Hawaii Bowl – Louisiana Tech vs Hawaii
The Game
ALOHA!
It’s Hawaii Bowl time as Louisiana Tech visits paradise to take on Hawaii. The Rainbow Warriors started out on SUPAH HOT FIRE right out of the gate (6-1) but then proceeded to lose four straight games once the competition got tougher. They finished on a high note beating UNLV and San Diego St can come into this contest with a mark of 8-5. The Bulldogs were a bit of a disappointment this season (7-5) and never really got into the thick of things in Conference USA. It will be interesting to see if the Bulldogs can pull another BOWL WIN RABBIT out of the hat as they are undefeated in the postseason under HC Skip Holtz.
The Details
Louisiana Tech -1 Hawaii (61)
MEGALOCKS LINE – Pick ’em
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: Louisiana Tech 31 Hawaii 30
The Match-Up:
Louisiana Tech offense vs Hawaii defense
It’s been a struggle moving the ball this season as the Bulldogs’ high-water mark vs FBS teams was a pair of 31-point efforts vs NON-JUGGERNAUTS UTEP and UTSA. QB J’Mar Smith was “ok” during the regular season completing 57% of his passes with a 14-9 TD to INT ratio. Adrian Hardy has been a nice find at WR (1,052, 15.2, 6 TD) but there is not a ton of explosion in the passing attack. The run game is ranked a nasty #111 in the FBS and they only average 3.8 YPC as a team (includes sack yardage). The REALLY great news is that Hawaii has one of the worst Ds that LT has faced all year. They are #101 in total defense, #106 vs the run and #114 in pass efficiency D. The Rainbow Warriors have trouble getting PENETRATION as they are last in the Mountain West in TFL/game (4.69). The Bulldogs have a good shot to hit their implied team total if they play a clean game on offense (no more than one giveaway).
Hawaii offense vs Louisiana Tech defense
It’s all about the THROW GAME, baby!
The high-octane passing attack has a tough challenge ahead as they will need to navigate a Bulldogs’ D that has allowed just 24 PPG whilst bagging 36 sacks (#3 C-USA). Star DE Jaylon Ferguson has accounted for 15 on those sacks and will be playing in his final collegiate game before starting a (hopefully) successful career in the NFL. QB Cole McDonald started out really fast but then struggled a bit with injuries. Nonetheless, he still put up some fine numbers (3,790, 35 TD 8 INT). Back-up QB Chevan Cordeiro looked good in limited action (65.7% 5-1 TD to INT) and provides a nice safety blanket for the offense. WR John Ursua is a DEVASTATING weapon (1,343, 15.1, 16 TD) and it’s possible that after this game we have THREE Hawaii WRs with 1,000-yards receiving (Cedric Byrd – 939; Jo-Jo Ward 865). The running game is essentially ZILCH so the strategy for LT will be to keep things in front of them, make stops on 3rd down and get PENETRATION to create turnovers and long down-and-distance situations.
Trends, Intangibles and More!
Hawaii is 4-3 SU and ATS in their seven Hawaii Bowl appearances……The Bulldogs have dominated the bowl scene under HC Skip Holtz winning all FOUR of their postseason games.
Summary
You can make the case for either squad without getting much of an argument from our HAWAII BOWL INSIDERS. Louisiana Tech has the proven bowl pedigree but they are down a notch from recent iterations. We also wonder if the Hawaii vibe takes a bit of starch out of the business trip mentality. Hawaii? They are playing on their home field and fans. Their defense is a mess but they have a legit shot to win this game if they can stop LT from killing their QB(s).
Conclusion
Official play: None.
Side: Slight lean to Hawaii.
Total: No leanage to report.
As always:
‘Lean’ implies we are comfortable suggesting ‘small potatoes’ on the game. Nothing more. < but always stay tuned for updates >
‘Slight lean’ implies we are almost certain to avoid the game and/or total from a betting standpoint even for ‘small potatoes’. We give an opinion for those who need to get down and want advice.