Hawai'i Bowl 2015: San Diego State vs. Cincinnati TV Schedule, Time and Odds
Thursday's meeting between the San Diego State Aztecs and Cincinnati Bearcats in the Hawai'i Bowl figures to personify what a war of strengths should look like.
Tommy Tuberville's Bearcats feature one of the nation's most prolific passing attacks, though five losses ensured struggles in the American Athletic Conference and a lack of publicity on a national scale.
For Rocky Long's Aztecs, Thursday is yet another chance to show off one of the nation's top defenses, not to mention a chance to add to what is already an impressive nine-game streak.
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As they say, something has to give. Here's everything to know about the encounter.
Game Details
When: Thursday, December 24, at 8 p.m. ET
Where: Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Television: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Over/Under: 56.5
Spread: San Diego State (-1.5)
Team Injury Reports
| Christian Heyward | DL | Out for season |
| Maxwell Smith | QB | Ques Thurs |
| Dakota Turner | DL | Out for season |
| Gunner Kiel | QB | Out Thurs |
| Johnny Holton | WR | Ques Thurs |
| Clemente Casseus | LB | Out indefinitely |
Injury reports courtesy of USA Today.
Accepting All Challengers
San Diego State doesn't fear much of anything.
Why should it? Just one team has scored more than 20 points against the elite defense over its nine-game winning streak. The Aztecs rank second in the nation with 31 turnovers gained, allow just 111.2 rushing yards per game and rank fifth in total defense.
It explains why Long has been so confident on the path to the bowl game, according to Ruben Meza of Rivals.com:
Long might not be far off the mark. The Aztecs not only feature an elite defense, but one of the nation's most underrated backs in Donnel Pumphrey. The junior has ran for 1,554 yards and 16 touchdowns this season while averaging 5.5 yards a carry.
Pumphrey and the defense might have to make up for the potential absence of starting quarterback Maxwell Smith, who suffered a torn ACL in the team's final game of the season.
According to Kirk Kenney of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Smith will attempt to play through the injury. If not, the offense gets handed over to Christian Chapman. Luckily for the Aztecs, they aren't the only team with issues under center.
Next Man Up
Cincinnati won't have a choice but to roll with a backup quarterback Thursday with the news starter Gunner Kiel won't make the trip with the team due to personal reasons.
The development leaves freshman Hayden Moore under center, but Tuberville suggested it won't have a negative impact on the offense. In fact, it might help diversify it.
"We won't cut back," Tuberville said, according to Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer. "We've actually even added to the game plan because of what he brings to the table. I think he'll play well."
Moore brings more to the table as a rusher than the starter, but in his most recent outing, he did have struggles, throwing one touchdown to two picks in a 65-27 throttling at the hands of South Florida.
The bigger problem there should be apparent. Cincinnati's defense has struggled all year, allowing at least 33 points in all five losses with two of those outputs breaking the 50-point barrier.
It's a tall task, then, to contain an offense led by a back as talented as Pumphrey. With Moore now under center, Cincinnati might take more of a run-first approach in an effort to keep the defense off the field. Such an approach might be akin to sprinting up a steep incline against the San Diego State defense, though.
Prediction
It's hard to get behind Cincinnati here, and Las Vegas seems to agree.
The Bearcats might average 36 points per game, but trotting out a backup against a defense of the Aztecs' caliber is rarely a recipe for success. If the Bearcats defense cannot get off the field, offensive rankings and averages won't matter much, anyway.
As other talented backs have in the past, Pumphrey will exploit the Cincinnati defense and keep his offense on the field for most of the game, neutralizing the Bearcats offense. Look for the Aztecs to pull away early and sit on the lead.
Prediction: Aztecs 35, Bearcats 28
Statistics courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified. All betting information courtesy of Odds Shark.
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