As the University of Hawaii football team inches closer to attaining bowl eligibility, it is time to start thinking about who, potentially, might be waiting for the Rainbow Warriors by the time they get there.
With a 5-3 record and five games remaining in which to win the two contests that will certify them as bowl eligible in a 13-game regular season, you’d have to say the Warriors’ chances are looking pretty good right now.
Nothing against Middle Tennessee, which lost to Hawaii in 2016, or Louisiana Tech, which smacked it around last year, you understand, but when — not if — the Warriors’ return to the postseason, you’d like to see UH get an opponent that raises some interest. Not a bunch of Whodaguys that send you scrambling to Google.
And this year, depending how the dominoes fall, could offer up some intriguing possibilities for a Dec. 24 matchup. If a return of ages-old nemesis Brigham Young, then how about, perhaps, Central Florida, quarterbacked by Dillon Gabriel, the son of Garrett, who in 1989 guided UH to its first NCAA bowl appearance?
A bowl-eligible UH figures to end up at Aloha Stadium on Christmas Eve, and the Hawaii Bowl pairing is listed to come from behind two of three doors: a representative of the Mountain West Conference that UH calls home, a pick from the American Athletic Conference or independent Brigham Young.
The either-or equation is set up to give the owner and operator of the Hawaii Bowl — ESPN Events— flexibility for whatever tumult the postseason might present this year. Some years, as we have seen, there are not enough bowl-eligible teams, which is how UH got in at 6-7 in 2016. And, other years, there are too many, which is how Wyoming got left out last season.
While BYU is a name that will resonate with local fans, the 3-4 and often unpredictable Cougars still have their work cut out for them. They have beaten Tennessee, USC and Boise State but have also lost to South Florida and Toledo. As a result they must win three of their five remaining games to become bowl eligible.
That’s hardly a monumental hurdle given the presence of Idaho State, Liberty and UMass on their schedule. But the Cougars also have San Diego State and Utah State and it all depends which BYU team shows up.
A more compelling storyline would be Central Florida, as the AAC representative, against UH. The Knights are the team that Mililani grad McKenzie Milton quarterbacked to prominence before suffering his devastating nerve injury in his right leg in the final regular-season game of 2018.
Now, it is Milton’s successor at Mililani, Gabriel, a remarkable freshman, who has emerged to quarterback UCF to a 6-2 (3-1 AAC) record.
The Knights are still shooting for a third consecutive AAC championship but to earn a place in the title game must win out in their four remaining games and have somebody knock off 17th-ranked Cincinnati since UCF lost to the Bearcats, 27-24.
Cole McDonald, Chevan Cordeiro and the UH passing attack against Gabriel and UCF’s offense would be a draw not only locally but would also figure to do some decent TV ratings as a potential Christmas present all around.
