HONOLULU, HI - After leading by only 11 points at halftime and playing without injured Heisman Trophy candidate Colt Brennan, the 19th-ranked Hawai'i Warriors flexed their muscle in the second half and outscored Charleston Southern 45-0 over the final two quarters en route to a 66-10 victory at Aloha Stadium Saturday night.

In a game that ended close to 4:00 am on the east coast, the Buccaneers (1-3) played a solid opening half in the program's first-ever match-up against a ranked FBS (formerly Division I-A) opponent, and found themselves trailing 21-10 at the intermission.

But the Warriors (4-0, 1-0 WAC) scored two touchdowns in the first 1:12 of the third quarter, as Ryan Mouton returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a score and three plays later Adam Leonard returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown, quickly putting Hawai'i in front 35-10.

"We got hurt badly in that first minute of the third quarter," said CSU Head Coach Jay Mills. "We self destructed a couple of times right after halftime and obviously never recovered. Hawai'i is too good of a football team to make those kind of mistakes against."

Brennan, a senior quarterback who entered the game second in the nation in passing yards and total offense, was scratched before kickoff with an ankle injury suffered before the Warriors' victory at UNLV one week back.

In his stead, junior Tyler Graunke made his first start of the season and struggled through most of the opening half, at times drawing boos from the crowd of 34,101. He finished only 12-for-25 passing over the first two quarters with two interceptions.

CSU's Josh Warrior intercepted Graunke's first pass of the game in the opening stanza, and David Misher picked off another offering late in the half to set up Nick Ellis' 48-yard field goal that cut Hawai'i's lead to 21-10 going into the locker room.

After the Warriors scored on special teams and on defense at the beginning of the third quarter, Graunke settled down and led the team on two touchdown drives, each culminating with scoring tosses that left Hawai'i in front 49-10 after three quarters. Graunke completed 10-of-11 in the third for 111 yards.

Third-string quarterback Inoke Funaki played the entire fourth quarter for Hawai'i and tossed two more scoring strikes as the Warriors piled on 17 more points in the final period. Hawai'i totaled 510 yards of total offense on the night.

"I was disappointed with the way we played in the second half" said Mills. "We came here to win - not just to compete - and I felt like we had a chance coming out of halftime."

After Hawai'i took a 7-0 lead early in the opening quarter, CSU knotted the score with a five-play, 68-yard drive culminating in a 57-yard catch and run by junior wide receiver Dee Brown.

The Warriors reclaimed the lead on the second play of the second quarter when running back Kealoha Pilares scampered in from 16 yards out. Then Hawai'i capitalized on the first of two interceptions against Bucs quarterback Eli Byrd when Graunke scored on a six-yard keeper to make the score 21-7.

CSU forced three Hawai'i turnovers and three punts in the opening half, but none afterwards. On offense, the Buccaneers gained only five first downs and 117 total yards in the second half, while CSU committed eight of its nine penalties following halftime.

Senior linebacker Jada Ross recorded 10 tackles and a forced fumble to lead the CSU defense, and in the process passed Coastal Carolina's Jamar Leath to become the Big South's all-time career tackles leader.

Byrd finished 13-for-31 through the air for 184 yards, while back up Sidney Bryant took over in the fourth quarter and completed 6-of-10 attempts for 55 yards.

"I thought the 60 guys we brought here played valiantly against a terrific opponent" said Mills. "We want this program to be heading towards becoming an FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) power. I see it being only a matter of time before that happens."

Charleston Southern will make the long trip back east Sunday and is scheduled to arrive back on campus early Monday morning. The Bucs return to action next Saturday with a match-up at North Greenville at 7:00 p.m.