Staff Predictions: Utah State at Hawaii
Wes Mangum – @Dream_Breather_
This Hawaii team has shown the propensity to surrender tons of yardage (469.6 yds/game to be exact), and that doesn’t bode well against Jordan “MWC Offensive Player-of-the-Week” Love and the rest of the Aggies. Hawaii can score points, but there’s no way they put up enough to keep up with the 18th ranked Aggies. Utah State will take care of business on this trip and continue their climb in the national rankings.
Utah State 54, Hawaii 24
Daniel Hansen – @thegranddanny
A trip to Hawaii always poses a major challenge for a team. At four hours behind Mountain Standard Time, it can be difficult for a team to adapt to the circumstances and play at a high level. That homefield advantage has dissipated, however, as Hawaii has struggled to rebuild their program in recent years. Utah State was won four straight versus the Rainbow Warriors, including two straight on the island. Head coach Nick Rolovich is turning around Hawaii’s fortunes, and QB Cole McDonald is a legitimate playmaker, but the defense still can’t stop anyone. Hawaii is still a year or two from again flexing the Hawaiian homefield advantage.
Utah State 66, Hawaii 34
Jaden Johnson – @jadenjohnson00
I’ve been saying this all season long (check Twitter if you don’t believe me): Hawai’i isn’t that good. They have a good offense, but not as great of an offense as people think. For comparison’s sake, Utah State’s offense has averaged 49.4 points per game. Hawaii’s has averaged 33.4 with a very similar schedule. Hawaii has faced the rock-solid defenses of Colorado State (118th in scoring defense), Navy (109), Rice (122), Duquesne (FCS), San Jose State (119), and Nevada (95). Against defenses which rank higher than 95th in the nation — Wyoming, Fresno State, BYU, and Army — they average just 20.3 points per game. The USU defense holds the Rainbow Warriors in check, while the offense has a field day.
Utah State 58, Hawaii 21
Jason Walker – @thejwalk67
This will be a good test of Utah State’s defense. They’ve played teams all year that are primarily running teams. Hawai’i is the best passing team the Aggies may face all year. Throw in the fact that the game is being played on the island and there’s a lot that could end up happening. With all that being said, the Rainbow Warriors have been overrated at times this season and have been exposed when playing solid opponents. Utah State has the most explosive offense Hawai’i will see this season and the Aggies are coming off a 52-point first half and Hawaii’s defense could be worse than New Mexico. It’s hard for me to see a game where USU doesn’t put up 40 points and it could get uglier than that if Hawai’i puts up enough points so that Matt Wells keeps his starters in past halftime.
Utah State 63, Hawai’i 35
Kaleb Barclay – @kalebmbarclay
We all know that the Aggies are going to blow through the Rainbow Warriors’ defense in most likely a similar way that they did through the Lobos. What I am interested and a little anxious to see is the offense that the Warriors bring to the table and how Utah State can handle that. There are two possibilities that I can see happening here, and both include the Aggies scoring a lot of points. If the Warriors get what they want we are gonna see an offensive battle where the defense does very little except watch points go on the board. Or USU’s beloved defense shows up and scores more points than the opposing offense. Either way lots of points will be under the Aggies’ name.