Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Vs UCLA Bruins Prediction, Odds, Preview 08/28/201

Game Time: 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, August 28th, 2021

Venue:  Rose Bowl, Pasadena California

Where to Watch: Nationally televised on ESPN, Livestream on WatchESPN

Rainbow Warriors:  0-0 (Big West Conference)
Bruins:  0-0 (PAC-12)

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  UCLA -1000, Hawaii +650; Over/Under: 68.5 points

Spread:  UCLA -18

Hawaii :

Cordeiro Chevan SO, QB
Hunter Dae Dae  FR, RB
Jonah Panoke  FR, WR
Jared Smart  SR, WR
Nick Mardner SO, WR
Micah Vanterpool SO, LT
Elitese Michael  SR, LG
Levao Kohl SR C
Vaipulu Solo  JR RG
Gene Pryor SR RT

UCLA:

Dorian Thompson-Robinson  SR QB
Brittain Brown  GR/TR  RB
Kam Brown SO WR
Chase Cota SR WR
Kyle Phillips JR WR
Sean Rhyan JR LT
Paul Grattan GR/TR LG
Sam Marrazzo SR C
Duke Clemens JR RG
Greg Dulchich JR RT

Rainbow Warriors:  Todd Graham
Bruins:  Chip Kelly

UCLA and Hawaii have met 4 times in their histories with UCLA coming up 4-0.  UCLA is just too big a school from too big a conference.  If the Hawaii Warriors are looking to get 1 win in the series they will have to pretend it’s just another game against Fresno State and play lights out on both sides of the ball.  UCLA will use this game to start off the highest ppg average in school history if Chip Kelly gets his way.

Last season was horrible for everyone involved with college football.  Covid cut the season down, players and even some teams opted out. Transfers may have gotten to a new team but didn’t get any of the Campus life they were hoping for.  It was rough.  The Pac-12 played fewer games than the SEC, Hawaii played fewer games than normal.  Hawaii Rainbow Warrior legend Colt Brennan died in 2020 at 37 years young.  Every comparison of last season for both teams has to take into account the tremendous difficulties and pressures of a world on fire with fear of the unknown.

Last season Hawaii finished 4-4 in a condensed 8 game season against only Mountain West conference opponents.  Travel was tough on them as Hawaii had the most rigorous Covid-19 airport protocols of any state in the nation.  The players had to fly farther than any other team and they had to prepare for each flight and return flight more than any other team.  At season’s end they were invited to the New Mexico Bowl where they beat Houston to give them a winning record of 5-4 over 9 games.  The team relied heavily on the strong play of quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, who stepped into the starting job to pass for 2083 yards in 313 attempts.  Chevan also rushed on designed plays getting 483 yards in 116 attempts (4.2 yards per rush).  Imagine these numbers over a full season… that’s just what Hawaii is doing.

Last Season UCLA finished 5th in the Pac-12 South, going 3-4 in a conference only 7 game season.  There was no bowl game invite… of course not.  But they weren’t bad… they were decimated.  Coach Chip Kelly has been stuffing the roster with transfers until his own recruiting classes start to fully form the roster.  Last season the Pac-12 was unsure of whether they would ever play and the transfers didn’t come.  This season Chip’s recruiting classes are starting to take over the squad (you need upperclassmen for quality defense!) and the transfers have made it through. UCLA’s season was bad last year but their losses were ridiculously close.  Colorado 48-42, Oregon 38-35, Stanford 48-47 in a 2 overtime shocker!, USC 43-38.  The offense can score and score… They totaled 248 points on the season for a 35.5 point average!  They beat the spread but lost against Stanford, Oregon, and USC… who else can say that ever?!  This is an offensive monster ready to break out.

UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson had 90 completions in 138 attempts for 1,120 yards.  In SEVEN GAMES.  That’s an 8.1 average gain with a 156.3 QBR.  Dorian is a Senior.  Dorian is ready.  Demetric Felton their running back from last season was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the sixth round this offseason… but there are plenty of guys on the roster ready to step up and take his place.  Most importantly is Brittain Brown.  Brittain averaged 6.6 yards a carry last season on 82 carries for 543 yards (7 games remember), he also caught 6 passes for 84 yards.  Brittain will showcase his own draft potential and will go higher than Demetric did.

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Hawaii’s head coach Todd Graham got the job on January 21st of 2020. Todd has 12 years of head coaching experience in the FBS.  Most recently he took Arizona State to five bowl appearances in six years.  Not quality bowl games but still bowl games. At ASU, Graham racked up a 46-32 record.  Not a bad run in a tough Pac-12.  His biggest win came in the 2014 Sun Bowl to cap off a 10 win season and #12 national ranking.  The heat of that moment wore off as the years wore on… eventually ASU moved on and Graham moved down to this smaller conference.  Hawaii comes with some difficulty recruiting as most kids find it hard to go somewhere where their family and friends will never come to a home game.  I think Hawaii will struggle this year as the new coach gets his island legs planted on the beach.

UCLA head coach Chip Kelly took the job on Nov. 25th, 2017.  He has been called an offensive genius, a passing game mad scientist.  He has had a top level, high powered, college offense at the University of Oregon where he finished with an overall record of 46-7.  Making a BCS bowl game in each of his four seasons highlighted by a trip to the National Championship game in 2010.  He was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2009 AND 2010… as well as the AP coach of the year in 2010.  He left Eugene for the high-paying, pressure filled world of NFL head coaching.  Of his 3 seasons in the NFL the Eagles ranked 3rd in points per game (26.9) in the whole league.  His 2014 Eagles team scored a franchise-record 474 points to beat his own franchise record of 442 points from the year before.  This guy knows offense.  The Eagles ownership lost faith in Chip, who does have some faults and couldn’t see eye to eye on roster moves.  Now Chip should be ready to unveil what he has built at UCLA with a senior quarterback, a star running back, and three years of recruiting coming to a head.

Let's lay it all out there.  UCLA comes into this game as Big Favorites.  An 18 point spread that will easily be covered.  

Our MLB Pick for Saturday August 28th  game is UCLA 44 Hawaii 13

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