Roundtable Predictions: Utah State football vs. Hawaii
Daniel Hansen, @thegranddanny: A lot of the Aggie faithful have seemed pretty timid about this game, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why. Even in the kindest terms, Hawaii is a *trash emoji* team. 3-7 is already bad before you glimpse at those three wins being FCS Western Carolina, UMass, and San Jose State. Their S&P ranking is 119th, below that of fellow USU opponents BYU, UNLV, and New Mexico. In the Aggies’ four games versus teams in the bottom 40 of the S&P rankings, Utah State has outscored their opponents a combined 177-72. On senior day, and with bowl eligibility on the line, I expect a similar outcome. Senior Lajuan Hunt has a clear shot at another 100-yard rushing game, and we should see a version of freshman QB Jordan Love a lot closer to UNLV than New Mexico. An opportunistic defense should be smelling blood in the water coming into this game. Aggies will bowl.
Utah State 45, Hawaii 20
Matt Harris, @snowmatt1417: Any defense with a pulse above 10 beats per minute should be able to quiet the Hawaii offense. The Rainbow Warriors crossed the planes of 2000 passing yards and 1000 rushing yards some time ago, and on paper, it’s not a favorable comparison to USU’s offense, which has produced roughly half that. In context, however, Hawaii has gotten those numbers mostly because teams that have already throttled them are letting them fill the stat sheet in already-decided games. The Aggies know how to contain stat-stuffing offenses (see: UNLV), and Jordan Love and Co. are going to achieve bowl-eligibility by sending a Hawaii team with nothing left to play for packing without so much as an “Aloha.”
Utah State 38, Hawaii 23
Thomas Sorenson, @tomcat340: This probably isn’t going to be a very interesting slate of predictions because, uhhhh, yeah Utah State should crush Hawaii. A bad team with absolutely nothing to play for has to get motivated enough to beat a good team on the road on Senior Day with bowl eligibility on the line. That’s already a tough situation for the Rainbow Warriors (great mascot btw) before you even factor in the weather. If the Aggies are focused and ready this shouldn’t be much of a contest. I think the key for Utah State is LaJuan Hunt. If he can settle in and have a strong game on the ground, the Aggie offense should be clicking. Hawaii quarterback Dru Brown has only thrown eight interceptions this season, but if USU can get an early lead, Jalen Davis and Dallin Leavitt (and the rest of the defensive backfield) should have plenty of opportunities to make some big plays.
Utah State 41, Hawaii 18
Jaden Johnson, @jadenjohns0n: Gaaaah, I need to start making my picks sooner so that way when I want to predict a game the same way as everyone else did I don’t feel guilty about it. Look, I’ve been down on the Aggies all year. They’ve been wildly inconsistent, home field hasn’t meant a thing, and they’re just hard to trust. But Hawai’i is a bad team. And if this USU team has proven anything it’s that they really like to crush bad teams. Then, figure in that Hawai’i is 1-4 on the road, and is coming to snowy Logan in November on a day which may not reach 35 degrees. With bowl eligibility on the line, Utah State wins BIG. I mean, fans leaving at halftime big.
Utah State 52, Hawaii 14
Logan Jones, @Logantj: Get on up, Aggie nation! It’s bowl season for the good guys, because Utah State is going to win this game. The Aggies have consistently beaten teams they ought to beat this season, and Hawaii fits that bill. Come for the Jordan Love deep bombs, stay for another multi-touchdown game from senior LaJuan Hunt. Despite being second in the conference in passing yardage, expect Hawaii’s Dru Brown to have a rough day against Jalen Davis and the Aggie secondary. I’ll throw the Warriors a bone and predict an early 7-0 Hawaii lead, but after Dallin Leavitt snags an interception it’ll be all Aggies.
Utah State 45, Hawaii 17