Hawaii vs. Nevada Prediction: Betting Line, Odds & Pick

Hawaii quarterback Cole McDonald

The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors visit the Nevada Wolfpack in what should be a fun-to-watch Mountain West Conference contest on Saturday night.

Hawaii improved to 3-1 after last week’s 35-16 home win against Central Arkansas to bounce back from a tough road loss against Washington in Week 3.

Nevada has won two straight games to also move to 3-1 on the season. They trailed UTEP 7-0 in the first quarter but were able to respond quickly, outscoring them 37-14 the rest of the way. Nevada leads the all-time series 14-9 and they won the last two meetings, including a 40-22 victory on October 20, 2018 in Hawaii.

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (3-1) vs. Nevada Wolf Pack (3-1)

Saturday, September 28 at 10:30 PM ET

Mackay Stadium

Coverage: ESPN2

*All odds and betting info courtesy of OddsShark and originally posted by Loose Lines

  • Hawaii vs. Nevada -2.5
  • Over/Under: 65

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

Hawaii took a 28-9 lead in the first half against Central Arkansas and never looked back, giving up only a touchdown over the final 30 minutes. Cole McDonald played well, completing 25 of 32 passes for 300 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. He also ran for 31 yards on four carries (7.8 yards per carry).

Miles Reed ran for 60 yards on 10 carries and Jared Smart dominated through the air, catching eight passes for 121 yards and one touchdown. Hawaii outgained Central Arkansas 413-335, they had 23 first downs to 18 from Central Arkansas despite losing the time of possession 30:41 to 29:19.


Nevada Wolf Pack

Cristian Solano stepped up against UTEP, completing 13 of 19 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns with one interception while adding 100 rushing yards on just 10 carries in the 37-21 win. Elijah Cooks also shined, catching four passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns.

Nevada was up and down on defense, giving up two touchdowns in the first half before shutting down the UTEP. They held UTEP to just 116 passing yards and forced three interceptions. Taking the ball away has been one of Nevada’s strengths, they now have 10 forced turnovers and Hawaii quarterback Cole McDonald has thrown nine interceptions so far (seven in the games against Washington and Arizona).


Trends and Prediction

The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors are:

  • 15-37-2 ATS in their last 54 games overall
  • 16-40-1 ATS in their last 57 conference games
  • 14-37-2 ATS in their last 53 games on FieldTurf
  • 5-16 ATS in their last 21 games against a team with a winning record
  • 2-7 ATS in their last nine meetings in Nevada
  • 1-6 ATS in their last seven meetings

The Nevada Wolfpack are:

  • 4-0 ATS in their last four games against a team with a winning record
  • 5-1 ATS in their last six home games

Is hard to see Hawaii running the ball as easily as they did against Arizona, Oregon State and Washington, they will have to rely more on their passing game. Oregon absolutely destroyed Nevada but they’ve played much better since.

Cristian Solano played nearly flawless football against UTEP last week but Carson Strong, who missed the game after taking a number of hard hits in the two contests prior, will start under center and Nevada has a more balanced offense than Hawaii.

Pick: Nevada -2.5

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