BOISE, Idaho — If you want to ever so slightly rile unflappable Boise State head coach Chris Petersen, just ask him why his redshirt freshman quarterback Kellen Moore plays beyond his years.

"One thing about (the quarterback) position is that it's so analytical and that it's about intelligence," Petersen explained. "And the way Kellen runs things on the field and responds to certain situations isn't like a freshman. So, I don't really think of him as a freshman quarterback."

Six games into the season, neither is anyone else.

Moore, the first freshman to start the season as the No. 1 signal caller in Boise State history, is not only managing games well, but he's making plays and acting like a leader.

"Kellen is a smart guy," Petersen said. "When you give him a crack, he's going to take advantage of it. We have a lot of confidence that we can throw it in there because we know he's going to take care of the football for us. He did it again tonight."

Moore took advantage of Hawai'i's porous defense with another solid performance, hitting 25-of-34 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns to maintain his already-high efficiency rating.

"I think we got moving a little bit better this week in the passing game and the running game is coming along. You don't know how many chances you're going to get like that. Fortunately, I was able to make the plays tonight," Moore said. "But one of these days, we're going to rush for 300 yards against somebody."

Those aren't exactly the words you would expect from one of the most prolific passers in Washington state high school history. But Moore is focused on two things: winning and improving week to week. Impressive stats are just gravy.

Moore's habit of filling his DVR with NFL and college football games annoys his roommates. Yet, his ability to study and grasp the game at such a rapid pace is earning him respect among his teammates.

While Moore didn't shy away from answering questions about his team's improving offense, he welcomed questions critical of his performance against Hawai'i.

"We're playing awesome on defense, and offensively, we're striving to finish strong and play a full four quarters," Moore said. "Winning 24-7 or 27-7 each week isn't exactly ideal from our perspective on offense, but we're happy with what we've been able to accomplish so far."

Moore's progression as a starter has been aided thus far by Boise State's stingy defense, keeping pressure off of Moore from having to be the hero. And although Petersen is convinced Moore could pull out a victory with the game hanging in the balance, he's willing to concede that Moore still has freshman tendencies after commenting on two botched snaps that resulted in Boise State turnovers.

"I guess he still looks like a freshman sometimes," Petersen said.

"Next week our goal can be not to have any freshman-like exchanges under center."