Forget the Texas hold 'em facade.

University of Hawai'i football coach June Jones, whose team plays Arizona State in today's Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, is downright giddy when he heard this latest gem:

"UH quarterback Colt Brennan has thrown for 284 more yards and three more touchdowns than Ohio State's Troy Smith and Michigan's Chad Henne combined ...

"... in 67 fewer passing attempts."

"That's just unbelievable," said Jones, who receives reports from a staff member scouring newspaper and Internet stories from across the country. "Just mind-numbing."

In football, there are no evaluations, only comparisons. The NFL combine is a comparison of data — fastest 40, most 225-pound lifts, highest common-sense score.

A linebacker isn't big and fast, he's a Ray Lewis-type linebacker. The quarterback doesn't have a low release point, he throws with a Tony Romo motion, which is like a Philip Rivers motion.

But when it comes to this season's Warrior offense, there are no comparisons.

The four-wide offense is statistically superior nationally in nearly every significant category.

The Warriors have scored 84 offensive touchdowns; Louisville is a distant second with 58.

The Warriors' pass-efficiency rating — which measures completion percentage, touchdowns and interceptions — is 183.06. Brigham Young's rating is 171.16.

"Usually in those stats, one or two points separate teams," Jones said. "I'm really proud of what this team has done. A season like this doesn't happen very often."

Key stat: The Warriors improved their scoring average by 16.64 points per game from a year ago.

By the eighth year, an offense starts to show wear. Last year, the Warriors averaged 30.67 points, their lowest production since the 3-9 season in 2000.

But against the odds and history, Jones managed to reinvigorate the offense. The makeover began in the middle of what would end up as a 5-7 season in 2005.

"Last year was kind of a learning year," Jones said. "But I could tell we were starting to come along. Colt was learning the offense. The receivers were young, but they knew what to do. Every day, we did the same things over and over, and the receivers and the o-line were doing what they were supposed to do."

With a month left in the 2005 season, Jones realized he had stopped calling draws — delayed handoffs, a tactic intended to keep defenders from cheating into the passing lanes.

In the NFL, Jones used draws effectively with running backs Mike Rozier and Barry Sanders. But in those offenses, the quarterback received direct snaps.

"When you're under the center, you get more pull," said Jones, who implemented the shotgun at UH. "Once we went to the shotgun so much, the draw didn't have the pull and the yards we had in past years. Basically, I tried to figure out a way that we could make it look like a pass even though it's a draw."

In recent years, Florida's Urban Meyer revived the "Utah Shovel," in which the quarterback pushes a short pass to the running back. What many describe as a "forward option pitch," Jones figured, could add a new wrinkle to UH's four-wide, one-back offense.

"We put it in with about three or four games to go last season," Jones said. "We ran it about eight or nine times. It actually worked well."

In Jones' version, the four receivers try to spread out while the offensive linemen prepare to stretch block. Running back Nate Ilaoa slides between the offensive linemen and Brennan, then awaits the pass. (Note: the play is called a "shuffle" but the pass is a "shovel.")

"It looks like a pass but we block it like a draw," Jones said. "Nate finds the hole. He reads the first down lineman, then he goes inside or outside. It's the same way we've always read the draw. It's hard (to defend) because we throw the ball so much."

In UH's glossary, the play is called "shuffle 33 draw."

"It starts in the backfield, so it's like a running play," Ilaoa said.

If counted as a rush instead of a pass, Ilaoa would be credited with an additional 436 rushing yards. That would bring his season total to 1,329 yards (11th nationally), an average of 132.9 rushing yards per game (also 11th), and boost his yards-per-carry average to 9.56. He already leads Division I-A with a 7.9 per-carry average.

The play helped ease the pressure on Brennan, and forced defenses from retreating exclusively into deep zone coverages. Ilaoa averages 16.76 yards per shuffle play.

Ilaoa also receives extra blocking from the receivers. Wideout Jason Rivers and slotbacks Davone Bess and Ross Dickerson have become efficient open-field blockers.

"I'm sure nobody would believe me if I said we've never had a blocking drill (for receivers) ever in practice," Jones said. "We teach them how to position and we teach them how to do it. They do the rest. They know that's their job."

Dickerson said: "Blocking is something we need to do. We break it down. We put our hands on the (defender) and try to get in his way."

Dan Marino set the NFL record with 5,084 passing yards in 16 games in 1984. Brennan has 4,990 passing yards in 13 games.

Dan Morrison, who coaches the UH quarterbacks, has said Brennan's numbers don't make sense. A quarterback isn't supposed to lead the nation in passing yards and passing efficiency, Morrison noted, much like a basketball player isn't supposed to lead in 3-point attempts and field-goal accuracy.

"That's not supposed to happen," Morrison said.

And it hadn't happened previously at UH. Former UH quarterback Tim Chang's best pass-efficiency rating was 135.4 — 47.4 points lower than Brennan's rating this season. Chang, who holds the NCAA record for most passing yards in a career, threw for 4,474 yards in 14 games in 2002.

Former UH quarterback Nick Rolovich, who was widely praised for a breakout season in 2001, had an efficiency rating of 150.5.

"Colt's special," Morrison said. "He's just a very accurate passer."

While it could be argued he is helped by shovel passes, the Warriors have twice as many drops as shovel receptions.

In two seasons, Brennan has completed all but two bubble screens. He also has completed more than 50 percent of his deep passes (traveling at least 20 yards from the line of scrimmage). A quarterback is considered to be accurate if he completes 35 percent of deep passes.

Overall, he has completed 72.1 percent of his passes this year.

Key stat: Of the 131 full drives in which Brennan was the quarterback, the Warriors scored 85 times, a scoring efficiency of 64.8 percent. During the nine-game winning streak, the rate was 75 percent. Troy Smith's scoring efficiency is 47.9 percent; Notre Dame's Brady Quinn's efficiency is 45.5 percent.

For three decades, Jones has heard that his best offensive players benefit from his passing system.

"It's funny how everyone says we're a product of the system, but this system has never come close to doing this," Brennan said. "It should be respected, not discredited."

In turn, Jones also has heard criticism that his offense, which does not employ a tight end or fullback, has difficulty in short-yardage situations. Jones recalled a Thanksgiving game when he was a coach with the Detroit Lions.

"A commentator said, 'The problem with this offense is it's going to have trouble scoring in the plus zone (between the 20 and goal line),' " Jones said. "Yet we were No. 1 in the National Football League (in plus-zone scoring) when he said that. That's lived with us forever."

But this season, the Warriors have scored a touchdown or field goal on 85.5 percent of their plus-zone drives.

"We're not doing anything different," Jones said.

Ilaoa said: "We have good coaches and disciplined players who pay attention to technique. During the summer, people were always asking if this would be a special season. We kept saying, 'Yes.' We've had our mishaps. But that's how football is. We've worked hard to do good things."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.