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Hawaii football will be sneaky sleeper in Mountain West for 2019

By John Mitchell

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 27: Hawai'i Rainbow Warrior players embrace before the College Football Sydney Cup match between University of California and University of Hawaii at ANZ Stadium on August 27, 2016 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 27: Hawai'i Rainbow Warrior players embrace before the College Football Sydney Cup match between University of California and University of Hawaii at ANZ Stadium on August 27, 2016 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images) /

Schedule and predictions for 2019

  • Week 1: vs. Arizona (Aug. 24)
  • Week 2: BYE
  • Week 3: vs. Oregon State (Sept. 7)
  • Week 4: at Washington (Sept. 14)
  • Week 5: vs. Central Arkansas (Sept. 21)
  • Week 6: at Nevada (Sept. 28)
  • Week 7: BYE
  • Week 8: at Boise State (Oct 12)
  • Week 9: vs. Air Force (Oct. 19)
  • Week 10: at New Mexico (Oct. 26)
  • Week 11: vs. Fresno State (Nov. 2)
  • Week 12: vs. San Jose State (Nov. 9)
  • Week 13: at UNLV (Nov. 16)
  • Week 14: vs. San Diego State (Nov. 23)
  • Week 15: vs. Army (Nov. 30)

No one can denigrate Hawaii for not challenging itself out-of-conference. The Rainbow Warriors will be punching above their weight class for the majority of its non-conference schedule. Hawaii will have the opportunity to earn some quality wins early in the season, with three straight games against Pac-12 opposition to begin the 2019 campaign.

The road tilt in Seattle against Washington figures to be too much to overcome, but Hawaii has a genuine shot with both Arizona and Oregon State traveling to the island in September to earn a resume boosting win. They also close the season against an Army team that has been one of the best programs outside of the Power Five the last couple years, giving Hawaii another opportunity to impress the committee as they look to challenge for the Group of Five’s automatic bid to the New Year’s Six.

The Rainbow Warriors draw a road game against Boise State from the Mountain division, but that October matchup should provide the litmus test for Rolovich to determine if his team can legitimately contend for the conference crown.

Their two primary challengers in the West, Fresno State and San Diego State, both must travel to Honolulu, though the conference opener at Nevada in September could ultimately have a big say in how the divisional race pans out.

Prediction: 9-4, 6-2 Mountain West

Hawaii’s non-conference slate should help make the team battle tested heading into their Mountain West schedule. The Rainbow Warriors should also challenge for a .500 record in their FBS non-conference games, with three of the four games taking place at home.

Next. Podcast: Group of Five preview for 2019. dark

Going on the road and beating Boise State is probably too tall of a task in-conference, and I figure the Rainbow Warriors will probably drop at least one other conference matchup (probably on the road against Nevada), but if they can handle their business at home against both Fresno State and San Diego State in November, Hawaii could find themselves playing for the Mountain West Championship for the first time, in a likely rematch with the Broncos.

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