Cody Hoffman only needed one hand to haul in one of four BYU third-quarter touchdowns.

He could have used the other to wave goodbye to Hawaii’s bowl hopes.

Hoffman silenced an Aloha Stadium crowd of 30,765 for good with a 38-yard touchdown catch to cap a 28-point third quarter that was the difference in a 41-20 victory over the Warriors on Saturday night.

With a postseason berth in the Armed Forces Bowl already clinched, Hoffman snatched UH’s bowl chances out of the air with a jaw-dropping catch, cradling a pass from Riley Nelson with his left hand as he strolled into the end zone for a 38-13 lead.

"We knew they had a lot on the line and were going to come out hard and be physical with us," Hoffman said. "We knew it was going to be a rivalry feel and just played hard and came out on top."

Hoffman had a game-high seven catches for 123 yards and Ross Apo had two touchdown receptions as BYU’s receivers thrived with quarterback Riley Nelson back taking snaps.

Nelson, who finished 25-for-37 for 363 yards — all career highs — with no turnovers, played for the first time since suffering a collapsed lung and a rib injury three weeks ago against Idaho.

Things went much better this time around for Nelson, whose last game against Hawaii was as a true freshman at Utah State —a 63-10 loss to UH’s 2007 team that went to the Sugar Bowl.

"I think it took him a series or two or three to kind of get his rhythm and timing and feel back," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "The second half was quite a difference in he just became who he has been and the play he made with Cody Hoffman is one of the greatest plays I’ve ever seen."

Nelson’s mobility killed the Hawaii defense, especially during BYU’s dominant third quarter.

On the Cougars’ opening drive, Hawaii had Nelson in its grasp for a third-down sack when he flung the ball in the air just prior to hitting the ground.

Hoffman made a play on the ball, coming back to beat the UH defender for a 21-yard gain, setting up Apo’s ninth touchdown of the season.

"We needed to turn it up (at halftime), and if we didn’t we were going to lose the game," Apo said. "It was a whole different team."

Nelson’s touchdown pass to Hoffman also came off a scramble. A blitzing UH defender had a wide-open shot at Nelson’s back, but the gutsy left-hander ducked out of the way and hit Hoffman with a beautiful pass for his 16th touchdown throw of the year.

The victory was BYU’s second straight against UH in its first appearance at Aloha Stadium since a 72-45 loss there ended its hopes of an undefeated season in 2001.

It’s a trip Mendenhall hopes to continue to make in the future.

"It just reaffirmed the reason to keep playing this game, (and) I hope Hawaii feels the same way about the game," said Mendenhall, now 65-24 in his seventh season as BYU coach. "It’s not an easy trip, but to see the families over here be able to see their sons and for the extended relatives to be together … I might have enjoyed that more than the game."