Hawaii (N/A)
Hawaii started off the season on an impressive four game winning streak, pulling off multiple upsets. They then came back down to Earth, although they ended the season with wins over San Diego State and UNLV. They get a solid matchup against Louisiana Tech, who had a similar path to this bowl. They featured a solid start to the season, before losing three of their last four games. Vegas projects this game to be high scoring, as the total is set at 61.5 points. In that case, Hawaii features the better offense of the duo, although Louisiana Tech features a slightly better defense. The biggest factor in this game is that these teams will be playing in Hawaii. One team will essentially have a home game, while the other will be traveling for hours on end for this game. That kind of travel can take a toll on players, and with two close teams based on talent, I’ll side with the home team that hasn’t had to travel.
Bet 2 units on Hawaii -1 spread to win 1.9 units (-105)
Buffalo (N/A)
This is an interesting matchup. Buffalo and Troy are two similar teams, although Buffalo is slightly more offensive oriented, while Troy focuses a bit more on defense. Buffalo is coming off of a disappointing loss against Northern Illinois in a game that looked like a lock for Buffalo in the third quarter. They could be looking to make a statement against Troy after that type of defeat. The star power of Buffalo will likely be the difference in this game, though. Tyree Jackson and Anthony Johnson are potential NFL players, and those types of players generally stand out when the spotlight is on. While I feel these two teams are relatively close, I feel Jackson and Johnson have the skills to lead their team to victory.
Bet 2 units on Buffalo -1 spread to win 1.8 units (-110)
