Hawaii rallies to beat Middle Tennessee 52-35 in Hawaii Bowl

HONOLULU – Dru Brown threw for 274 yards and four touchdowns and Hawaii overcame an early deficit to beat Middle Tennessee 52-35 in the Hawaii Bowl on Saturday night.

The Rainbow Warriors (7-7) amassed 500 yards of total offense and their highest-scoring output this season to end the year on a three-game winning streak.

Brown completed 20 of 30 passes without an interception. He had a 2-yard touchdown run and was sacked just once.

Tight end Metuisela Unga caught two of Brown’s scoring strikes, an 18-yarder in the first quarter for Hawaii’s first score and a 12-yarder late in the third.

Diocemy Saint Juste ran for 170 yards on 25 carries.

Hawaii turned three Middle Tennessee turnovers into 21 points. It fell behind 14-0 just over 5 minutes into the game, but scored the next 28 points and never relinquished the lead.

Brent Stockstill started at quarterback for the Blue Raiders (8-5) after missing the last three games with a broken collarbone. He finished 30 of 51 passing for 432 yards. Stockstill threw four touchdown passes – two to Richie James – and was intercepted twice.

James caught nine passes for 175 yards. It was his 14th game of 100 or more receiving yards in his career. Middle Tennessee posted 542 yards of total offense.

Hawaii took a 35-21 lead into halftime.

The Blue Raiders have now lost their last four bowl games. It was their 10th appearance in a bowl game in program history and the sixth in the FBS era. Their last postseason win came in the 2009 New Orleans Bowl, when they defeated Southern Miss 42-32.

Hawaii improved to 6-5 overall in bowl games and 4-3 in the Hawaii Bowl in their first postseason appearance since losing to Tulsa 62-35 in the 2010 Hawaii Bowl. It is their first bowl win since beating Arizona State 41-24 in the 2006 edition of the Hawaii Bowl.