The 18th Hawai’i Bowl is set and features two very familiar teams in Honolulu. BYU will travel to the Aloha State to take on the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors. This will be the Cougars first appearance in this bowl, but it will be the 9th appearance for Hawai’i who will look to make their all-time record 5-4.
BYU finished the regular season with a 7-5 overall record and will be bowling for the second straight season. The Cougars have won two straight bowl games, but overall BYU has a 15-20-1 record in bowl games.
Hawai’i finished the regular season with a 9-5 overall record, a 5-3 conference record and a Mountain West Conference Championship Game appearance. The Rainbow Warriors will be making their second consecutive bowl appearance and will be looking to avenge their 31-14 loss last season. Hawai’i is 6-6 all-time in bowl games.
Below is my pick for the Hawai’i Bowl between the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors and the BYU Cougars. All lines are from the PointsBet Sportsbook.
BYU Cougars (-2) vs Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors: O/U 63.5 points (-110/-110)
BYU finished the regular season with a disappointing 13-3 loss at San Diego State. The Cougars opened the game with a 3-0 lead, but could not score anymore points despite 416 total yards of offense. BYU finished the regular season winning five of their final six games, but will be disappointed with their last showing. The Cougars went 3-3 on the road this season with a notable win at Tennessee, but bad losses at Toledo and South Florida. BYU is 4-8 against the spread and both the over and under hit in six games this season.
Hawai’i earned a berth in the Mountain West Championship Game and crushed at Boise State. The Rainbow Warriors got out to a 3-0 lead, but it was all Boise after that as the Broncos scored 31 unanswered points after that. The Rainbow Warriors went 6-2 at home this season with wins over Arizona and Oregon State, but losses to Air Force and Fresno State. Hawai’i is 7-7 against the spread and the over hit in eight of their 14 games this season.
Series History: BYU has won five straight games between these two and leads the all-time series 23-8.
Game Prediction: I like Hawai’i +2 to win their home bowl game.
YTD College Football Results: 68-57-2
