HONOLULU — The wait is over. For a long touchdown pass from Boise State’s offense. For a 100-yard receiving game. For a big game from wide receiver Aaron Burks.

Burks hauled in a 46-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Southwick in the final minute of the first quarter in the Broncos’ rout of Hawaii to highlight the biggest game of his career.

Burks ran down the left sideline and caught a perfectly thrown ball inside the Warriors’ 5 and then reached into the end zone to give the Broncos a 21-7 lead. It was his first career touchdown reception.

“We’ve been waiting for it for a while. It felt good for me and Joe to finally connect. It starts way back from when we redshirted together. So it was a good look,” Burks said.

His previous best outing was three catches for 67 yards against Miami (Ohio) earlier this year.

“We’ve been waiting. He’s shown flashes,” coach Chris Petersen said. “Joe gave him a chance to make plays and he did. Credit to him.”

At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Burks has been a tantalizing prospect for several years. He had six catches for 57 yards in 2010 and six catches for 58 yards in 2011. Entering Saturday’s game, Burks had 10 catches for 157 yards.

Against Hawaii, Burks became the first Boise State receiver since Tyler Shoemaker in December 2011 to have more than 100 yards.

In addition to his touchdown grab, Burks had an awkward diving grab for 35 yards on a pass from Grant Hedrick in the fourth quarter. The Broncos were without leading receiver Matt Miller for much of the second half.

“All year long, I know he’s had that in him. To have him go out there and make those plays is great,” Southwick said. “He’s a great guy to be around and he did some good things.”

Brian Murphy: 377-6444Twitter: @MurphsTurph