The Cougars of BYU (-8) are preparing to welcome the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors to LaVell Edwards Stadium. Fans can catch the action live on ESPN2 and the opening kickoff is scheduled for 10:15 p.m. ET.
Betting Preview: BYU Cougars vs. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
Hawaii is a live dog in this one and is currently getting 8 points. The Rainbow Warriors are also receiving +260 moneyline odds while the Cougars are -340. It appears that there could be multiple decent live betting opportunities for this game.
The surprising Rainbow Warriors are 3-3-1 against the spread (ATS) and have gained 14.7 units so far. The team has posted an Over-Under mark of 4-3.
The Cougars have lost 0.1 units this season. The team is 3-3 ATS and has an O/U record of 1-5.
The Rainbow Warriors are 6-1 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Cougars are 3-3 SU.
Hawaii enters this matchup on a zero-game losing skid while BYU has won zero in a row. The Rainbow Warriors are coming off a 17-13 win over Wyoming last week. Chevan Cordeiro completed 19-of-29 passes for just 148 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Dayton Furuta (101 yards on 16 rush attempts) and the signal-caller Cordeiro (23 yards on 12 carries) led the ground attack. Marcus Armstrong-Brown (six receptions, 49 yards) and John Ursua (five catches, 30 yards) shared the receiving duties in the win.
BYU most-recently lost a pretty brutal 45-20 game to Utah State. Tanner Mangum completed 27-of-46 passes for 270 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Lopini Katoa carved up the opposing defense in the loss. Along with 24 yards on eight rush attempts, Katoa also reeled in six catches for 21 yards and a score.
Hawaii has run the ball on 45.1 percent of its offensive possessions this year while BYU has a rush percentage of 50.0 percent. The Rainbow Warriors have rushed for 146.1 yards/game and have eight scores on the ground this year. The Cougars are averaging 116.5 rushing yards per game and have eight total rush TDs.
Based on the numbers so far, it appears that the Rainbow Warriors might hold an advantage when it comes to efficiency in the ground game. Their running backs has logged 4.6 yards per carry while their defense is allowing a YPC of 4.0 to opponents. The Cougars have rushed for 3.7 yards per carry and given up 4.4 YPC to opponents.
The Rainbow Warriors offensive scheme has logged 322.3 yards per contest in the air overall and has 26 passing TDs so far. The Cougars have put up 189.5 pass yards per game and have seven total pass scores.
Hawaii has allowed opponents to rush for an average of 158.9 yards and throw for 251.9 yards per game. The BYU defense has allowed 197.0 yards per game to opposing passers and 163.8 yards per game on the ground. The Cougars are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 6.04 to opponents, while the Rainbow Warriors have given up an 8.05 ANY/A.
Offensively, McDonald is already up to 2,100 passing yards on the year. He’s completed 156-of-240 attempts with 24 scores through the air and only two interceptions. McDonald has a 9.48 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number sits at 5.93 over the last two games.
John Ursua (653 receiving yards, nine receiving touchdowns this season), Dayton Furuta (290 rush yards) and JoJo Ward (402 receiving yards, four TDs) have all played significant roles of late.
Tanner Mangum has managed to complete 94-of-162 passes for 882 yards, five TDs and three INTs for BYU. His ANY/A stands at an ultra-pedestrian 4.90 for the season and 5.56 over his past two games.
Similar to the Rainbow Warriors, expect a balanced attack offensively from BYU this Saturday. Lopini Katoa, Matt Bushman and Talon Shumway have combined to account for 373 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns as a trio over the last couple of games.
These two programs met last year with the final result being a 30-20 victory for BYU.
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors vs. BYU Cougars Betting Pick
SU Winner: BYU, ATS Winner: BYU
Team Betting Notes
- BYU has lost four fumbles this season while Hawaii has let five get away.
- The Hawaii defense has more than three times as many sacks as BYU this year (19 versus six).
- Hawaii, as a team, has averaged 4.61206896551724 yards per rush attempt over its last three games and 3.7 over its last two.
- BYU has averaged 2.7 yards per carry over its last three contests and 1.7 over its last two.
- Over its last three contests, BYU is 1-2 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
- Hawaii was getting 4 points in its last game and the O/U was set at 51. The under cashed and Hawaii covered in the 17-13 triumph over Wyoming.
- In its last three contests, Hawaii is 1-2 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
- BYU was favored by one point in its last game and the Over/Under was 55. The over cashed and BYU failed to cover in the 45-20 defeat to Utah State.
