3. Hawaii at New Mexico State
LINE Hawaii -17
ATS PICK New Mexico State
I hate this pick, Part 1.
I hate it because I know this New Mexico State team. It’s flaky, it’s shown an uncanny ability to rise up and score points when it shouldn’t, and it has a strange way of always letting the world down when picking it one way or the other seems so obvious.
Seriously, who gets rim-rocked by UTEP and then doesn’t get annihilated by San Diego State?
However, this team seemed to figure something out.
It played a few games this spring against FCS teams doing its cash-grab of a “2020” season, and while the results were mixed, it gave the coaching staff a whole lot of time to figure things out.
Fast forward to last week and a 43-35 win over South Carolina State. Yeah, FCS team, whatever, but the Aggies might have found something in QB Dino Maldonado as part of a rotation.
The defense has created multiple turnovers in three of the four games, the O keeps pressing for four quarters, and it’s all just enough to think it can all work with some late points to keep from getting hammered by more than 17 at home.
Meanwhile, Hawaii has to be a tad gassed. It started at UCLA, flew back home and had a fight with Portland State, flew back over to play Oregon, State, flew back and had a tough battle with San Jose State, and now it has to fly back over for this.
The Rainbow Warriors will win, but the 17 seems like too much – again, you’ll have to wait until the end – and …
I’m warning you, though – it’s New Mexico State.
I still hate this pick – this could be 53-3 Hawaii and it wouldn’t be all that shocking – but I’m going with it.
Now for I Hate This Pick, Part 2.