Hawaii Warriors (10-3, 7-1 WAC) vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (9-3, 6-2 CUSA)
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
December 24 - 8:00 pm - ESPN
Honolulu, HI
$750,000 payout per team
One team plays on the island regularly, will not have to travel, and gets to play in front of their fans, who similarly do not have to travel. The other team has to come from nearly 5,000 miles away. Sounds fair, right?
Fair or not, this should be an exciting matchup, with two extremely potent offenses lining up to see who can put the largest number on the board. This will be the proverbial shootout that many expect it to be, and fans of high scoring games will not be disappointed.
This will be the eighth time these two teams have met, with Hawaii holding a slight edge, at 5-2. Last time, in 2004, Hawaii took care of Tulsa 44-16 at home. Something tells me this game will have a similar outcome, only with more points on the board.
The Hawaii Bowl is relatively new, having been played in Honolulu since 2002. Hawaii has played in five of the eight previous games, winning three of them. Last year, the Hawaii Bowl played host to Southern Methodist and Nevada, as the Mustangs snapped their 25-year bowl drought streak with a victory, 45-10.
Hawaii is led by third year head coach Greg McMackin, who has gone 23-17 since 2008. Todd Graham is in his fourth year at Tulsa, and has put together a record of 35-17 in that time.
- SBN Pittsburgh analysis by Jeff Junstrom
SBN PITTSBURGH BOLD PREDICTION: Hawaii 71, Tulsa 57
Analyst Projections
Aaron - Hawaii
Anson - Hawaii
Jeff - Hawaii
Two of the most prolific offenses in the country face off on Christmas Eve: Tulsa ranks No. 5 in the country in total offense, while Hawaii ranks No. 8. Two great quarterbacks to watch, as well: G.J. Kinne for the Golden Hurricane and Bryant Moniz for the Warriors. Hawaii is 3-2 in its past five bowl appearances. So is Tulsa. -- Andrea Adelson
Defense is boring. Demand 65-61 between two teams that put their feet on the offensive gas pedal and don't let up. Hawaii is first in the nation in passing and has hung up 159 points in its last three games and 45 or more in five of its last six games. Tulsa is fifth in the nation in total offense and beat Southern Miss 56-50 to close out the regular season.