It was known for most of the week that University of Hawaii starting quarterback Cole McDonald would likely sit this one out due to an undiclosed injury.

Announced officially minutes before kickoff that freshman signal-caller Chevan Cordeiro would be the man of the hour, it took awhile before the Aloha Stadium crowd of 20,507 caught on to the big change under center in tonight’s Mountain West Conference game with Wyoming won by the Rainbow Warriors 17-13 in dramatic fashion.

But once they did, there was a buzz of uncertainty hanging in the humid air as UH prepared for perhaps its most difficult test to date in this already interesting about-face from the 3-9 debacle of a year ago. The hard-fought win gives UH a 3-0 mark in league play and a 6-1 record overall. Wyoming fell to 0-2 in the MWC and 2-4 for the season. The victory leaves Hawaii one win shy of being bowl eligible, something few thought possible at the beginning of the season.

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The defense came up big in this one and needed to because Cordeiro had his predicted struggles, completing 19 of 29 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns, including a 38-yarder to JoJo Ward to seal the win with 1:26 left. He also threw a pick-6 and had difficulty sustaining drives against a stout Wyoming defense that kept UH in check for most of the night.

Wyoming had a chance to win it late, driving the ball all the way to the UH 24 with 24 seconds left. But an incomplete pass by Tyler Vander Waal in the end zone and a big sack by Zeno Choi had Wyoming facing a third-and-16 from the UH 30 with 14 seconds left. Vander Waal threw another incomplete pass and faced the big fourth-down throw with nine seconds left. The pass was complete for a first down, but time ran out to give UH the win.

In the first half, the Cowboys limited the Warriors’ high-powered attack to a 39-yard field goal by Ryan Meskell to match a 40-yarder the Cowboys’ Cooper Rothe knocked through earlier in the game that led to the 3-3 halftime score.

Cordeiro completed nine of 15 passes for 60 yards in the opening two quarters of frustration. Hawaii had more yards on the ground with 83, not a good combination for the run-and-shoot and something that UH tried to address in the second half.

Wyoming got the ball first to start the third quarter. The Cowboys’ offense was limited to tailback Nico Evans, who had 14 carries for 98 yards in the first half alone and finished with 192 on 24 attempts. Wyoming’s total yardage in the opening 30 minutes was 94, something the Cowboys had to improve upon to have a chance to steal a win and the Paniolo Trophy that goes with it.

Hawaii took a step in the right direction by forcing a three-and-out of Wyoming to start the third quarter. After the punt, UH took over at its own 25 in search of its first touchdown. And the drive began well enough, as UH converted a third-and-short on a 1-yard run that had the Warriors sitting on the Cowboys 44. But three plays later, Cordeiro threw one too many passes in the flat and it was returned 61 yards for a touchdown by Carl Granderson. The extra point by Rothe was good to give Wyoming a 10-3 lead with 8:14 left in the third quarter.

Hawaii began its third drive of the quarter at the Wyoming 33, thanks in part to a penalty by the Cowboys during the punt return. A nice mix of run and pass had the Warriors setting up shop at the Wyoming 8. One snap later, Cordeiro fired a 5-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Byrd and Meskell added the PAT to make it 10-10 with 48 seconds left in the third. It was the first scoring pass of Cordeiro’s young career as he got up off the deck after throwing the pick-6.

The Cowboys took over at their own 35 after Meskell booted the ball out of bounds on the ensuing kickoff. The conservative offense kept feeding the ball to Evans as he tried to carry the Cowboys to glory. Vander Waal struggled for most of the game, but he got the Cowboys on the Warriors’ side of the field early in the final quarter.

Facing a big fourth-and-2 at the UH 41, the Cowboys opted to go for it and Evans was stuffed for no gain, giving UH the ball on downs with 11:47 remaining. From there, UH moved into Wyoming territory on a big run by Dayton Furuta, but was set back on an equally big holding penalty by J.R. Hensley on the next play that effectively killed the drive.

Wyoming wasted little time on its next opportunity thanks to a 63-yard run by Evans right up the middle of the field that eventually led to a 23-yard field goal by Rothe that gave Wyoming a 13-10 lead with 5:31 left in the game. But back came UH, with Cordeiro throwing some good passes and Furuta running around and through Wyoming defenders to give the Warriors a first-and-10 at the Wyoming 35 with 1:45 left.

But a sack of Cordeiro led to a second-and-13 and a timeout by UH coach Nick Rolovich. Off a busted play, Cordeiro heaved one toward the end zone and into the awaiting arms of Ward, who caught his first pass of the night. It was a good one for UH, and Meskell added the PAT to make it 17-13 with 1:26 left in the game. Furuta led UH in rushing with 101 yards on 16 carries. Hawaii had 304 yards of offense and Wyoming 244.