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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Chase Cord threw for 175 yards and three touchdowns in relief of injured starter Hank Bachmeier and No. 14 Boise State beat Hawaii 59-37 on Saturday night.
The Broncos (6-0, 3-0 Mountain West) remained perfect at home against the Rainbow Warriors in seven meetings, despite losing Bachmeier early in the second quarter when he was scrambling for a first down and spun to elude oncoming linebacker Kana'i Picanco.
Bachmeier absorbed a hit in his lower back and promptly fumbled. He walked gingerly off the field with the aid of staff trainers before going to the locker room. In the second half, he returned to the sidelines in street clothes.
The nature and extent of Bachmeier's injury was not disclosed by the school.
Hawaii (4-2, 1-1), which entered the game with the Mountain West's top passing offense and fourth nationally, fell behind early and never seemed to have an answer defensively for any of the three quarterbacks Boise State played.
With Bachmeier out, Cord ensured that the Broncos' passing offense that ranks second in the conference didn't miss a beat, throwing TD strikes of 33, 42, and 8 yards.
Jaylon Henderson also played significant time at quarterback as the Broncos' trio of signal callers combined for 315 yards passing.
Hawaii quarterback Cole McDonald threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns, moving past Garrett Gabriel for fifth place on the school's career passing yardage list.
THE TAKEAWAY
Hawaii: The Rainbow Warriors raised some eyebrows early with wins over Pac-12 foes Arizona and Oregon State but fell flat against another Top 25 opponent. The last time Hawaii beat a ranked team was Nevada in 2010. If Hawaii intends to rekindle its glory from earlier the past decade, it needs to find a way to beat one of the country's top teams.
Boise State: The Broncos played their most complete game of the season, and did so without Bachmeier for most of the contest. That's exactly the kind of performance Boise State coach Bryan Harsin has been pleading for from his team, and the type of play it will need if the Broncos intend to stay in the driver's seat for a New Year's Six bowl game berth among the Group of 5 schools.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Boise State could possibly move up after a couple losses by teams above them.
UP NEXT
Hawaii returns home next Saturday to face Air Force.
Boise State will take a break from conference play next week and hit the road for a game with burgeoning regional rival BYU.
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