Hawaii Bowl: San Diego State vs Cincinnati TV info, betting odds, prediction and more
The San Diego State Aztecs take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve. Here’s the complete game preview, including TV info, live stream, betting odds and a prediction.
San Diego State didn’t get off to the start they envisioned when they opened 1-3, with the lone loss coming against South Dakota and one of the losses coming against South Alabama.
However, the Aztecs were a completely different team when Mountain West play began and went undefeated to win the Mountain West Conference Championship Game over Air Force and enter the Hawaii Bowl with nine straight wins.
The Aztecs have the nation’s No. 15 rushing offense led by Donnel Pumphrey who has 1,554 yards and 16 touchdowns on the year. On the other side of the ball, SDSU has a dominant defense that’s limiting opponents to an average of 17.2 points per game, which is good for tenth best in the nation.
Cincinnati won’t have quarterback Gunner Kiel for the game as he deals with a personal matter, so this is a tough loss as he’s led the Bearcats to the nation’s No. 4 passing offense when healthy.
In his place will be Hayden Moore who has 195 attempts on the year and starting experience, but has been prone to the interception with eight picks to only nine touchdowns. Look for Cincinnati to rely on their three-headed monster in the backfield with Hosey Williams, Mike Boone and Tion Green to put Moore in favorable down and distances.
- Date: Thursday, December 24, 2015
- Time: 7:00 PM ET
- Location: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- Spread: CIN -1.5
Prediction
This is going to be a good game that many people may not see on the night of Christmas Eve. I think San Diego State benefits greatly by Kiel’s absence and the Aztecs defense can fluster Moore and force him into bad decisions. Look for the Aztecs to control the clock with Pumphrey doing the heavy lifting on the ground to keep the Bearcats offense off the field as much as possible.
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If this turns into a shootout, I think it’ll benefit Cincinnati, but think this one plays out in the high 20’s/low 30’s with San Diego State continuing their winning ways and winning their tenth straight game and ending their season with a lot of momentum heading into 2016.