Hawaii Bowl 2016: Hawaii vs. Middle Tennessee TV Schedule, Time and Odds
Thanks to the 2016 Hawaii Bowl between the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, college football fans will see plenty of scoring on Christmas Eve.
The tropical setting pits the Rainbow Warriors (6-7) in a familiar environment and provides a chance to prove they deserved to be back in a bowl game with a losing record.
For the Blue Raiders (8-4), it is all about getting healthy and making a big statement to end the season while riding a high-flying offense capable of some eye-popping numbers.
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Below is a look at everything to know about the holiday affair.
Hawaii Bowl 2016
Date: Saturday, Dec. 24
Time (ET): 8 p.m.
Location: Aloha Stadium, Halawa, Hawaii
Watch: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Over/Under: 70
Spread: Middle Tennessee (-4.5)
Team Injury Reports
| Devan Stubblefield | WR | Ques Sat |
| Melvin Davis | RB | Out for season |
| Daniel Lewis Jr. | DB | Ques Sat |
| John Urzua | QB | Ques Sat |
| Carlos Johnson | OL | Ques Sat |
| Brent Stockstill | QB | Ques Sat |
| Demetrius Frazier | WR | Out indefinitely |
| Jocquez Bruce | WR | Prob Sat |
| Shane Tucker | WR | Out indefinitely |
| Terry Pettis | WR | Out for season |
Injury reports courtesy of USA Today.
Making the Most of a Bid
Many will decry Hawaii's appearance in a bowl game. It took a 13th game during the regular season combined with not enough teams finishing with winning records to get the Rainbow Warriors bowling.
Few fans should complain given the potency of the offense. Quarterback Dru Brown only threw 15 touchdowns, seven of which went to Marcus Kemp.
The real allure of the Rainbow Warriors is the deep, potent rushing attack:
| Diocemy Saint Juste | 140 | 836 | 6.0 | 59 | 3 |
| Paul Harris | 77 | 537 | 7.0 | 44 | 2 |
| Steven Lakalaka | 100 | 415 | 4.2 | 30 (TD) | 12 |
| Dru Brown | 79 | 283 | 3.6 | 62 (TD) | 3 |
The attack has quite the snowball effect when working, hence outputs of 41, 38, 34, 34 and 46 points in five of the team's six wins on the year. Offense hasn't been the problem for the Rainbow Warriors—it's a defense allowing 37.5 points per game.
Should the defense cause the Rainbow Warriors to fall behind, Brown has the arm talent to help his team fight back, seeing as he completed 62 percent of his passes on the season.
In front of a friendly crowd, though, Hawaii will look to ride its strength on the ground and show the globe it deserved to go bowling.
Better Late Than Never
Thanks to the long layoff between the regular season and bowl games, Middle Tennessee should have quarterback Brent Stockstill back under center.
Stockstill missed three games with an injury, but it sounds like the team will have him back just in time for the bowl.
"Brent has had a good week of practice," Blue Raiders head coach Rick Stockstill said, according to Stats LLC (via ESPN.com). "He has had a couple of positive checkups and we are preparing like he will be under center for us come Saturday."
Over just nine games, Stockstill completed 63.9 percent of his passes with 27 touchdowns to five interceptions
That isn't to suggest Middle Tennessee suffered too much without its starting quarterback—after all, the team dropped 77 points in its regular-season finale against FAU, giving the offense eight outings at 38 or more points.
I'Tavius Mathers is a huge part of this. He has 1,504 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground while averaging 6.8 yards per carry. But he also has 589 yards and three touchdowns on 62 catches.
Maybe the biggest hurdle for the Blue Raiders Sunday is simply getting everyone back on the same page in a hostile environment.
Prediction
Those looking to make holiday picks here seem to have an easy time.
The Middle Tennessee offense, though on the road and working a starter back into the system, simply has to pull away to nullify the Hawaii rushing attack. The Rainbow Warriors could control the pace of the game, but few have done so against the Blue Raiders this year.
Were the Rainbow Warriors' defense not so leaky, this prediction might swing the other direction. But a friendly crowd isn't enough here—look for Middle Tennessee to pull ahead early and refuse to let off the gas.
Prediction: Middle Tennessee 45, Hawaii 30
Statistics courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified. All betting information courtesy of OddsShark.
Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.
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