RWP: Hawaii vs. Wyoming: Three things to look for, Prediction

RWP: Rainbow Warrior Perspective

Location: Honolulu, Oahu (Clarence T.C. Ching Complex)

Date/Time: Saturday, November 29th at 6:00 p.m. (Hawaii Time)

Television: Spectrum Sports

Streaming: For the last time ever, check this page for all the streaming info. Next year, Hawaii will join the regular Mountain West TV package.

Radio: ESPN Honolulu

Head-to-Head: According to the Hawaii Athletics website, Wyoming leads the series 17-11 and has won the two most recent contests in 2022 and 2023. In fact, Wyoming has won 10 of the last 13 games in this series dating back to 1993. Another lopsided series the Rainbow Warriors are trying to reverse. These two programs will see plenty of each other going forward.

1. A formidable defense gone to waste

I would advise against looking at Wyoming’s 4-7 record and believing the Pokes are a bad team. Jay Sawvel took over for the retiring Craig Bohl last season, but a lot of the trends remain the same with Wyoming football: an offense that ranges from terrible-to-medicore on any given week, kept alive by a strong defense. Wyoming’s defense ranks 41st-nationally in total defense, 99th-nationally in rushing defense, but 10th-nationally in passing defense.

Sure, the Mountain West isn’t exactly providing a plethora of strong passing games this season, but the Cowboys are very strong on the back end of the defense. Only two teams have scored north of 30 points on the Cowboys defense, Utah and UNLV, and those scores were influenced by defensive and special teams scores. Wyoming also held four opponents to 10 points or fewer.

I wouldn’t exhale on Senior Night if I were the Hawaii offense, this Wyoming defense will prove to be a real challenge. The over/under for the game opened at 44.5 on FanDuel.

2. Fear not, their offense stinks

With all of the above said, Wyoming is 4-7 for a good reason: the offense continues to struggle mightily. The Pokes rank 116th-nationally in total offense, with the typically-reliable rushing attack ranking 86th-nationally, their strength if you can call it that. The passing attack ranks 111th-nationally, and it must be said that starting quarterback Kaden Anderson has disappointed this season compared to preseason expectations.

Keep an eye on wide receiver Chris Durr Jr., he’s actually very talented. He leads the Cowboys in receiving yards with 469 and has scored four times. Not eye-popping numbers, but he’s a Power 4 caliber talent that’s been underutilized.

Running backs Samuel Harris, Sam Scott, and Terron Kellman are all averaging near or above 5 yards per carry, so it’s not like the offense is totally defunct, but needless to say it would be a surprise if defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman’s unit struggled in this game.

3. A Senior Night for a class that’s seen it all 

I know the mood of the season was spoiled some after the surprising blowout loss in Las Vegas. Hawaii’s Mountain West championship hopes are gone, but let’s not lose perspective here. The fact that Hawaii was involved in the tiebreaker madness this late in the season is a testament to Timmy Chang, his staff, and the players considering preseason expectations pointed to another bowl-less campaign. If Hawaii wins this week against Wyoming, the Rainbow Warriors will be 8-4 on the season, a triumph for a program that was left in the dust by the Todd Graham fiasco only a few seasons ago.

The transfer portal has influenced modern day Senior Night, it looks a little different thanks to the constant musical chairs of players incoming and departing. Still, there are plenty of Hawaii seniors that stuck with this program during a turbulent time. Hell, in some ways it is still turbulent. I hope Hawaii fans sell out Clarence T.C. Ching Complex, this group of seniors will be remembered.

Hawaii opened as a 10-point favorite against Wyoming on FanDuel. The over/under of 44.5 points to a lower-scoring game than most would expect.

This will be the final game of the 2025 college football regular season. Time flies by and I’m genuinely happy for Hawaii fans that this will not be the season finale, having clinched only the program’s second bowl appearance this decade. I think Wyoming’s defense will prevent this game from getting out of hand, Hawaii will need to stay ahead of the chains, but I think they’ll get it done and force some chaos on defense. Give me Rainbow Warriors 27, Cowboys 13.