Navy-Hawai’i Over 62 – After multiple defections in the off-season, the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors began their season with a bang last week on the mainland, posting an impressive 43-34 Mountain West Conference road victory over rebuilding Colorado State.
Making his debut at starting quarterback, Hawaii sophomore Cole McDonald eclipsed 500 total yards offense, throwing for 418 yards and running for another 96.
This week’s opponent, Navy, historically has had trouble defending against passing teams, and Hawaii certainly fits that category throwing the ball slightly more than it ran it during the 2017 season.
Hawaii has been suspect defending against most offenses (the Rainbow Warriors have allowed an average of 34 or more points in five of the past six seasons) in recent years, but triple option type attacks have been particularly baffling.
In a total of four contests against against the three service academies (Navy, Army and Air Force all run some variation of the triple option) over the past five seasons, Hawaii has given up an average of 42.3 points.
Navy’s Malcolm Perry, who rushed for 282 yards in his quarterbacking debut against SMU late last season, should give Hawaii all kinds of problems.
Look for lots of points from both teams Saturday night. Play the game to go over the total of 62.
Paul Stone has over two decades of experience as a bettor and handicapper. He is a winner of multiple Las Vegas handicapping contests and his work has appeared in various media outlets including the Las Vegas-Review Journal and ESPN Insider.
Follow Paul on Twitter@paulstonesports or e-mail him at Paulstonesports@gmail.com.
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