Whieldon, making his first start at quarterback in place of suspended starter Tim Chang, passed for 359 yards and three touchdowns to lead the University of Hawai'i to a 40-17 victory over Appalachian State.

Whieldon, a 6-foot-1 senior, completed 21 of 35 passes before leaving the game midway through the fourth quarter with the Warriors comfortably ahead.

"I thought there was going to be some nerves, but once the game started, I was real calm," Whieldon said. "I guess I was really prepared, so the jitters and butterflies weren't what I thought it would be."

Whieldon completed his first eight passes of the game. Before the first quarter was even over, he completed nine of 10 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns — both to fellow senior and roommate Jeremiah Cockheran.

"Jason Whieldon for the Heisman," Cockheran exclaimed in the jubilant UH locker room. "There were a lot of people questioning him before the game, but he proved them all wrong."

Whieldon had two passes intercepted, but both came off deflections. His 359 yards was the second most in a starting debut by a UH quarterback.

"He made some plays, he hung in there," UH head coach June Jones said. "We dropped a couple balls that would have been big plays but he made enough plays for us to win the game and that's what we thought he would do."

Chang, who is being promoted by the UH athletic department as a Heisman Trophy candidate, sat out a one-game suspension last night for academic reasons.

Jones had already announced that the starting quarterback position would remain with Chang after last night's game.

"What ever happens, happens," Whieldon said. "I'm not worried about it. I can only prepare myself for every game as if I'm going to be the one in there."

As Cockheran put it: "Whether it's Jason or Timmy, it doesn't matter to us. They both can play and everybody else will do what they can to help the team win."

Cockheran caught seven of Whieldon's passes for 154 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. His second touchdown covered 54 yards and will likely be replayed on several highlight reels.

"I just went straight up and got it," Cockheran said. "I saw the safety coming over and at first, I thought (Whieldon) set me up to die. But I somehow came down with it and just kept running."

On the play, Cockheran soared above two Appalachian State defensive backs to catch the pass.

"We're counting on Jeremiah to make big plays for us this year," UH receivers coach Ron Lee said. "He's worked hard all summer and it showed tonight."