Hawaii Bowl

Bowl History: The Hawaii Bowl succeeds the Poi Bowl (1936–1939), Pineapple Bowl (1940–1941, 1947–1952), Aloha Bowl (1982–2000), and the O’ahu Bowl (1998–2000) as bowl games played in Hawaiʻi. This bowl is a new event not affiliated with the previous games, while the Aloha Bowl tried to move to San Francisco, California and was decertified by the NCAA, the Oʻahu Bowl was moved to Seattle, Washington and was held for two years as the Seattle Bowl before losing certification in 2002. This current Bowl came into existence in 2002 and has been played every year since its inception @ Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawai’i! The game is played either on Christmas Day or on Christmas Eve Day (one exception in 2007, the game was played on the 23rd of December)! The Bowl’s 1st sponsor was ConAgra Foods, for one year only, 2002, the next year (2003) Sheridan Hotels & Resorts Hawai’i took over and have sponsored the event from 2003 to 2014 when they declined to renew their sponsorship! The first Hawaii Bowl was played on December 25, 2002, the game featured Hawaii and Tulane, the Green Wave beat the Warriors, 36-28 in front of 35,513 fans! The 2011 defending Champ is Southern Miss (Please note, Southern Miss did not a game the next year, 2012), who survived Nevada, 24-17, on Christmas Eve Day! The Bowl Tie-ins were the WAC (2002 through 2011), C-USA (2005, 2007, & 2009 to Present) & in 2006 & 2008 the PAC 12 had the tie-in with the Western Athletic Conference (now defunct)! The Bowl Payout is $750,000.00 Per team!

Teams: Hawaii 6-7 (MWC) vs Middle Tenn 8-4 (C-USA)

Bowl Location: Ahola Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii

Day, Date & Time: Saturday, December 24, 2016, 7:00 p.m. CST

Network: ESPN

Best Win(s): Hawaii: Beat Air Force (9-3), OT; Middle Tennessee: beat Missouri (4-8 but SEC), 51-45, & Louisiana Tech (8-5), 38-34

Worst Losses: Hawaii: Lost to Michigan, 63-3 & San Diego State, 55-0, & Boise State, 52-16; Middle Tennessee: Vanderbilt (6-6) 47-24 & Marshall (3-9), 42-17

Common Opponents: None

Vegas HotsheetS Favorite: Middle Tennessee -4.5

Offensive Team Data: Hawaii ; Total Yards,  383 YPG; Passing Yards, 222 YPG; Rushing Yards, 161 YPG; Scoring Average, 26 PPG, Turnovers, 2.08 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 33.5%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 90% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 67%

Offensive Team Data: Middle Tenn ; Total Yards, 515 YPG; Passing Yards, 314 YPG; Rushing Yards, 201 YPG; Scoring Average 40 PPG, Turnovers, 1.42 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 45.3%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 94% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 76%

Defensive Team Data: Hawaii ; Total Yards, 455 YPG; Passing Yards, 212 YPG; Rushing Yards, 244 YPG; Scoring Average, 37 PPG, Turnovers, 1.08 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 48.4%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 86% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 60%

Defensive Team Data: Middle Tenn ; Total Yards, 445 YPG; Passing Yards, 247 YPG; Rushing Yards, 198 YPG; Scoring Average, 34 PPG, Turnovers, 1.67 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 37.6%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 79% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 69%

Sully’s CFP Game Simulator is a statistical analysis / predictor of how these teams will preform, based solely on their numbers, when they face off on the gridiron! Keep in mind, these stats were established against different teams and conferences and these differences must be taken into account to get a complete picture when attempting to predetermine a winner. If you are interested in how the Simulator works … read this part … if not … skip it! The process used is … we take Arizona’s total yards on offense, add it to what Nevada gives up on defense, … get a total and then divide that number by 2 … to get the mean. We then invert the process by taking Nevada’s total offense, add it to what Arizona gives up on defense, get a total and divide that number by 2 to get the second mean… the greater number (with the exception of Turnovers) is then determined to have the advantage ( please note …. statistical advantage). We repeat this process in each of the eight statistical categories assessed! That said… here are the results of the Head to Head Analysis:

Total Yards Advantage: Middle Tenn 485 to 414

Passing Yards: Advantage: Middle Tenn 263 to 234.5

Rushing Yards Advantage: Middle Tenn 222.5 to 179.5

Scoring Advantage: Middle Tenn 38.5 to 30

Turnovers Advantage: Middle Tenn 1.25 to 1.875

3rd Down Conversions Advantage: Middle Tenn 46.85% to 35.55%

Red Zone All Scores Advantage: Middle Tenn 92% to 82%

Red Zone TD’s Only Advantage: Tie 68% to 68%

Game Simulator Says: Middle Tenn dominates 8 to 1 statiscally. Take Middle Tennessee and give the Rainbow Warriors the 4.5 as the GS thinks MTSU wins 39-30

Individuals to Watch: MTSU: QB, Brent Stockstill, 27/5 ratio TD to INT, passed for 2801 yards, 311.2 YPG 8th best in the country, WR, Richie James, 1463 Receiving Yards & 11 TD’s, RB, I’Tavius Mathews, 1504 Rushing Yards for 125.3 YPG; Hawaii: QB,Dru Brown 15/7 Ratio TD to INT, 2214 Passing Yards, 184.5 YPG, LB, Jahlani Tavai 6.2 Solo Tackles per Game!

Sully Says: This is a easy one, Game Simulator (GS) is all over this as MT wins and covers the 4.5 and then some!