Hawaii Bowl
San Diego State (10-3) vs. Cincinnati (7-5)
Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec. 24, 2015
The 2015 Hawaii Bowl appears to be a matchup of contrasting styles.
Cincinnati had an up-and-down season and is a hard team to read. The Bearcats beat a solid Miami team and battled AAC frontrunners Memphis and Houston down to the final minutes, but also were completely blown out 65-27 by USF late in the year.
The only thing that is consistent about the 7-5 Bearcats is that they are capable of putting up a ton of yards – especially through the air with their fourth-ranked passing attack. And they can do it no matter who is playing quarterback.
Gunner Kiel, the team’s starter, did not make the trip to Hawaii due to personal reasons, so freshman Hayden Moore will get the start. Moore has plenty of experience this season. When Kiel suffered a neck injury against Memphis, Moore filled in and threw for a program record 557 yards.
When Kiel returned, Bearcats coach Tommy Tuberville used both the rest of the season, but Kiel got the majority of the time. Now it’s Moore’s show to run to give the Bearcats their first bowl win since the 2012 Belk Bowl.
Moore, who has thrown for 1,683 yards, nine touchdowns and eight interceptions this season, will rely on wideout Shaq Washington (88 catches, 971 yards, 6 TDs) and a steady stable of running backs. Tion Green (697 yards, 8 TDs) and Hosey Williams (727 yards, 4 TDs) lead the team in carries, but sophomore Mike Boone (717 yards, 8 TDs) averages 7.5 yards per carry and has seen increased touches in recent games.
The key for Cincinnati will be to limit turnovers. The Bearcats turned the ball over 30 times on the season. You know the fifth-ranked SDSU defense is looking to increase that number.
On the other side, SDSU, the Mountain West champions, feature more of a ground-based attack that averaged 277.8 yards per game on the ground over its last nine games. The Aztecs haven’t thrown the ball more than 20 times in a game since losing to Penn State on Sept. 26. That loss dropped their record to 1-3. Since then, the Aztecs haven’t lost a game as they ride a nine-game winning streak into their matchup with the Bearcats.
The Aztecs took down Air Force in the Mountain West title game with redshirt freshman Christian Chapman starting at quarterback in place of Maxwell Smith, who suffered a torn ACL in the regular season finale against Nevada on Nov. 28. Despite the injury, Smith, a graduate transfer from Kentucky, says he plans to play.
No matter who’s at quarterback, the offense won’t change much. Junior Donnel Pumphrey leads the rushing attack with 1,554 yards and 16 touchdowns with senior Chase Price chipping in 940 yards and six touchdowns.
The Aztecs have appeared in a bowl game in the last six seasons, but are only 1-3 in bowls under head coach Rocky Long, including a 17-16 loss to Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl last year.
Picks
Graham: SDSU has an underrated defense and Cincinnati will be without quarterback Gunner Kiel, which makes this game a little dicey for the Bearcats. Gonna take SDSU 21-17 in this one.
Nick: I can totally see Cincinnati mailing this one in. At least the Bearcats will spend Christmas in Hawaii. SDSU 38-24.
Sam: Cincy has been a really perplexing team all year and I don't expect that to change in this one. Pumphrey and the Aztecs will control the clock and force a few INTs from Hayden Moore. SDSU 30-24.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
