2016 Hawaii Bowl final score: Hawaii beats MTSU with lots of offense and a fake punt

Hawaii beat Middle Tennessee in the Hawaii Bowl on Saturday in Honolulu. The final score was 52-35, Rainbow Warriors. The Blue Raiders scored the game’s first 14 points, but a Hawaiian onslaught followed, and by the time the fourth quarter neared, the ‘Bows were running outlandish fake punts with a 10-point lead and converting them.

If anyone tells me they’ve seen anything like what Hawaii pulled with its Snap The Ball Way Over The Punter’s Head To a Receiver And Have Him Throw For A First Down routine, I’ll have a hard time believing it. That set up a Hawaii touchdown, by the way.

The game turned on Middle Tennessee rapidly. What had been a 14-0 Blue Raider lead after just more than five minutes became a tie by the end of the first quarter. UH got up 35-21 by halftime, and then raced to the finish at Aloha Stadium.

This was an absolute barnburner, as bowl games should be. But the barnburner involved Hawaii scoring more than Middle Tennessee, and the ‘Bows won without drama in the end. They were able to coast to the finish, more or less.

Hawaii quarterback Dru Brown completed 20 of 30 passes for 274 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. On 12 carries, running back I’Tavius Mathers had 57 yards and a touchdown.

Middle Tennessee quarterback Brent Stockstill returned after missing the last three games of the regular season. Stockstill couldn’t get the Blue Raiders over the top, but he had a strong game: 30-of-51 passing for 432 yards, four scores, and two picks.

And it was the seventh version of the game to include the Rainbow Warriors. When Hawaii qualifies for a bowl game and doesn’t get to the Playoff (or the BCS before that), the Hawaii Bowl is obligated to offer UH a bid. Seven of the Rainbow Warriors’ last eight bowl appearances have been in this exact event, with the holdout being a 2007 bid to the Sugar Bowl. They’ve gotten used to bowling on their home field.

The Rainbow Warriors had a nice comeback season under first-year head coach Nick Rolovich. Having not qualified for a bowl since 2010, Rolovich got them back to one right away, and on the heels of an 8-30 mark over the last three years under Norm Chow. Hawaii isn’t a Mountain West contender yet, but things look a lot better than they did a year ago. That’s a credit to Rolovich.

Middle Tennessee was playing in a sixth bowl in coach Rick Stockstill’s 11 years leading the program. The Blue Raiders finished two games back of Western Kentucky and Old Dominion in the Conference USA East, but they had some moments this year. The best was probably a 51-45 win against Missouri in October. Also, they got to spend Christmas Eve in Hawaii playing football, so things could be a lot worse, despite the loss.