Southwick leads Boise State in win over Hawaii
HONOLULU (AP) Joe Southwick threw three touchdowns, backup quarterback Grant Hedrick rushed for another and Boise State easily beat Hawaii 49-14 on Saturday.
Southwick threw for 209 yards, including touchdowns to Matt Miller, Aaron Burks and Holden Huff in a game the Broncos hoped for a bounce-back win after dropping out of the AP Top 25.
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Hedrick replaced Southwick in the fourth quarter, well after the game was decided. He led the Broncos (8-2, 5-1 Mountain West) on a 56-yard drive of more than 9 minutes, capping it off with a 4-yard touchdown run.
Jay Ajayi and Shane Williams-Rhodes each added rushing touchdowns and Boise State's defense also scored on a 25-yard fumble recovery.
Boise State was looking to recover from a bitter home loss last week to San Diego State, an upset that thwarted the Broncos' hopes of reaching a BCS bowl game this year.
In Honolulu, Boise State made sure the game's outcome was rarely in doubt. The Broncos defense finished with six sacks, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions. The sacks pushed down Hawaii's rushing total to -14 for the game.
Hawaii (1-8, 0-6) had its best play on special teams, with Mike Edwards returning a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 in the first quarter.
Quarterback Sean Schroeder of Hawaii was benched midway through the third quarter. He finished with 100 yards and an interception, while taking four sacks.
A crowd generously announced at just over 24,000 - including many orange shirt-wearing Broncos fans - cheered loudest when Schroeder was pulled from the game with roughly six minutes left in the third quarter. His backup, sophomore Jeremy Higgins, went on to complete one more pass, with 154 yards and an interception.
Higgins led the Warriors on their only offensive scoring drive of the game, a 10-play, 72-yard drive resulting in a 1-yard touchdown run for John Lister.
Will Gregory, who picked Hawaii over Boise State because he wanted to play running back instead of defense, was ejected in the first quarter for throwing a punch at an opposing player after a kickoff.