UNLV at Hawaii (Saturday – 10pm ET)
This is an interesting one, as we got a look at both of these teams in Week 0. UNLV and Hawaii both have hopes of solid seasons in the Mountain West, and both took tough losses that came down to the end to open their seasons. It’s an early desperation spot, as 0-2 would be very disappointing for either side.
Dan Mullin got severely out-coached by Charles Huff in the loss to Memphis. UNLV failed to make many adjustments, and the Tigers cashed in. Hawaii was the opposite. Despite a poor start to the game, and missing some key pieces in the passing game, the Bows adjusted and found their stride as the game went on. A killer fumble ended the comeback bid, and was a brutal beat for Hawaii backers, but I liked how Timmy Chang’s squad responded.
The Rebels also lost their best offensive lineman late in the loss to Memphis. Jackson Arnold, who was already under a lot of pressure to begin with, could not stay upright after his OL had to add a new piece and shift around. Arnold wasn’t sacked until the middle of the third quarter, yet the Memphis defense ended the game with six sacks. If the OL is not intact on Saturday night on the island, UNLV’s offense would take a huge hit.
Hawaii is 13-5 ATS as a home underdog under Chang, and 21-6-1 ATS at home overall. I’ll take the points with the Bows to bounce back.
CFB Pick: Hawaii +3 (-112)
