Utah State vs Hawaii Prediction, Odds & Expert Pick – Late-Night College Football

• The Utah State Aggies are 1.5-point road favorites when they visit the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Saturday night
• The Aggies have beaten Hawaii eight straight games
• Read below for my Utah State vs Hawaii prediction, picks and odds for Saturday night CFB

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It’s an all-Mountain West battle Saturday night when the Utah State Aggies (3-2, 1-0 Mountain West) visit the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (4-2, 1-1 Mountain West).

The Aggies have owned this head-to-head, looking for their ninth straight win over Utah, which is a big part of the reason the book have them as a road favorite in the college football odds.

Kickoff is set for 11:59pm ET Saturday night from Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex in Honolulu, with Spectrum Sports Network, the Mountain West App and Scripps Sports all carrying the broadcast coverage.

Utah State vs Hawaii Prediction

• Pick: Utah State ML (-125 at BetMGM)

The most important player on the field here is Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes.

When it was announced Tuesday he would be able to play after getting injured in the Aggies’ loss to Vanderbilt, the books instantly shifted Hawaii from favorite to +1.5-point underdog.

Barnes is third in Mountain West in total offense churning out 277.6 yards per game, looking up only at San Jose State’s Walker Eget and Boise State’s Maddux Madsen.

His 11 TD passes and single interception are both tops in the conference, and he’s second in pass yards, fourth in yards per game, and is one of only five pivots in the MWC hitting at a 65% completion rate or better.

Utah State needs Barnes as Hawaii is a tough out. While they’re only scoring 25.7 points per game, their defense is Top 4 in the conference, allowing just 23.5 points per game.

They also went toe-to-toe with Air Force last time out and didn’t blink, outscoring the highest scoring team in Mountain West 44-35.

But the Rainbow Warriors are going to have to buck the trend before I wager on them. They have lost four in a row at home to the Aggies, with the closest margin of defeat at four points, in a game way back in 2011.

Can Aggies Defense Contain the Rainbow Warriors?

Utah State’s scoring defense ranks second-worst in the MWC, allowing a whopping 30.4 points per game.

However, that’s an inflated total because two of their non-conference opponents were from the powerhouse SEC, losing 44-22 to 19th-ranked Texas A&M, and to 18th-ranked Vanderbilt 55-35.

Perhaps the good news is that Utah State was able to move the ball against both of those schools, and the level-up should help as they take on teams in their own conference.

Hawaii is coming off its best scoring game of the season, with Micah Alejado throwing for 457 yards and three touchdowns, with 10 different receivers getting in on the passing game.

The Aggies are middle of the pack agianst the pass, allowing 226 pass yards, but the second-most TD passes at 11.

Alejado Can Duel with Barnes

It’s been an up-and-down campaign for Micah Alejado, but the freshman pivot enters this MWC biggie coming off the best game f his young career.

He’s seen the the Aggies, before, getting some mop-up duty in last year’s 55-10 drubbing, as Brayden Schager laboured to 124 yards passing and three interceptions before being relieved.

Alejado was solid in relief, going 11-for-12 for 111 yards and a TD. Funny enough, Barnes got into that game too. He threw two passes for four yards, and both went for touchdowns.

With both QB’s now at the center of their respective offenssive hubs, this should be a good one.

Even though he’s missed two games due to injury, Alejado is still sixth in passing in the MWC at 1,043 yards, just a few spots down from Barnes. He’s also inside the Top 10 in TD passes and fifth in completion percentage (65.9%).

Utah State vs Hawaii Odds

Hawaii finds itself as a 1.5-point home underdog, and +105 on the moneyline, while the Aggies are a short -125 on the moneyline. They are also perfect 5-0-0 against the spread this year.

The total checks in at high 57.5 points. Utah State has gone Over the total in three of its last four, while Hawaii has seen the Over cash twice in the last four games.

Odds as of October 11 at 5pm ET. Be sure to check out the best BetMGM bonus code before placing a bet on any Week 7 College Football matchup.