New Mexico Bowl: Hawaii (4-4) vs Houston (3-4), in Frisco, Texas, Thursday, 3:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Line: Houston by 7 1/2.
Series record: Hawaii leads 1-0.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Hawaii will try to finish with a record-winning third straight season, something the Rainbows haven’t done since 2001-04. The Cougars are trying to avoid back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 2000-02, a period that included a 0-11 in 2001. The only previous meeting between the teams was at the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Day 2003, when the Rainbows beat the Cougars 54-48 in triple overtime and there was a brawl in midfield at the end of the game.
KEY MATCHUP
Hawaii double threat, second echelon quarterback Chevan Cordeiro against the Houston defense. Cordeiro threw for 1947 yards with 11 touchdowns and is also the team’s leading runner with 450 yards and seven scores. The last Hawaii QB to lead the team in the race was Michael Carter in 1991. The Cougars have only played one game in the past 5 and a half weeks, but in that game Memphis hit 310 yards. in total, 157 below the previous season’s average for the Tigers.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Hawaii: Sophomore LB Darius Muasau leads the Mountain West Conference with 11.9 tackles per game, which is fifth among FBS players. He leads the nation with 7.9 solo tackles per game.
Houston: Junior quarterback Clayton Tune, the 14th quarterback in school history with 4,000 career passing yards, averages 302 yards per game. Tune completed 150 of 247 passes for 1,832 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also ran for 269 yards with a team record of five rushing touchdowns.
FACTS AND FIGURES
The game has been moved to Frisco, Texas from its usual location in Albuquerque due to COVID-19[feminine[feminine restrictions in New Mexico. … Houston canceled two of its American Athletic Conference games, while Hawaii was one of four Mountain West teams to play all of its scheduled conference games. … This is Hawaii’s 14th Bowl game, but only its third played outside of Hawaii (1992 Holiday Bowl and 2008 Sugar Bowl). … Rainbows first-year coach Todd Graham took his five teams to bowling games. He’s aiming for his 100th career win in his 13th overall season, previously at Rice, Tulsa, Pitt and Arizona State. … Houston is in its 28th bowl game. The Cougars have lost their last three.
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