HONOLULU, 26 December 2004 — Timmy Chang, the NCAA’s all-time passing leader, threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns and also ran for a score to lead the Hawaii Warriors to a 59-40 victory over the UAB Blazers in the Hawaii Bowl at Aloha Stadium.
Chang finished 31-of-46 and was not intercepted for Hawaii (8-5). Chad Owens caught eight passes for 115 yards and two scores and also had a punt return for a touchdown, while Jason Rivers caught 11 passes for 147 yards and a TD in the victory.
Darrell Hackney completed 31-of-54 passes for 418 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Hackney also ran for a score for UAB (7-5), which was competing in the first bowl game in school history.
Roddy White hauled in six passes for 113 yards and a touchdown in the losing effort.
The Blazers struck first when Hackney hooked up with White, a Third Team All American. White hauled in a pass across the middle and scampered 51 yards to the end zone. The extra point was blocked.
Hawaii came right back and needed just one play to take the lead. Following the kick return, Chang hit Jason Rivers for a rather strange 74-yard touchdown pass. Rivers was pushed out of bounds near the line of scrimmage, but jumped back over the white line into the field of play while simultaneously catching the pass from Chang near his own 40-yard line.
The Blazers’ defense, surprised that the play was not called dead by referees, did not go after Rivers right away, but the play went on and he raced the rest of the way for a score. This extra point was good and Hawaii led by one, 7-6.
Soon after, UAB came back and on its next drive and took a 13-7 lead when Dan Burks ran in from the five-yard line. However, the Warriors responded quickly with a short TD of their own and when West Keliikipi plunged into the end zone from four yards out, Hawaii led 14-13.
The Warriors were not done, though, and just under three minutes later, increased their advantage to 21-13. Chang spotted Gerald Welsh, who took the pass 29 yards into the end zone near the three-minute mark of the opening quarter and Hawaii took the eight-point lead into the second.
A Nick Hayes 22-yard field goal brought the Blazers within 21-16 in the opening stages of the second, but Hawaii answered with a nice TD. With 9:14 to play in the first half, Chang hit Owens on a corner route in the back of the end zone and the Warriors held a 12-point edge.
However, just over three minutes later, at 6:03, Norris Drinkard’s 10-yard scoring run gave the momentum back to the Blazers, who then added another field goal by Hayes minutes later to get within two at 28-26.
However, Chang and Owens once again took over, as their second TD hookup of the night with 11:47 to go in third made it 35-26. Then, over five minutes later, a great punt return by Owens increased the Warrior lead to 42-26. Owens avoided several tacklers and followed his blockers before outrunning the Blazers’ special teams to the end zone.
Following a field goal by Hawaii’s Justin Ayat, the Blazers showed signs of life with a four-yard touchdown run by Hackney that made it 45-33.
But the Warriors were simply too much, as Chang rolled just inside the left-side pylon for another UH touchdown with 9:40 left in regulation to seal it.
UAB scored once more when Hackney hit Lance Rhodes with a 17-yard TD pass with 2:06 to play, before Hawaii ran back the ensuing onsides kick for another touchdown to close out the scoring.
