2. How much will the Rainbow Warriors traveling from the Islands to the cold mountains of Idaho in December play a role?
It will play a role for sure. Not only is Boise State getting an extra day to prepare but traveling from the Islands to the mainland is not a simple trip. Boise had a cold snowy day game last week in Fort Collins and have been playing in cold temperature for about a month now. There is no way for Hawaii to simulate this. It’s not the end all, but it will play a role.
I don’t think the cold will be much of a factor for Hawaii on Saturday. Remember Hawaii opened up Mountain West conference play against Nevada in Reno and the game time temperatures were cold and rainy. In that game Hawaii took it to the Wolf Pack 54-3. Different type of opponent the Rainbow Warriors are facing in Boise State but I do not think the cold weather will faze Hawaii.
Sean O’Toole
Weather will be an issue, but not nearly the issue that Curtis Weaver and company are on defense. Hawai’i is a good team, and particularly talented at receiver. But even at that, Boise state simply has too many horses. This game could be played in a dessert or the peak of Mauna Kea, and I don’t think it would have the impact that the depth of talent difference favoring Boise State will.
The blue turf flusters everyone in December, and I have a hard time believing Hawaii will overcome this.
How much will the Rainbow Warriors traveling from the Islands to the cold mountains of Idaho in December play a role?
The weather could play a role in the game for Hawaii. They haven’t played a true cold weather game, with their coldest game probably being a November 16th matchup at UNLV.
The cold Boise weather could be an impact, but I predict it won’t be that cold!. The real question: will it rain? Hawaii can offset weather with next-generation thermal gear. The biggest factor will be how closely the blueness of the turf matches Boise State’s uniforms! Will Boise State dare attempt to camouflage themselves yet again, or was Hawaii smart enough to “negotiate” contrasting orange uniforms for visibility?
What I’m more interested in is whether it rains in Boise on Saturday. As I write this on Tuesday afternoon, the latest National Weather Service forecast projects a 50% chance of rain and I think that could have an effect on how much Nick Rolovich is willing to throw the ball. We’ve seen teams march into the cold before and win, like 2016 San Diego State and 2018 Fresno State, but if the elements dictate how the game unfolds, then things could get interesting.
The traveling part is overrated a bit since they do it all year long. I think Boise State playing Friday afternoon and Hawaii being the road team and playing Saturday night is an issue since it is a long travel day from Honolulu to Boise. The cold is more of an issue but it will be only sort of cold with the weather expected to be in the mid-40s and a decent amount of rain.
Travel and weather is probably less of a factor for good teams than we think, but the cold could impact Hawaii’s ability to produce explosive plays through the air. McDonald and his receiving corps cannot afford to clam up and play ultra-conservative, as the Warriors defense isn’t built to survive a low-scoring affair.
The cold won’t be that big of an impact for Hawaii because they have cold weather gear that can help with that. The precipitation on the other hand will be a different story. Hawaii’s spread passing game won’t be able to run that well if the quarterback can’t throw the ball.
I like to say none simply because I said that the humidity wouldn’t affect the Broncos when they played in Florida. Cold is a different beast though. In the heat you can still feel you fingers and hits don’t hurt a little more, so I do think it’s going to bother the Warriors.
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