Quarterback Michael Carter shredded Wyoming's defense for 214 yards and two touchdowns as Hawaii beat the Cowboys 32-17 in the Western Athletic Conference on Saturday.
Carter adroitly maneuvered Hawaii up and down the field with the triple option, but the Rainbows used trickery to seal the outcome after Wyoming had cut it to 19-17 on Sean Fleming's 45-yard field goal with 6:53 to play.Hawaii, forced to punt when a drive bogged down at the Wyoming 40, had Winston Haynes' kick negated by offsetting penalties. When he took the snap for a second attempt, Haynes tucked the ball under his arm and ran 23 yards for a first down at the Wyoming 20.
On the next play Carter, a sophomore making his first start, went around right end for the TD that put the Rainbows ahead 25-17.
Another special teams breakdown, on the ensuing kickoff, doomed the Cowboys. Hawaii's Neil Voskeritchian lofted a high, short kick that the Rainbows covered on the Wyoming 40 and eight plays later Jamal Farmer ran five yards for a touchdown.
Wyoming, making its debut under coach Joe Tiller, jumped ahead 7-0 in the first quarter on Dwight Driver's 34-yard run. But fumbles finished the next two drives and set up Hawaii scores.
Quarterback Tom Corontzos, operating from the shotgun formation, lost the ball at the Hawaii 37. The Rainbows drove 63 yards, with Carter running the last five for a 10-7 Hawaii lead.
Following the kickoff Wyoming moved to the Hawaii 26, where Driver's fumble was recovered by safety Tony Pang-Kee. Hawaii drove to a 21-yard field goal by Jason Elam.
Wyoming's luck changed after the kickoff when Corontzos hit Robert Rivers on the left sideline on first down from his own 25. Hawaii's Joe Sardo missed a tackle at the 50 and Rivers was untouched the rest of the way in giving the Cowboys a 14-13 lead.
A school-record 55-yard field goal by Elam with 25 seconds left in the half put the Rainbows back on top 16-14, and his 25-yarder with 7:10 left in the third quarter made it 19-14.
Colo. St. 38, Arkansas St. 24
At Fort Collins, Colo., Kevin Verdugo threw for two touchdowns and Brian Copeland ran for two more, powering Colorado State to a season-opening triumph over Arkansas State.
The Rams, posting their eighth straight victory at home, used a ground-oriented ball-control attack to forge a 28-7 halftime lead.
Both teams staged long scoring drives to start the game, the Rams going 80 yards in 12 plays and the Indians 78 yards in seven plays.
UTEP 35, New Mexico 19
At El Paso, Texas, sophomore fullback Patrick Bailey ran for 115 yards and scored twice and Texas-El Paso gained 349 ground yards to boost the Miners to a Western Athletic Conference decision over New Mexico.
Texas-El Paso quarterback Mike Perez contributed 140 passing yards and one touchdown in addition to running for 43 yards before giving way to backup Shawn Gray, who led the Miners to scores on two of the four possessions in which he played.
Big West
Sacramento St. 43, Pacific 40
At Stockton, Calif., Jim Crouch hit a 47-yard field goal with 5:27 left Saturday, lifting Division II Sacramento State to a 43-40 upset of the University of Pacific in both squads regular season opener.
The Hornets were paced by running back Troy Mills, who picked up 193 yards on 27 carries and scored one touchdown. Quarterback Randy Payne hit on 9 of 10 pass attempts, with two of his completions going for touchdowns.
Miss. St. 47, CS-Fullerton 3
At Starkville, Miss., fullbacks William Prince and Michael Davis each scored two touchdowns and a quarterback named Sleepy ignited the Mississippi State offense as the Bulldogs defeated Cal State Fullerton.
Prince ran for 56 yards on eight carries, including touchdown runs of 1 and 3 yards as MSU won its first game under coach Jackie Sherrill.
Big Sky
N. Arizona 22, E. New Mexico 15
At Flagstaff, Ariz., Charles McKinzie scored on a 1-yard plunge with 5:34 left as Northern Arizona defeated Eastern New Mexico in the season opener for both teams.
Montana St. 30, Minn.-Duluth 14
At Bozeman, Mont., senior Joe Volek passed for 311 yards and two touchdowns to lead Montana State to a non-conference victory over Minnesota-Duluth in the season opener for both teams.