The 2023 EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl will take place tonight as the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers will duke it out with the San Jose State Spartans at the Ching Athletics Complex in Honolulu. This game will kick off at 10:30 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN.
Coastal Carolina (7-5, 5-3 Sun Belt) took a step back Tim Beck’s first season as head coach, but still reached bowl eligibility for a fourth straight season. The Chanticleers were in the mix for the Sun Belt East title late in the season, but were roasted by James Madison in the season finale. Veteran quarterback Grayson McCall suffered a concussion in October and missed the rest of the year, opening the door for Jarrett Guest and Ethan Vasko to get plenty of playing time. Vasko will get the start in tonight’s game.
San Jose State (7-5, 6-2 MWC) is back in a bowl game for the third time in four seasons under head coach Brent Brennan and nearly made an appearance in the Mountain West Championship Game. The Spartans forced a three-way tie at the top of the standings with a 37-31 victory over UNLV in the season finale, but the Rebels and Boise State were selected to go to the league title game through the computer tiebreaker. Veteran quarterback Chevan Cordeiro has another solid season while running back Kairee Robinson broke off 1,127 yards and 18 touchdowns.
SP+ Rankings
Coastal Carolina: 76 overall, 62 offense, 79 defense
San Jose State: 73 overall, 48 offense, 87 defense
List of injuries and players opting out of game
Coastal Carolina
QB Grayson McCall – Out (Transfer Portal)
RB CJ Beasley – Out (Transfer Portal)
WR Jared Brown – Out (Transfer Portal).
WR Tyson Mobley – Out (Transfer Portal)
WR Chris Rhone – Out (Transfer Portal)
QB Luke Sather – Out (Transfer Portal)
WR Dami’on Thompson – Out (Transfer Portal)
San Jose State
WR Branden Alvarez – Out (Transfer Portal)
TE Dominick Mazotti – Out (Transfer Portal)
ATS/Total
Against The Spread in 2023
Coastal Carolina: 8-4 ATS
San Jose State: 8-3-1 ATS
Total in 2023
Coastal Carolina: Over 4-8
San Jose State: Over 8-4
Team Pace
Coastal Carolina: 2.13 plays per minute of offense
San Jose State: 2.01 plays per minute of offense
Odds at DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: San Jose State -10
Total: 48
Moneyline: San Jose State -395, Coastal Carolina +310
Opening line: San Jose State -7
Opening total: 54.5
Weather
73 degrees, partly cloudy, 14 MPH winds ENE with 23 MPH wind gusts
Our Best Bet for the Hawai’i Bowl
San Jose State -10
San Jose State is dealing with significantly less portal attrition than Coastal Carolina heading into this matchup and I’ll take them to cover and win here. The Spartans have a number of players from Hawai’i on their roster, so they’ll be motivated to play hard in front of their friends and family at home.