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2008 Hawaii Bowl Predictions – Hawaii v. Notre Dame Football Odds & Picks

Written by Jimmy Boyd on December 22, 2008

notre-dame-hawaii

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish travel to the Island to take on the Hawaii Warriors in the 2008 Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve. While this season has not been nearly as glamorous as the 6-6 Irish would have hoped, Notre Dame is listed as 1.5-point favorites with the total set at 48 against 7-6 Hawaii.

There are plenty of programs where gaining bowl eligibility and accepting a big to play in Hawaii would be things to celebrate, but that is not the case for tradition-rich Notre Dame. The aforementioned nearly got coach Charlie Weis fired; not praised.

Weiss has since been inked in for the 2009 season, but he wants the offseason grumblings to be held to a minimum, he better not lose to Hawaii. That could be easier said than done as the Irish will have to play the Warriors on their home field.

It’s all about what have you done for me lately in the coaching business and lately, Weis has not done enough. The former New England Patriots offensive coordinator enjoyed 9-3 and 10-3 records in his first two seasons at the helm, leading the Irish to back-to-back BCS bowls. The last two seasons have been anything but Merry for fans as the program has struggled to 3-8 and 6-6 marks. While its easy to see the 3-game improvement and think that Weis must be doing something right, the 15 losses over the last two seasons were the most in Notre Dame history.

The Irish will have to create their own momentum as the way they ended the season does not give them any. They were crushed 38-3 by rival USC and lost in their regular season finale to a team regarded as among the worst in football in Syracuse.

The Fighting Irish started the season 5-2 before losing four of their final five games, but Weis states that he has witnessed the improvement first hand.

Weis pointed to the fact that his team could easily be 9-3 if it hadn’t blown three double digits leads throughout the season.

The Irish nation should not be taking all of their frustrations out on Weis as he is not alone in the recent Bowl debacle that this program has been going through. The Irish has not won a bowl game in nearly 15 years. They have dropped an NCAA-record nine consecutive bowl games since beating Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day in 1994. The five most recent losses in that streak have all come by two touchdowns or more. Ouch!

Notre Dame’s offense is going to have to be better than it was in the regular season finale if its hopes to beat a Hawaii team which has solid defensively. Notre Dame managed only 91 total yards in offense against Syracuse. This game will likely either be won or lost with sophomore QB Jimmy Clausen. Clausen completed 59.4 percent of his passes for 2,771 yards and 20 touchdowns against 17 interceptions. He has built a great relationship with wide receivers Golden Tate and Michael Floyd, who caught 14 of Clausen’s 20 touchdowns.

The ground game was not nearly productive enough. Sophomore Armando Allen’s 576 yards were best on the team. Defensively, the Irish most show up as well. They allowed 27.2 points per game over their final five contests. If you think the Irish are the better team, bet Notre Dame at -1.5 at BetUS.

While Hawaii’s offense is not as potent as it was a season ago, it still showed great promise and topped the 30-point mark in five of its seven wins this season. The Irish are 2-0 against the Warriors, winning in Hawaii in both 1991 and 1997, but neither win was a walk in the park as the Irish won by just 6 and 1 points respectively.

This is the third straight season the Warriors will be playing in a bowl. Last season, they finished the regular season undefeated and earned a BCS bid to play Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Hawaii played great football down the stretch to earn a bowl berth this season. It won three of its last four games and had a chance to end with four straight wins as it held a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter against Cincinnati before giving up 19 unanswered points.

Warriors QB Greg Alexander appears to be the next strong Hawaii signal caller. He threw for 1,142 yards and nine touchdowns in the last four games of the season.

Hawaii has been strong on its home field in this bowl game, with a 3-1 mark. Its latest win was a 41-24 romp of Arizona State in 2006. If you like the Warriors on their home field, bet Hawaii at BetUS.

Jimmy Boyd finished the 2007-08 bowl season as the No. 1 ranked bowl capper on the planet. Make sure you’re playing Jimmy’s football picks throughout the 2008-09 bowl season for the most winners against the football odds. Do your college football betting with Jimmy B. and reap the rewards.

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