Instead of waiting until the fourth quarter, Nevada got started a little early Saturday night.

The Wolf Pack spotted Hawaii 10 quick points and trailed by four at the half before dominating the final 30 minutes to walk out of Aloha Stadium with a 26-18 win over Hawaii.

Nevada scored at least 20 points in the second half for the fourth straight game and has outscored its opponents 109-57 after intermission in its previous five.

The fourth quarter has been especially good to the Wolf Pack (5-3, 2-2 Mountain West), who hold a 77-22 advantage in that span.

Nevada didn’t need to be quite that good over the final 15 minutes after outscoring Hawaii 10-0 in the third to grab a lead it refused to give up.

"I told the guys at half we’re down 10-6 and only down four. It’s right in our wheelhouse," Nevada coach Brian Polian said. "I wish I could find the magic formula. We’re not calling it anything differently. It’s just making that play."

It wasn’t one play, but instead, a stunning number of plays that left Hawaii’s defense with its hands on its knees.

Nevada controlled the ball four times as long as UH in the second half, running 53 plays for 274 yards.

The Wolf Pack piled up 299 rushing yards — their most since 2012 — and controlled the clock for 24:26 out of 30 minutes.

"I thought I was going to have a heart attack," starting center Matt Galas said. "Our mentality is we’re going to keep going until we get it in the end zone or kick a field goal or put points on the board. It’s a mentality where if they’re going to tap out we’re going to keep going."

Galas said he sensed UH wearing down and nearly delivered the game-clinching blow himself when a pass deflected off a receiver and looked to have fell in his hands for a touchdown.

The play was ruled a TD, but after review was called an incomplete pass.

Nevada settled for a field goal to make it 19-10 and put it away with a touchdown pass five minutes later to go up 26-10.

"I don’t think I’ve ever scored before," said Galas, who answered "yeah" when asked if he caught the ball. "The points would have been nice."

Quarterback Cody Fajardo rushed for a season-high 133 yards and two touchdowns and was 17-for-26 for 128 yards and another score.

Freshman James Butler fell 6 yards shy of his first 100-yard game with 94 yards on 21 carries and Don Jackson added 69 yards on 15 carries.

There were plenty of carries to go around, making offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich’s job easy, especially in the second half.

"They’ve gotten better and better the last three weeks up front," Rolovich said. "What you’re seeing is that group has grown together like they are supposed to. We have a lot of ways to attack you and tonight we felt (running) was the best way to attack."

It also kept Hawaii’s offense off the field. By contrast, UH held the ball for only 5:34 and ran 22 plays for a measly 84 yards.