ASSOCIATED PRESS Nevada linebacker Jerome Johnson tackled Hawaii quarterback Tyler Graunke during last night's game in Reno, Nev. The Wolf Pack couldn't stop the Warriors down the stretch, however, as Graunke, who finished 33 of 46 for 358 yards, led a game-winning drive, capped by Dan Kelly's 45-yard field goal.

Kelly gives Nevada the boot

Kelly's late FG and Graunke's heroics preserve the dream

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RENO, Nev. » Who needs a Heisman Trophy candidate?

The Warriors did it almost exclusively without star quarterback Colt Brennan, who was in for just two plays, in the first quarter. Brennan suffered a concussion against Fresno State last week.

Tyler Graunke started in his place and passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another. He completed 33 of 46 passes for 358 yards and no interceptions.

"We're not just Colt Brennan. We have a lot of good players and they all raised their game," UH coach June Jones said.

Kelly had to nail the winning field goal twice -- Nevada called a timeout right before he kicked a ball that barely made it through the posts. After the timeout, Kelly blasted another kick high and straight through to seal the win.

Nevada's Colin Kaepernick made a desperation heave with time running out that was intercepted by UH's Jake Patek.

UH finished its road schedule with five wins and no losses. Two of the other road wins, at Louisiana Tech and San Jose State, were accomplished in overtime.

The Warriors host Boise State on Friday for the WAC title. Jones said Brennan will play next week against the Broncos.

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RENO, Nev. » In a season full of miracle road finishes against the odds, the 13th-ranked Hawaii Warriors out-did themselves last night at Nevada's Mackay Stadium.

And they did it without their star quarterback, Colt Brennan, for all but two plays.

Dan Kelly kicked two 45-yard field goals -- the one that counted, with 11 seconds left -- and UH completed its road schedule unbeaten with a 28-26 win. Hawaii is 10-0 and 7-0 in the Western Athletic Conference.

"We were all on the sideline praying," UH safety Desmond Thomas said. "All things are possible when you believe, and we believe in Dan and everyone on the team."

It was at least as nerve-wracking and exciting as Hawaii's two road overtime wins at Louisiana Tech and San Jose State.

Nevada called two timeouts to try to put more pressure on Kelly. The problem is he says outside forces don't affect him.

"I don't feel the pressure and it's a great gift that God gave me," Kelly said.

Coach June Jones and Kelly's teammates said they were all confident he could make the kick. Actually, the kicks, plural.

"Every time we put Dan under pressure he has executed," Jones said. "He's a gamer."

So is quarterback Tyler Graunke. He started in place of Brennan, who was in for just two plays because of a concussion in last week's game against Fresno State.

"That was a total team victory right there," Graunke said. "We never won in Reno, and I really wanted to step up and prove to my team (he could do it) and help them rally."

Graunke completed 33 of 46 passes for 358 yards (career highs) and two touchdowns. And he was solid in the clutch, driving the Warriors from their own 12 to the Nevada 27 with 2:16 left, setting up Kelly's game-winner.

"He did what he practiced to do," Jones said of Graunke. "He's a winner."

Three passes to Davone Bess accounted for 23 of the yards on the final drive, and a third-and-6 pass for 13 yards to Ryan Grice-Mullins got the Warriors into Kelly's range.

It all might have been moot if Thomas hadn't stopped Brandon Fragger for a 1-yard gain on third and 5 at the UH 36 with 2:24 left. Nevada then punted.

"They made good adjustments against us and we had to take chances with a nine-man front," UH defensive coordinator Greg McMackin said.

UH took a 25-20 lead with 13:35 left in the game when Grice-Mullins caught a pass from Graunke at the Nevada 16 and sped the rest of the way into the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown. A 2-point conversion attempt failed.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Hawaii's Davone Bess tried to elude Nevada's Ezra Butler during last night's thrilling 28-26 victory over host Nevada.

Nevada failed on a 2-point try and led 26-25 with 8:27 left in the game.

The Wolf Pack then had opportunities to lock up the win twice, first when Kevin Basped forced Graunke to fumble and recovered it.

After UH's Keala Watson returned the favor and recovered his forced fumble by Kaepernick, the Warriors couldn't get anything going.

Nevada took over at its own 47 with 5:18 left when Graunke and Jason Rivers failed to hook up on fourth down.

Nevada took its first lead late in the third quarter with a 90-yard march in which it dominated the Warriors up front. Kaepernick finished it with a 3-yard run after faking a handoff into the line. The Wolf Pack led 20-19.

Brett Jaekle had closed it to 19-13 with his second field goal, a 42-yarder on the first possession of the second half,

The Warriors led 19-10 at halftime on the strength of solid defense and 15-of-18 passing by Graunke, who threw for a touchdown to Rivers and rushed 7 yards for another.

Brennan was in for two plays, coming in on the second play from scrimmage to complete a pass for 7 yards to Bess. He came in for one play again later in the first quarter and completed another pass to Bess for 19 yards.

Third-string quarterback Inoke Funaki also played during the first series, rushing twice for 10 yards.

Kelly kicked a 45-yard field goal and Hawaii led 3-0.

UH's defense allowed 216 rushing yards, including 140 by Lippincott. But the Warriors shut down the Nevada passing game early, and dominated overall on defense early.

David Veikune sacked Kaepernick in the end zone for a 5-0 lead, a series after John Fonoti knocked the ball out of Kaepernick's hands and Josh Leonard recovered.

"Everyone is always talking about that offense, but they are a good solid defense," Nevada coach Chris Ault said.

Rivers caught a pass from Graunke at the 5:15 mark of the first quarter, giving Rivers a reception in his 47th consecutive game. The streak is the longest current one in the nation.

Graunke's 3-yard TD pass to Rivers on the first play of the second quarter gave Hawaii a 12-0 lead.

Nevada got on the board when Lippincott took a screen pass from Kaepernick and went 22 yards for a score.

Graunke then capped an 80-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run. One of the four plays was a 50-yard pass to C.J. Hawthorne, who caught five passes for 112 yards.

UH kept alive its BCS dreams with the national TV win. The Warriors may get some credit in the polls by winning without its marquee player, Brennan, being a huge factor.

Two more big regular-season challenges await the Warriors -- games at Aloha Stadium against Boise State on Friday and Washington two weeks from today to end the regular season.

"We're a championship football team," Jones added. "We're going to show up next week and the week after."