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Bowl Record (4-1)
+$2,540
tonite:
Arizona St +7.5 vs. Hawaii Rainbows
My play: Arizona State Sun Devils +7.5
Amount: 550 to win 500
The Arizona State Sun Devils are not in for an easy task when they head to the Island this Christmas Eve (tonight) to play against one of the most powerful offenses in College Football. It's also not encouraging to know that head coach Dirk Koetter is coaching his last game as a Sun Devil after being fired and apparently he has not been practicing his guys they way he would be had he still been head coach. I mean think about it, why would Koetter want to coach a team he is no longer coach of? It doesn't make much sense. Also, Koetter was in the Hawaii Bowl twice as coach of the Sun Devils and both times Arizona State lost by 20 and 14 points (Wake Forest and Boston College respectively). Sure Koetter has been fire but he was well liked by the players and the players have said time after time this week that they are going to honor him in this game and do whatever it takes to win. Koetter is playing for a coaching spot as well as this could be his showcase win if he can beat the Warriors in Hawaii on Christmas Eve. Arizona State had the #2 ranked defense in the PAC 10 this season which is even better for them considering that Oregon State had no problems coming in here and taking care of business. I really doubt the Sun Devils want to be the laughing stock that came in here and lost. In their last five Bowl Games, Arizona State has been the underdog two times and covered both times. They average 27.0 points per game this season on 365.3 total yards of offense and 5.6 yards per play. Hawaii's defense is absolutely terrible as they allowed 24.0 points per game this season on 376.8 total yards per game and 5.6 yards per play. Sounds decent but thats in the WAC Conference. On the ground, RB Ryan Torain is very capable of ripping of big yardage runs. He has rushed for 1069 yards this season and his backup RB Keegan Herring is just as good. Hawaii is allowing 131.2 rushing yards per game on 3.8 yards per carry but Oregon State had RB Yverson Bernard rush for 100+ yards which was enough to allow the QB to pass freely on this defense. The same should go for Torain and Herring tonight. In the air, QB Rudy Carpenter is completing 55.9% of his passes for 7.6 yards per pass attempt 21 TD's and 14 INT's. Hawaii's pass defense has allowed 7.6 yards per pass attempt this season and Carpenter needs to be careful because the Warriors are atheltic and can easily sneak up on a WR and pick the ball off. I think if the Sun Devils want to have fun in this game they'll score 40 points and give Hawaii a run for their money.
The Hawaii Warriors have the best offense in the NCAA Football but had they not been located in Hawaii and had they played in a better conference, would they still be the top offense in the Nation? I don't know but I don't think so. Playing on the Island is a huge advantage but there comes a time where you have to play some defense and that is something Hawaii has had big time problems with this season. If the Sun Devils get the ball first and they decided to run, run and run, the Warriors could be in some trouble. As I was saying, the Warriors managed only 17 points against Alabama (off the Island and out of conference). Their second lowest point total this season was at home but against a non-conference opponent where they were held to 32 points by Oregon State. Their third lowest point total of the year was once again off the island in Boise State where they scored 34 points. What I am trying to say is that when put to the test either off the Island or out of conference versus a decent defensive team, the Warriors have not been shining so bright which leads me to believe they might struggle to dart things out with Arizona State if the Sun Devils approach with an annoying gameplan. The Warriors average 549.9 total yards per game with 47.3 points per game and 8.5 yards per play. Arizona State's defense is allowing 23.8 points per game playing in the best Conference in the Country this season allowing only 298.6 total yards per game and only 4.8 yards per play. On the ground, the big Hawaiian beast will get his yards but Arizona State is allowing only 117.3 rushing yards per game on 3.6 yards per carry. In the air, QB Colt Brenna is having one of the best seasons ever in NCAA Football and several Sun Devils players said this week that they don't want to be the ones being shown on ESPN letting Brenna break the TD record. Arizona State opponents completed only 21.4% of their passes this season for only 6.3 yards per pass attempt. This defense had 30 sacks on the season and as elusive as Brennan can be, I hope he gets brought down a few times. Brenna threw 2 interceptions against Oregon State and he needs to be careful because the Sun Devils have 14 interceptions on the year (3 returned for touchdowns). We have a great game on our hands and although Hawaii looks like they should roll on paper, I don't think they will.
The Sun Devils are not a popular play tonight but Koetter doesn't give a shit about this game and I still don't know what the point was of him coaching this game? The bright side to that is that the players are now in full control of their own destiny in this game and with Koetter not really caring how he calls the plays, we could see a much more relaxed and much better looking Arizona State team. That's just how it works sometimes and saying that this team won't show up because Koetter is already gonzo would be ridiculous. Football players get excited to play in games and as we saw in the Purdue and Oregon State games, Hawaii does not have enough defensive prowness to hold big conference opponents down. The Sun Devils, even though they struggled this season, still have fire power with a gun slinging QB and even if this turns into a shootout, I think the Sun Devils can keep up. What people seem to forget is that the players want this game for coach Koetter. Merry Christmas to everyone, see you all on the other side of Santa's gifts.
Trend of the Game: Hawaii is 1-6 ATS in their last seven games versus the Pac 10 Conference.
Prediction: Arizona State 38, Hawaii 34
+$2,540
tonite:
Arizona St +7.5 vs. Hawaii Rainbows
My play: Arizona State Sun Devils +7.5
Amount: 550 to win 500
The Arizona State Sun Devils are not in for an easy task when they head to the Island this Christmas Eve (tonight) to play against one of the most powerful offenses in College Football. It's also not encouraging to know that head coach Dirk Koetter is coaching his last game as a Sun Devil after being fired and apparently he has not been practicing his guys they way he would be had he still been head coach. I mean think about it, why would Koetter want to coach a team he is no longer coach of? It doesn't make much sense. Also, Koetter was in the Hawaii Bowl twice as coach of the Sun Devils and both times Arizona State lost by 20 and 14 points (Wake Forest and Boston College respectively). Sure Koetter has been fire but he was well liked by the players and the players have said time after time this week that they are going to honor him in this game and do whatever it takes to win. Koetter is playing for a coaching spot as well as this could be his showcase win if he can beat the Warriors in Hawaii on Christmas Eve. Arizona State had the #2 ranked defense in the PAC 10 this season which is even better for them considering that Oregon State had no problems coming in here and taking care of business. I really doubt the Sun Devils want to be the laughing stock that came in here and lost. In their last five Bowl Games, Arizona State has been the underdog two times and covered both times. They average 27.0 points per game this season on 365.3 total yards of offense and 5.6 yards per play. Hawaii's defense is absolutely terrible as they allowed 24.0 points per game this season on 376.8 total yards per game and 5.6 yards per play. Sounds decent but thats in the WAC Conference. On the ground, RB Ryan Torain is very capable of ripping of big yardage runs. He has rushed for 1069 yards this season and his backup RB Keegan Herring is just as good. Hawaii is allowing 131.2 rushing yards per game on 3.8 yards per carry but Oregon State had RB Yverson Bernard rush for 100+ yards which was enough to allow the QB to pass freely on this defense. The same should go for Torain and Herring tonight. In the air, QB Rudy Carpenter is completing 55.9% of his passes for 7.6 yards per pass attempt 21 TD's and 14 INT's. Hawaii's pass defense has allowed 7.6 yards per pass attempt this season and Carpenter needs to be careful because the Warriors are atheltic and can easily sneak up on a WR and pick the ball off. I think if the Sun Devils want to have fun in this game they'll score 40 points and give Hawaii a run for their money.
The Hawaii Warriors have the best offense in the NCAA Football but had they not been located in Hawaii and had they played in a better conference, would they still be the top offense in the Nation? I don't know but I don't think so. Playing on the Island is a huge advantage but there comes a time where you have to play some defense and that is something Hawaii has had big time problems with this season. If the Sun Devils get the ball first and they decided to run, run and run, the Warriors could be in some trouble. As I was saying, the Warriors managed only 17 points against Alabama (off the Island and out of conference). Their second lowest point total this season was at home but against a non-conference opponent where they were held to 32 points by Oregon State. Their third lowest point total of the year was once again off the island in Boise State where they scored 34 points. What I am trying to say is that when put to the test either off the Island or out of conference versus a decent defensive team, the Warriors have not been shining so bright which leads me to believe they might struggle to dart things out with Arizona State if the Sun Devils approach with an annoying gameplan. The Warriors average 549.9 total yards per game with 47.3 points per game and 8.5 yards per play. Arizona State's defense is allowing 23.8 points per game playing in the best Conference in the Country this season allowing only 298.6 total yards per game and only 4.8 yards per play. On the ground, the big Hawaiian beast will get his yards but Arizona State is allowing only 117.3 rushing yards per game on 3.6 yards per carry. In the air, QB Colt Brenna is having one of the best seasons ever in NCAA Football and several Sun Devils players said this week that they don't want to be the ones being shown on ESPN letting Brenna break the TD record. Arizona State opponents completed only 21.4% of their passes this season for only 6.3 yards per pass attempt. This defense had 30 sacks on the season and as elusive as Brennan can be, I hope he gets brought down a few times. Brenna threw 2 interceptions against Oregon State and he needs to be careful because the Sun Devils have 14 interceptions on the year (3 returned for touchdowns). We have a great game on our hands and although Hawaii looks like they should roll on paper, I don't think they will.
The Sun Devils are not a popular play tonight but Koetter doesn't give a shit about this game and I still don't know what the point was of him coaching this game? The bright side to that is that the players are now in full control of their own destiny in this game and with Koetter not really caring how he calls the plays, we could see a much more relaxed and much better looking Arizona State team. That's just how it works sometimes and saying that this team won't show up because Koetter is already gonzo would be ridiculous. Football players get excited to play in games and as we saw in the Purdue and Oregon State games, Hawaii does not have enough defensive prowness to hold big conference opponents down. The Sun Devils, even though they struggled this season, still have fire power with a gun slinging QB and even if this turns into a shootout, I think the Sun Devils can keep up. What people seem to forget is that the players want this game for coach Koetter. Merry Christmas to everyone, see you all on the other side of Santa's gifts.
Trend of the Game: Hawaii is 1-6 ATS in their last seven games versus the Pac 10 Conference.
Prediction: Arizona State 38, Hawaii 34