Hawaii Bowl 
Tulsa vs. Hawaii -12 O/U 72 
December 24, 5 pm PT – ESPN

Overview: Hawaii (10-3) enjoyed one of the more shocking turnarounds in the country after back-to-back down seasons. The Warriors took care of business more often than not and even notched a win over Nevada on their home turf. Make no mistake, Hawaii is still only “WAC good” but they avoid needing to step up in class with Tulsa coming to town. The Golden Hurricane got back to their scoring ways with nearly 40 ppg. They performed well on the road with close loses to East Carolina and SMU and victories at Notre Dame and Houston. Hawaii’s home turf is to be respected but Tulsa’s offensive is more than capable of late game scores to cover the double-digit pointspread.

Rob Veno’s Take: (Power Rating: Hawaii -6) One of two true home games this bowl season as the Warriors get Tulsa off of the mainland and into their den. Hawaii finished as my #1 most improved team this season and head coach Greg McMackin has elevated his team’s performance on each side of the ball. Quarterback Bryant Moniz and the electric passing game now have a complementary ground game to keep opponents honest.  The real key though is the defensive improvement, especially on this field (19.4 ppg allowed at home). Tulsa however has all the explosive ingredients to potentially scorch Hawaii’s defense which creates a very intriguing battle.

ACCU-STATS: True Rushing Numbers 


Line Moves:  Hawaii opened as a 13.5-point favorite with a majority of the action coming in on the Tulsa side. Not surprising, the total has moved a field goal towards the over at some sportsbooks.

What the local media is saying: Hawaii feels a victory over Tulsa is the only way to consider 2010 a successful campaign. Tulsa is fired up for a chance to knock off a top 25 team.