players held out for injuries. The most notable absences: defensive back Treydan Stukes, Washington State transfer wide receiver Kris Hutson, tight end Keyan Burnett, linebacker Riley Wilson and cornerback Marquis Groves-Killebrew. Stukes is still recovering from a knee injury he suffered in ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥'s Big 12 opener against Utah last September.

In place of Stukes, Hunter made his first-career start for the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥. Hunter's father, Alfred Hunter, played for the Rainbow Warriors in the 1990s. 

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ offensive lineman Rhino Tapa'atoutai dressed out and was active, but didn't play. Tapa'atoutai suffered a knee injury against Colorado in October and missed the second half of the 2024 season. 

Tight end Tyler Powell limped off the field after the first play and missed the remainder of the game. Powell was seen on the sideline with a leg brace and a crutch. With Powell and Burnett sidelined, Sam Olson played a lion's share of the snaps at tight end.

Alejado, who suffered an ankle injury last week against Stanford, left in the second half and was replaced by backup Luke Weaver, who threw for 66 yards and two interceptions.  

What’s Next

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ (1-0) will face the Weber State ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ (0-1), which lost to James Madison 45-10 on Saturday. The battle of the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ at ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Stadium is on Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.