The 2006 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl was a
college football bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...
that was a part of the
2006-2007 bowl game schedule of the
2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The regular season began on August 31, 2006 and ended on ...
. This was the fifth
Hawaii Bowl
The Hawaiʻi Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played in the Honolulu, Hawaii area since 2002. The game was originally held at Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii, a suburb of Honolulu, before moving to the Clarence T. C. Ching Ath ...
played, and was sponsored by
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts. It was played on
Christmas Eve 2006, at
Aloha Stadium in
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
. The game matched the
Hawaii Warriors against the
Arizona State Sun Devils
The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member ...
, and was televised on
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
.
Hawaii won the contest, 41–24, finishing the season with eleven wins, tying the school record for most wins in a season with the
1992 Rainbow Warriors team that went 11–2.
This game received extra attention because Hawaii quarterback
Colt Brennan
Colton James Brennan (August 16, 1983 – May 11, 2021) was an American football quarterback. He played college football for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, where he was a two-time, third-team All-American before being selected by the Washington R ...
was poised to set the NCAA single-season record for touchdown passes in a season. Entering the game, Brennan had 53 touchdown passes, one short of
University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...
quarterback
David Klingler
David Ryan Klingler (born February 17, 1969) is an associate professor of Bible exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary and a former American football quarterback.
College career
A 6-foot, 2-inch quarterback, Klingler rewrote numerous college p ...
's mark of 54 set in 1990. Brennan finished the game having completed 33-of-42 passes for 559 yards and five touchdowns, setting the new single-season record at 58. He shared MVP honors with wide receiver
Jason Rivers, who tied a school mark with 14 receptions and set a record with 308 receiving yards, the most in a college bowl game since the NCAA began keeping official records in 1937.
Scoring summary
First Quarter
* ASU - Jesse Ainsworth 44-yard FG. (1:59). 3-0 ASU
Second Quarter
* HAW - Dan Kelly 42-yard FG. (12:35). 3-3 Tie
* ASU - Brandon Smith 37-yard pass from
Rudy Carpenter (Jesse Ainsworth kick). (5:21). 10-3 ASU
Third Quarter
* HAW - Jason Rivers 38-yard pass from Colt Brennan (Dan Kelly kick). (12:29). 10-10 Tie
* HAW -
Ryan Grice-Mullen 7-yard pass from Colt Brennan (Dan Kelly kick). (8:46). 17-10 HAW
* HAW - Ryan Grice-Mullen 36-yard pass from Colt Brennan (Dan Kelly kick). (2:14). 24-10 HAW
Fourth Quarter
* HAW - Dan Kelly 43-yard FG. (13:04). 27-10 HAW
* ASU -
Ryan Torain 12-yard run (Jesse Ainsworth kick). (12:21). 27-17 HAW
* ASU - Michael Jones 4-yard pass from Rudy Carpenter (Jesse Ainsworth kick). (10:25). 27-24 HAW
* HAW -
Davone Bess
Davone Atrayo Bess (born September 13, 1985) is a former American football wide receiver. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Hawaii.
Early years
Bess attended Skyline High Scho ...
21-yard pass from Colt Brennan (Dan Kelly kick). (5:16). 34-24 HAW
* HAW - Jason Rivers 79-yard pass from Colt Brennan (Dan Kelly kick). (2:01). 41-24 HAW
Aftermath
* Arizona State head coach
Dirk Koetter
Dirk Jeffrey Koetter ( ; born February 5, 1959) is an American football coach who is currently serving as the interim offensive coordinator at Boise State University. He was the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football Lea ...
was fired the month before the Hawaii Bowl, which served as his final game at ASU. Koetter was replaced in the offseason by
Dennis Erickson
Dennis Brian Erickson (born March 24, 1947) is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach for the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football league. He was also the head coach at the University of Idaho ...
. Koetter was hired as the offensive coordinator for the
NFL's
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
.
* Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan was unsure of whether he would stay for his senior season at Hawaii or declare for the
2007 NFL Draft. Brennan eventually declared for the draft, but did not sign with an agent, allowing him the opportunity to withdraw his name if he so chose. He eventually decided to withdraw from the draft and opted to return for his senior season.
* At the end of the season, Hawaii was ranked #24 in the final
Coaches Poll
The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officiall ...
and was one spot out of making the Associated Press final poll. This was the first time Hawaii finished the season ranked in the top 25 of a major poll since 1992, when the Warriors finished 20th in the AP Poll.
References
2006 Hawaii Bowl Resultsfrom
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
.
{{Hawaii Warriors bowl game navbox
Hawaii Bowl
The Hawaiʻi Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played in the Honolulu, Hawaii area since 2002. The game was originally held at Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii, a suburb of Honolulu, before moving to the Clarence T. C. Ching Ath ...
Hawaii Bowl
Arizona State Sun Devils football bowl games
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football bowl games
Hawaii Bowl
The Hawaiʻi Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played in the Honolulu, Hawaii area since 2002. The game was originally held at Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii, a suburb of Honolulu, before moving to the Clarence T. C. Ching Ath ...
December 2006 sports events in the United States