We crowded the bar at the Silver Legacy, straining to hear above the slot machines and a hot craps table. Colt Brennan was on “;Pardon the Interruption.”;

It was a day before the Nevada game and five after Fresno's Marcus Riley rang his bell, so we looked and listened for signs of whether the franchise would or wouldn't play. We knew “;questionable”; means “;anybody's guess.”;

Concussion experts Dr. Billy Hull and Dr. Mike Fitzgerald offered up an identical diagnosis to mine: Bright eyes, clear voice and coherent thought patterns. Colt's good to go. With that, I filed a final pregame story and returned to wholesome recreational activities with the accompanying physicians.

Turned out we were right, and wrong.

Despite the best deception efforts of Jake Ingram (wearing No. 15 and signing Colt Brennan autographs at the walk-through ... “;Call me Yul Brennan,”; he said), word slipped out overnight that CB would not play. Undefeated Hawaii went from slight favorite to slight underdog ... and then back to favorite again as the Warriors fans in Reno stampeded the sports books.

Yes, Tyler Graunke, the backup, did start. But Brennan played, in the first series (2-for-2 on a couple of sack-proof quick passes). And so did Inoke Funaki (two carries for 10 yards).

Enough to pump up the Warriors, and enough to drive Nevada coach Chris Ault nuts. Preparing for two quarterbacks at practice is hard enough. Imagine dealing with the possibility of three? AFTER the game has started.

It turned out to be Graunke's brightest moment and an important part of UH's perfect regular season. Brennan's cameo provided a huge emotional lift, but Graunke did the real work with career numbers and a 2-minute drill to set up Dan Kelly's winning kicks.

A year later and everything's changed, right?

This time the line won't flip and Hawaii will remain the underdog. Nevada's the team coming in with the better record tonight, trying to win where it never has before.

June Jones, Colt Brennan and his receivers are gone. Greg McMackin—the defensive coordinator who figured out how to corral freshman Colin Kaepernick—is head coach.

Nevada is now the dreaded offensive machine, with a year-wiser Kaepernick and running back Vai Taua leading the Pack's pistoleros.

UH hopes to remain viable for the Hawaii Bowl instead of a BCS jackpot.

The only thing the same is a UH quarterback situation in flux. Funaki's expected to start, but McMackin said he'll have at least one “;pure passer”; ready to roll early.

Those of us allowed at this week's “;closed”; practices are sworn to secrecy on major alterations, and there are a few. But since Mack let it out of the bag on his radio show, we can confirm that Graunke, judged by the coach “;physically unable to play”; on Monday is stronger and throwing in practice.

Isn't QB subterfuge fun? But the real thing to remember is none of it matters if the UH O-line doesn't block better.