ESPN College Football

HONOLULU (AP) -- Hawaii and Purdue made their first-ever showdown a memorable one.

Colt Brennan threw three fourth-quarter touchdowns, including the game-winning 23-yarder to Ian Sample with 1:27 left, and No. 25 Hawaii rallied to beat Purdue 42-35 on Saturday night.

The win was the ninth straight for the Warriors (10-2), a school record for a single season. It was also the 63rd for Hawaii coach June Jones, which ties him with Dick Tomey as the second winningest coach in school history.

"I couldn't be more proud of the players," Jones said. "They believed in each other, and that is what it is all about."

Brennan finished 33-of-48 for 434 yards with TD passes of 14, 5, and 23 yards in the final quarter. He is now just three TD passes shy of tying former Houston quarterback David Klingler's NCAA single-season touchdown mark of 54 set in 1990.

The Warriors have won by an average margin of 35.5 points in the previous eight games, but had all it could handle against the Boilermaker.

"We've been having our way with teams for the last couple of weeks and we really haven't been tested lately," Brennan said.

Nate Ilaoa rushed 12 times for 159 yards and two first-half touchdowns for the Hawaii-bowl bound Warriors. He also had two costly fumbles that led to 14 points for Purdue (8-5).

The Warriors tied the game at 35 on Brennan's 5-yard TD pass to Ryan Grice-Mullen and a successful 2-point conversion with 4:40 left.

Gerard Lewis then intercepted an overthrown pass by Purdue's Curtis Painter to give the Warriors possession on their 46 with 2:27 left, setting up the winning score.

Sample caught a short pass from Brennan on the right side, broke across the field and shed a couple defenders before finding the end zone.

Purdue had one final chance, starting its drive on the 20 with 1:27 left, but Adam Leonard intercepted a pass from Painter to seal the win.

"This is a heck of an offensive football team," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. "You don't lead the nation in scoring by accident."

Hawaii players ran onto the field in the final seconds, dumping Gatorade on each other and waving a Hawaiian flag as 44,298 fans cheered deliriously.

"We were put under the pressure against a team that I really thought we were much better than," Brennan said. "But they came out here with unbelievable momentum. They played hard all game and they wanted it."

Purdue took its first lead of the game, 21-20, early in the fourth quarter on a 28-yard pass from Painter to a wide-open Greg Orton. But Hawaii came right back and regained the lead on a 14-yard pass from Brennan to Ross Dickerson.

It was Brennan's first TD pass of the game. Brennan did not throw a first-half touchdown since the Sept. 2 season opener against Alabama.

Hawaii's Davone Bess caught six passes for 117 yards, giving him more than 1,000 yards for the second straight year. Jason Rivers also had six catches for 103 yards.

Painter was 29-of-42 for 357 yards and four TDs. His two interceptions late in the game cost the Boilermakers their bid to upset Hawaii, which is ranked for the first time since 1992.

Ilaoa's second fumble midway through the fourth quarter gave Purdue possession on Hawaii's 32. On the next play, Painter completed a 32-yard touchdown pass to Selwyn Lymon to give Purdue a 35-27 lead with 6:50 left.

Dustin Keller caught six passes for 69 yards and two TDs, including a 9-yard reception that cut Hawaii's lead to 17-7 and sparked Purdue's third-quarter run.

Purdue also used trickery. Receiver Desmond Tardy took a pitch from Painter and tossed a 25-yard touchdown to a leaping tight end Kyle Adam to cut Hawaii's lead to a field goal.

The Boilermakers had a chance to tie the game at 7 early in the second quarter, but fumbled on first-and-goal from the 1. Painter's pitch hit fullback Dan McGowen in the backside and Hawaii cornerback Myron Newberry leaped on the loose ball.

The Warriors scored four plays later on Ilaoa's 16-yard run to go up by two touchdowns. Hawaii scored again on Dan Kelly's 22-yard field goal for a 17-0 halftime lead.

Purdue, headed to the Dec. 29 Champs Sports Bowl, concluded the regular season against an opponent other than Indiana for the second time since 1919. The Boilermakers finished their 2001 season against Notre Dame.

Hawaii finished second in the Western Athletic Conference with No. 12 Boise State's 38-7 victory over Nevada earlier in the day.

The Warriors wrap up the regular season at home next week against Oregon State.