2022 Hawaii Bowl Odds and Picks – Middle Tennessee vs San Diego State Prediction

• San Diego State is a seven-point over Middle Tennessee on Saturday night in the Hawaii Bowl
• Middle Tennessee is on a three-game winning streak
• A look at the Middle Tennessee vs San Diego State odds and matchup can be found below with a prediction

Middle Tennessee will try to complete its strong finish to the season when it meets San Diego State in the Hawaii Bowl at 8 p.m. ET Saturday in a Christmas Eve game at the Ching Complex in Honolulu.

Middle Tennessee (7-5) has won its last three games, including rallying to beat Florida International 33-28 in its regular season finale. San Diego State (7-5) lost to Air Force 13-3 in its last regular season game and had its three-game winning streak snapped.

ESPN will televise the game.

Middle Tennessee vs San Diego State Odds

Odds as of December 21st at BetMGM. Unlock the BetMGM bonus code for CFB bowl season.

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San Diego State is a seven-point favorite and a -275 pick on the moneyline in the college football odds, giving the Aztecs an implied win probability of 73.33%.

The weather forecast calls for mostly sunny, a high of 86, and southwest wind at 6-10 mph. Just another typical day in paradise.

Middle Tennessee Betting Outlook

The defense took center stage for Middle Tennessee in its win over FIU as the Blue Raiders had four interceptions. Safety Jakobe Thomas and cornerback Decorian Patterson each had two picks.

Thomas ran one of his interceptions back 37 yards for a touchdown with 2:50 remaining to give Middle Tennessee the victory.

Chase Cunningham completed 29 of 42 passes for 279 with no touchdowns or interceptions. That continued a fine season for the quarterback.

DJ ENGLAND-CHISOLM HAS SPEEEEED

CHASE CUNNINGHAM AND MTSU OH MY MIAMI IS DOWN TREMENDOUSLY BAD pic.twitter.com/40a7BaTOay

— The Transfer Portal CFB (@TPortalCFB) September 24, 2022

Cunningham has completed 67.4% of his 420 passing attempts for 2,920 yards with 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The highlight of his season came Sept. 24 when he threw for 408 yards in an upset of Miami.

Cunningham is fourth in Conference USA in passing yardage.

Frank Peasant is Middle Tennessee’s leading rusher with 747 yards and nine touchdowns on 165 carries. However, Darius Bracy led the Blue Raiders on the ground against FIU with 91 yards and a score in 20 attempts.

Cunningham’s favorite target is Jaylin Lane, who has 59 receptions for 829 yards and four touchdowns. Izaiah Gathings had seven catches for 77 yards in the regular season finale

Safety Tra Fluellen is a disruptive defender with 97 tackles and seven passes broken up.

Middle Tennessee has a 3-6 record in bowl games but beat Toledo 31-24 in last year’s Bahamas Bowl.

San Diego State Betting Outlook

San Diego State’s fortunes changed this season after switching quarterbacks. The Aztecs are 5-2 since Jalen Mayden replaced Braxton Burmeister, who was 2-3 as the starter

Mayden, a Mississippi State transfer, has a 62.9 completion rate on his 194 passes along with 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.

Against Air Force, Mayden struggled, and San Diego State’s scoring was limited to Jake Browning’s 26-yard field goal.  Mayden was just 16-of-31 passing for 188 yards and threw two interceptions in the end zone in the last 3:36.

JALEN MAYDEN 32-YARD SCRAMBLE FOR SIX

What a run by the @AztecFB QB pic.twitter.com/kO4m7QhxQw

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) October 23, 2022

San Diego State is 123rd out of 131 FBS teams in total offense (321.8) and 115^th in scoring offense (21.3). Conversely, the Aztecs are 22^nd in scoring defense (20.2) and 28^th in total defense (335.4).

Jordan Byrd is San Diego State’s leading rusher with 391 yards and three TDs on 91 carries. He was held to 13 yards in six attempts by Air Force.

Tyrell Shavers has 34 catches for 581 yards and three touchdowns.

San Diego State has won its last two bowl appearances and is 7-9 overall. Last year, the Aztecs downed UTSA 38-24 in the Frisco Bowl.

Middle Tennessee vs San Diego State Prediction

This is the first meeting between the two schools. Good defense usually wins championships, but good offense tends to win bowl games. That is why Middle Tennessee, with Cunningham, is the way to go in this matchup.

Pick: Middle Tennessee +7 (-110)