Hawaii vs. Wyoming: Cowboy Keys, Livestream, Preview, Odds
It’s been awhile since Wyoming won on the islands
Contact/Follow @MWCwire
Wyoming and Hawaii battle it out for the Paniolo Trophy
[mm-video type=playlist id=01fb7dafw2b08817yr player_id=none image=https://mwwire.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
WHO: Wyoming Cowboys (5-3, 3-1 MW) vs. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (2-6, 1-2 MW)
WHEN: Saturday, October 29th — 10 p.m. MT / 6 p.m. HT
WHERE: Ching Athletic Complex, Honolulu, HI
TV: Spectrum Sports (Hawai’i Only)
STREAMING: Team1 Sports App
RADIO: Hawaii: ESPN 1420 | Wyoming: KFBC 1240 AM
WEBSITES: Hawaii Athletics, the official Hawai’i athletics website | GoWyo.com, the official Wyoming athletics website
GAME NOTES (PDF): Hawai’i | Wyoming
ODDS: Wyoming -10.5
FEI PROJECTION: Wyoming 15.3
Week 9 Mountain West Football: TV Schedule, Picks, Odds, Predictions
Fresh off a dominant win over Utah State, the Wyoming Cowboys travel to the islands to battle it out with the Rainbow Warriors. The Cowboys come into the game having put up 529 total yards and 330 yards on the ground against the reigning conference champions last week.
Titus Swen in particular gashed the Aggies for 160 yards and three touchdowns. Swen’s performance was good for Conference Player of the Week honors. Wyoming also got big contributions from D.Q. James, who rushed for 120 yards on 10 carries. Hawaii, meanwhile, is coming off a tough loss in Fort Collins last week and will be looking to right the ship against the Cowboys.
Keys for a Wyoming Victory
Feed Titus
Titus Swen showed last week how dominant he can be when he is healthy. The junior back carried the ball 28 times last week and averaged 5.7 yards per carry. The Cowboys offense is a different animal when Swen is at his best. He is a big physical back who can run between the tackles as well as pop it outside for a big game. The Rainbow Warriors have been struggling to defend the run this year, giving up an average of 212 yards per game to their opponents on the ground as well as 21 rushing touchdowns to opponents. The Rainbow Warriors struggled to stop Colorado State on the ground last week, and the Rams are not exactly known for being a dominant team on the ground. All of this seems to prime Titus Swen for another dominant performance.
Get Pressure on Brayden Schager
One of Hawaii’s strengths this year has been their ability to protect QB Brayden Schager. The Hawaii signal caller has only been sacked 4 times all year. Schager is definitely a pocket passer as opposed to a dual threat Quarterback. The Cowboys defense, meanwhile, had 6 sacks against Utah State last week. The Cowboys defensive front has been very good this year and has 28 sacks on opposing Quarterbacks. The Defensive front is led by DeVonne (goggles) Harris, who has seven sacks on the year including three last week. The Cowboys will need to play to their strengths and get to the passer.
Win on First and Second Downs
The Wyoming offense is at its best when they are aggressive with play calls on First and Second Downs. When the Cowboys get to Third and Fourth down they have only been converting 36 percent of the time. Additionally 69% of the Cowboys first downs this year have come from First and Second Downs. The Cowboys can continue this trend by being aggressive with their receivers and tight ends. Andrew Peasley’s top three targets all average over 10 yards per reception, and the more that the Cowboys can get the ball to these playmakers the more success the Cowboys will have.
Prediction
The Cowboys have gone back and forth the past several times playing against Hawaii, and traveling to the islands is never easy. That being said I expect Titus Swen to control the outcome of this game almost single handedly.
Wyomng 35, Hawaii 14
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=645997127]