Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 2023 Future Odds
Hawaii Legend Timmy Chang Looks to Turn Things in Second Season
Defense Needs to Make Strides & Become Relevant in Mountain West
Timmy Chang, one of the most prolific quarterbacks in NCAA history, enters his second season at Hawaii with plenty of work to do. Hawaii was last in the Mountain West Conference in total defense and that plays a role in the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Future Odds.
Hawaii added linebacker Patrick Hisatake from Cal, defensive lineman Kuao Peihopa from Washington, Kansas wide receiver Steven McBride and Houston offensive tackle Joshua Atkins. The Rainbow Warriors were 10th among 12 Mountain West teams in the class of incoming freshmen, so it will be many of the same players who played for Hawaii a season ago in key roles.
Only eight Football Bowl Subdivision teams allowed more points per game than the 34.7 surrendered by Hawaii a season ago. That defense will be tested immediately with the Rainbow Warriors listed as a 17.5-point underdog against Vanderbilt in the Aug. 26 season opener.
Nine of Hawaii’s games in 2022 finished under the total with the Rainbow Warriors covering against the college football odds in seven of the final eight games of the season.
Shager Looks to Strike Pay Dirt in 2023
Brayden Schager is going to get plenty of chances to air it out and he will need to do better than 13 touchdown passes on 400 attempts as he did a season ago. In games when he attempted at least 10 passes, Schager completed better than 60% of his passes just once so that is a concern. He had four touchdowns and one interception in the two wins compared to nine TD passes and nine interceptions in the 10 losses.
Six players had 25-35 catches a season ago and Schager will be spreading the ball around. Top receiver Zion Bowers is gone as is tight end Caleb Phillips. Tylan Hines averaged 7.6 yards per carry as a freshman and he figures to have more than 83 carries in 2022. Keep that in mind when looking at the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors future odds.
No offensive players made the Mountain West preseason first team with the only first-teamer being defensive back Cam Stone. He had 35 tackles, 10 pass breakups, and two interceptions as well as averaging 22 yards on seven kickoff returns as a sophomore at Wyoming.
Leading tackler Logan Taylor is back along with defensive backs Peter Manuma, Mark Pei, and Virdel Edwards. Hawaii allowed 16 plays from scrimmage of at least 40 yards and nine 50-yard plays and that needs to be addressed. When looking at the NCAA football stats, keep in mind that Hawaii ranked 117th out of 131 teams in total defense last season. The Rainbow Warriors were 118th in turnover margin, tied for 120th in sacks, and tied for 118th in tackles for loss a season ago so those are areas that need some improvement.
National Championship Odds: Not Going to Happen
Hawaii has failed to earn a bowl bid in the last two seasons and that is evident when looking at Hawaii’s +100000 odds to win the national title and that is tied with more than 50 other programs for the longest championship odds.
Hawaii went 18-13 during the 2018 and 2019 seasons and that is somewhere the Rainbow Warriors would like to get to again.
Conference Odds: Hardly A Perfect 10
Hawaii was picked to finish 10th in the Mountain West in 2023 and time will tell if Chang can get the Rainbow Warriors moving up in the standings.
The conference wins in 2022 came against Nevada and UNLV. However, a quick look at the NCAA football schedule both of those games are on the road this season.
Nevada and New Mexico are the only teams behind Hawaii in the preseason Mountain West poll. The New Mexico matchup is also on the road so it might be a struggle to pick up conference wins.
When looking at the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Future Odds, Hawaii is tied with New Mexico for the longest odds of +10000 to win the Mountain West title.
Regular Season Wins: Ready to Take Small Steps
Hawaii is coming off a three-win season with one of those victories against Duquesne out of the Football Championship Subdivision.
The good news is that Hawaii is priced at -135 according to the NCAA football odds to go over 3.5 wins and +105 to finish over that total.
Three of the first four games come against Power-5 Conference teams Vanderbilt, Stanford, and Oregon mixed in with contests against Albany and New Mexico State. Hawaii has lost its last five games versus Power-5 conference teams so coming out of non-conference play with more than two wins might be a challenge.
To Make the Playoffs: Hoping to Go Bowling
Hawaii is trying to avoid finishing with a losing record for a third straight season for the first time since the 2013, 2014, and 2015 campaigns. It will not be an easy task. Perhaps when the College Football Playoff field expands from four to 12 teams, a Mountain West team will be in the running to make it into the playoff field.
Hawaii is still pretty far down when it comes to Mountain West teams capable of running the table to being a playoff contender.
For NCAAF betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
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