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HONOLULU -- The Cougars capped off a successful season by putting the hammer down on former WAC opponent Hawaii Saturday night beating the Warriors 41- 20.

Junior quarterback Riley Nelson gave Cougar fans a lot of reasons to be excited for not only the Armed Forces Bowl, but next season as well as long as he stays healthy, especially now with Jake Heaps' announcement that he's leaving BYU.

Not even cleared to play until later in the week, Nelson had his best outing to date throwing for 363 yards while completing 25 of 37 passes with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

"I really liked it. It took [Nelson] a series or two or three to get his rhythm, timing, just the feel back," said BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall. "And as you saw in the second half, there was quite a difference. He just became who he has been."

Cougar Tracks:

Nelson is welcoming Heaps' followers to his camp, and turning doubters into believers for throwing over 360 yards against a pass defense that allows just over 250 passing yards a game.

Winning not just the hearts of the fans, but the team as well, extending it all the way to major support from key defensive players.

"I'm just glad that I don't have to play against him, that would be frustrating," said freshman strong safety Daniel Sorenson. "Riley's a fighter, he sacrifices his body for the team and he's a leader."

Instead of seeing the Nelson we're used to with around 200 yards passing complimented with 50 or 60 yards rushing, we saw a pocket-comfortable quarterback with 363 passing yards, and a rare -3 rushing yards.

Nelson looked like the type of quarterback BYU is known for, along with making key first downs and touchdowns on broken plays.

"I started off on the short side of the field. I was trying to get us into a third and manageable," said Nelson who completed an improbable pass to Cody Hoffman as he was being dragged to the ground. "All I remember is coming off that hit and seeing Cody going towards the sideline. I laid it out there for him, he's got those big old paws and brought it in."

"The play he made to Cody Hoffman. That's one of the greatest plays I've ever seen," said Mendenhall. "I was impressed and really think he's really physically a tough young man."

Next up the Cougars will face the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes in the Armed Forces Bowl on December 30th in Dallas.