Hawaii Rainbow Warriors vs. Wyoming Cowboys Betting Picks

The 1-0 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors will go on the road Friday night to face off with the 0-1 Wyoming Cowboys at 9:45 PM ET in War Memorial Stadium. You can tune into the matchup on Fox Sports 1. The Rainbow Warriors are 1.5-point road favorites and we’re looking at a 60 over/under. While we’re in week eight of the College Football season, these two teams are only in their second week due to COVID. Let’s dive into how this one will go down and who will cover the spread. 

The Rainbow Warriors were phenomenal in week one, beating up the Fresno State Bulldogs 34-19 in a game that was never very close. Sophomore QB Chevan Cordeiro looked like a superstar, throwing for 229 yards on top of 116 rushing yards and two TD’s. Cordeiro is typically a gunslinger, so it was extremely intriguing to see him run the ball with such effectiveness. They were also solid defensively, intercepting the Fresno State Bulldogs three times and forcing a fumble. 

While Wyoming didn’t look great in week one, they’re going to give Hawaii a much tougher test than Fresno State did. Chevan Cordeiro will have to throw the ball with more efficiency and the offensive line will have to give him better protection. While it was exciting to see Cordeiro run more than ever, a lot of that had to do with him having to get away from defenders constantly. 

He has plenty of weapons on the outside and it starts with graduate-transfer Rico Bussey Jr., who’s already had a 1,000+ yard season in 2018 at North Texas. He hauled in eight catches for 86 yards in week one while Jared Smart caught seven balls for 89 yards. The pair will be targeted heavily and you shouldn’t be shocked if either goes for 100+ yards in this matchup. 

The Rainbow Warriors have been a pass-heavy team for years and while that won’t change overnight, they made it clear in week one that they want to run the ball more than they typically have. Miles Reed is a bowling ball of a running back and he carried it 21 times for 109 yards in the opener. Calvin Turner vultured him at the goalline with eight carries for 60 yards and two scores. Cordeiro is obviously a bigger threat on the ground than in the past and it adds another dimension to this offense when he can take off. 

The Cowboys opened their season up with a 37-34 OT loss to the Nevada Wolfpack in a game they trailed in until halfway into the fourth quarter. The defense struggled mightily, allowing 496 yards and a 75% conversion rate in the Red Zone. Still, it’s a game the Cowboys should have won as Nevada commuted 12 penalties and turned the ball over twice. The Cowboys defense will need to step up in a big way against a Hawaii offense that proved dynamic and hard to contain a week ago. 

They are led by redshirt freshman Levi Williams, who is a dual-threat three-star recruit with a ton of upside. He carried the Cowboys offense in week one, throwing for 227 yards and a score on top of 40 rushing yards and two more scores. Williams will need to match Cordeiro on the other side, who’s sure to have a big game against this porous Wyoming pass defense that just allowed 420 yards to Nevada. 

Wyoming wants to open their offense up with the run. Xazavien Valladay ran it 22 times for 87 yards in the opener, averaging just four yards per carry. They will need a lot more going forward and a lot more push from the offensive line. Williams was effective near the goalline and in short to gain spots, but it’s not sustainable against better teams if the line can’t get a consistent push. Valladay is a workhorse back and he’ll see 25+ touches again in this matchup as Wyoming looks to establish the pace with the run game. 

Valladay was the team’s leading receiver as well, hauling in seven balls for 44 yards. Williams likes to stretch it downfield and uses Valladay as an outlet when he can’t find anyone. Freshman Isaiah Neyor caught three balls for 102 yards and he has more upside than anyone in this offense. Williams would be wise to look his way more often. Gunner Gentry caught a touchdown on just two catches and will remain an option in short-to-gain situations. When Williams drops back, he will focus on Neyor and Gentry while keeping an eye on Valladay as a comfort blanket. 

• Hawaii are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games.
• Hawaii are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games on the road.
• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Hawaii’s last 5 games played in October.

The versatility of Chevan Cordeiro is going to give the Wyoming Cowboys fits. He never ran for over 60 yards in a game prior to last week and exploded with 100+ against a decent defense. The Wyoming defense lucked into two turnovers against Nevada and allowed 500 yards of offense. The Rainbow Warriors are going to have success offensively in this game and I’m not sure Wyoming will. Hawaii is solid against the run and I don’t trust Williams to direct this offense by himself.

The Rainbow Warriors are the better-coached team and they have better weapons on both sides of the ball. They win the QB matchup and the weapons each quarterback has to play with. The Hawaii offensive line must be better, however, as Wyoming has a bunch of dogs in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Give me the Rainbow Warriors to cover this spread. 

The over is the bet to make on this game until it approaches that 65 number. Both of these offenses are going to regularly put up 30+ points and neither of these defenses are something to worry about. The over is my favorite bet in this game and it isn’t very close. Both offenses are not only versatile, but they can sling it when needed. It’s not something you see out of a lot of run-first CFB offenses. Give me the over all day here and jump on quickly as it will soon rise.