This year’s Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve features a Mountain West vs. AAC clash between the Fresno State Bulldogs and the Houston Cougars. Bookmaker has listed the Cougars as 2.5-point favorites and the betting line for the total has been set at 50 points.
Fresno State Bulldogs vs. Houston Cougars Pointspread: Houston -2.5 Total Line: 50
This Christmas Eve’s lone bowl game pits the Mountain West’s Fresno State Bulldogs against the AAC’s Houston Cougars in an 8:30 p.m. start at Aloha Stadium in this season’s Hawaii Bowl. ESPN will broadcast the game nationally.
Fresno State vs. Houston Game Overview
Fresno State made a run all the way to the MWC’s West Division title at 7-1 straight-up before coming up just short against Boise State 17-14 in the conference title game on Dec. 2. The Bulldogs covered in that game as 9.5-point underdogs to improve to a highly profitable 10-2-1 against the spread. The total stayed UNDER 51 points in that game and it has stayed UNDER in 10 of their 13 games this season.
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Junior quarterback Marcus McMaryion led a very balanced attack on offense that included an average of 229.9 passing yards a game along with 156.8 yards on the ground. He threw for 2,384 yards and 14 touchdowns. Fresno State was one of the lower scoring teams in Division IA this season with an average of 26.7 points a game, but it played shutdown defense on the other side of the ball with a points-allowed average of 17.2 that was ranked ninth in the nation.
The Cougars were second in the AAC West Division behind Memphis at 5-3 SU in conference play as part of an overall record of 7-4. They finished their regular season with a 24-14 victory against Navy as 6.5-point home favorites after getting stunned by Tulane on the road 20-17 on Nov. 18 as 9.5-point favorites at home. The net result was a 6-5 record ATS with the total staying UNDER in nine of their 11 games.
Houston’s offense matches up rather well with Fresno State behind a passing game that generated 260.6 yards a game to complement a running game that added an average 175.5 yards to the mix. Kyle Postma took the majority of the snaps at quarterback, but it was D’Eriq King under center for the Bulldogs over the final three games. He completed 21-of-27 attempts in that season finale against Navy for 277 yards and one score. Houston’s defense was also rather stout with a points-allowed average of 23.0 on the year.
Fresno State vs. Houston Game Betting Trends
- The Bulldogs have failed to cover in their last six bowls games, but they have covered in 11 of their last 12 games against a team with a winning record. The total has gone OVER in 12 of their last 18 nonconference games.
- The Cougars have gone 8-3 ATS in their last 11 neutral-site games, but they are just 2-5 ATS in their last seven games against the Mountain West. The total has gone OVER in five of their last seven December games.
- This will be the first meeting between the two in recent memory.
